Kitsch'n'Zinc

You just can't get skilled staff any more is the oft repeated lament of the restaurateur. We know that the service isn't quite what it should be but what can we do ? Well for a start you could look at some new technology, which is being tested in Europe, the United States, and Japan, which allows customers to order their food directly from a screen at their table rather than a real, live waiter. Sounds like it would be expensive for restaurants to install, but apparently, the technology is improving restaurant business by appealing to younger markets and cutting the cost of human resources.
I like the idea. No more frustration in trying to order your meal as the bloody waitroid flits backwards and forwards like a whippet with the trots, attending to one little task at a time whilst trying to fit in visits to nearby tables. No more listening to the seemingly endless list of badly pronounced, poorly understood, secretly priced, Daily Specials. No more smiling indulgently as they tell you how fantastically fresh and expertly prepared the Catch of the Day is as they struggle to recall whether it came from the East or West Coast. All they have to do is carry the bloody plates out - surely they can do that ? Other technology also being tested allows you to pay your tab at the table, avoiding credit card fraud and identity theft. Customers can swipe their cards themselves and the machine prints a receipt on the spot. "With pay at table, the card stays in your sight." - no more skimming. Now maybe someone could put their minds to sorting out the actual plate carrying, like some sort of multi directional sushi belt and it might actually be a pleasure going to a restaurant.