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Re:Deep Thoughts on the Food Tech Revolution by Captain Obvi... by nickler on Friday December 28, 2012 @04:48PM (#4979765)
I'm a restaurateur, and a big fan of dmc, I enjoyed his take, but...

I've sketched out probably every idea Dave has illustrated here, and most of them don't make it far enough to even bust out an MVP. I have the advantage of a massive network of restaurant owners, from high end to QSR (quick service restaurant), and an even bigger network of hospitality staff. They chew on them, and spit them up.

It's not that it's impossible, and paradigm shifts in how the business is done is something I've pursued my whole life, but it takes a tremendous effort, and a retraining of your customers. Friction.

My operations were fine dining, casual wine bars, and nightclub/lounges. Exceptional experiences are the highest pursuit, and every problem DMC has an issue with would never exist in one of our operations. It's just a competent operator, well trained staff, and proper systems.

Some of the QSR chains I've worked with could use some help from tech, but the customer at a QSR is looking for less customer friction, not more.

I'd love to sit down with DMC sometime and give him some insight on where the real opportunities are in the space. He's right, it's a prime target for disruption, but not in the way he's thinking right now.

Re:Deep Thoughts on the Food Tech Revolution by Captain Obvi... by djt on Friday December 28, 2012 @10:48PM (#4981034)
But having a competent operator and well trained staff would be the problem that most restaurants have wouldnt you say?

Being a good operator yourself, this product may not be useful, but could be for someone else?

Re:Deep Thoughts on the Food Tech Revolution by Captain Obvi... by davemcclure on Friday December 28, 2012 @10:48PM (#4981032)
happy to chat... ping me @davemcclure.

if it's really the case that none of your staff at all of your nightclubs / restaurants have these issues, them I'll eat my shorts & buy you a beer (either way, I'll buy u a beer in fact ;)

certainly it's been my experience that technology used to improve efficiency may not always be appropriately / perfect, but in MANY use cases where I've had to wait or choose from confusing menus, I can't imagine how it wouldn't help.

however, I'm open to hearing why I'm wrong if you have data to back it up.

Re:Deep Thoughts on the Food Tech Revolution by Captain Obvi... by nickler on Wednesday January 02, 2013 @05:54PM (#4999846)
Awesome Dave,

I've reread your blog post a few times to make sure I've got a real sense of the pains you're talking about. You've got one of our early favorites in there too, I'll tell you how alpha testing went with it.

Pinged you with @fourmojo.

Re:Deep Thoughts on the Food Tech Revolution by Captain Obvi... by nickler on Friday January 04, 2013 @07:48PM (#5010849)
Here are some thoughts, tear me up :D

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5010842