I think this was just before or right after they had launched Next. Their description of the reservation ticketing system and the variable pricing model seemed awesome then. Glad to see it worked out so well.
But what really made an impression on me was Grant's discussion of the similarity of software user experience design and his own dining experience design. He talked about how he's not just making food but controlling an entire experience for the diner. That includes the interesting centerpieces on the table that are used in the meal, the narrow entrance hall to the restaurant, the use of smoke and smell to evoke memories. I'm completely sure the user experience of the reservation system is a piece he considers a part of the overall dining experience. Whether or not actual conversion numbers are there to justify investing in it, I bet these guys consider it one of the intangibles that make their restaurants the best fine dining experiences in the country.
One of the stories that sticks out for me was Grant's explanation of the trickiness involved in not having tablecloths. At the time, he said, fine dining meant white tablecloths. But he didn't want there to be tablecloths at Alinea. So he got rid of them. But the problem was water rings. When cold water was placed on the stone tables, rings of condensation formed. He said they solved the problem by finding the precise temperature at which the water was chilled but not cold enough to form condensation rings on the table and they keep it at exactly that temperature in the kitchen.
Something about that story says to me that he understands that the quality of the experience lies in the substance and not the decoration. I haven't actually used the reservation system. I went to Alinea before it was used there and I haven't been to Next. So I don't know if it's ugly but I doubt it sucks. Because these guys understand and care about user experience of all forms to a surprising degree.
I do admire the utility of the interface; it looks like it gets the job done.
We do that because of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) makes tipping difficult if you charge ahead... or if you want to share revenue with cooks.
Also, Nick, if you're still reading -- do you think that the prepurchase model materially affects people's spending on e.g. upgrades and drinks? My wife and I did Alinea & Aviary on November, and I was definitely happier to spend a little more given that the original "purchase" was so many paychecks in the past.
I had a great meal at Schwa, and my reservation wasn't that hard to get, except that they cancelled it on me 3 times in a row.
• From a user's perspective, it's not as if some aesthetic improvements are mutually exclusive with the overall goals stated in the article. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It'd be nice if the website had the same premium feel and attention to detail that the actual food and front of house do. It's a bit jarring to spend $3k+ on season tickets on a website with a minimum viable design.
• While I admittedly lack the insight of a restaurant operator, it seems he's stagnated frontend-wise on simply "anything but IE." While that makes the geek in me chuckle, it seems to dismiss the benefits that come from having an actual strategy focusing on the way that mobile devices could be integrated. Just because the ticket biz model is better than those focused on leasing hardware doesn't mean that a FOH person couldn't be armed with a tablet to access the webapp or that a native app for customers and restaurants doesn't make sense.
Anyways, very interesting, and while I didn't think it was possible to be more excited for Modern China, I'm now looking forward to potentially keeping an eye out for how the restaurant interacts with the software during service.
But another thing that sticks out to me: look how pretty and refined these ticketing apps aren't, even though they drive hundreds of thousands of dollars per month of revenue. And after you notice that, read how Kokonas talks about how easy and simple the system is for them to use? There's a lesson in there somewhere about the kinds of UX that matter to customers versus the kind of UX people believe should matter for customers.
As a restaurant customer, I think the ticketing system is great; I've gone through the process of getting an Alinea reso (if you want a real fun time in Chicago, try getting one for Schwa) and it was an opaque nightmare. The alternative to tickets for these places isn't a fair reservation system; it is basically "you don't get to eat there ever".