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Photo of the day: Accommodating large parties

May 13, 2009 by 8 Comments

While at the IA Summit in Memphis in March, a large group of us went out to dinner at The Majestic Grille. When I say a large group, I mean 60 people. We were split up at a bunch of tables, and I ended up at a table of ten.

We all ordered drinks and entrées, and shared a few appetizers and sides between us. None of us were looking forward to dealing with the bill, especially since we were mostly all paying with credit cards (it being a business trip and all). Then our lovely server Todd offered to split the cost of the shared dishes evenly between us. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” That’s exactly what you want to hear.

A few minutes later, Todd returned with 10 check presenters. When I opened mine, I was amazed to see how he’d done it:

I was billed for my Harp and my steak, and 1/10th of the appetizers and sides we all shared. What struck me was that it printed the fraction on the receipt, something I had never seen before. That means the bill system the restaurant uses actually allows this kind of maneuver, and shows a true understanding of the needs of the customer. Bravo.

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About

Whitney Hess is a coach and writer helping product teams and senior leaders make better decisions through the principles of user experience. She believes empathy builds empires.

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  • murrayw76

    That's pretty slick! I worked at a restaurant in college (The Tombs in DC, which was the basis for the eponymous bar in the movie St. Elmo's Fire), which was part of a restaurant group (Clyde's) that used software called PosiTouch. While it didn't allow the kind of fine-tuned control over the bill back then that this system seems to use now, a big part of making transactions like these easy was the restaurant's policy of letting waitstaff handle comps and unusual transactions without manager intervention. Empowered employees are an (often overlooked) part of a great customer experience as well!

    • http://www.whitneyhess.com/blog Whitney Hess

      You make a great point. When the software doesn't allow the transaction, employees must be allowed to improvise in order to ensure a positive customer experience.

  • http://www.waltribeiro.net/ WaltRibeiro

    Here's 1/10 of my comment:

    This is amazing! I wonder how long some places have been using this. Customer Service is really starti

  • http://cellowireless.blogspot.com rorowe

    That's impressive! I've had waiters/waitresses sort the check out for us, but the actual bill ends up looking completely different (which makes it difficult to use as an business expense).
    Bravo!

  • http://www.hotelbackpacker.com Backpackerresources

    Wow! what a restaurant. Seldom do I hear such a kind of billing and allowed by the management. This is another way to attract customers.

  • http://www.cennydd.co.uk/ Cennydd

    Ah, that's how they did it? Impressive foresight of the EPOS designers to allow for that. And the service was great given how we suddenly swamped them en masse. Kudos to the Majestic.

    Oh, and the burger was bigger than my head.

    • http://www.whitneyhess.com/blog Whitney Hess

      How is it possible that we were eating at the same restaurant without hanging out? That's just plain wrong.

  • max191

    I would just say one thing to you and that is, “FANTASTIC”!! Keep it up and wish to get more details from your blog.
    regards
    charcoal grill