Computer Support Blog

More and more restaurants are depending on providing online and mobile ordering, and many companies exist to provide them with the ability to provide just such a service.  With all of the competitors crowding the market, a startup providing for restaurants to offer online ordering and apps would need to bring something unique.  Splick-it is one such company that works to develop separate apps for each brand or merchant with a few differences from its competitors.  It simplifies online and mobile ordering, payment, and marketing while adding convenience.  It also works to strengthen its clients and connect them with their customers with customized mobile apps and websites on a platform powering mobile and online ordering, payment, and loyalty programs. Read more »

Numerous startups seek to take advantage of the popularity of the online food ordering space. One such startup is ChowNow, an online ordering platform optimized for mobile and Facebook. It looks to provide restaurants with an easy way to offer online ordering to customers via either their social media, branded mobile apps, or their existing web site. Unlike the largest companies in the food ordering market, which offer one site where you can find local restaurants and order ChowNow allows restaurants to individually customize and brand their ordering apps. It utilizes social media as a destination for consumers to order food through the startup’s Facebook Ordering App, letting restaurants take orders directly through their Facebook page. It also lets restaurants create branded mobile apps, even offering restaurants a wireless tablet to receive orders and communicate back to the customer when it will be ready. Read more »

As boring as it seems, analytics form the backbone of an intelligently operated business.  Understanding what your customers want and how to give it to them most effectively is arguably the best way to grow and maintain your consumer base.  Venga is a product whose creators understand this concept and have applied it specifically to the restaurant industry.  It offers an extremely useful and highly informative online platform for restaurants to analyze their customers’ purchases, habits and preferences. This information is often the most powerful resource one can have in ensuring maximum profit in any business.  Venga utilizes its own unique software to help you identify the key points in giving patrons what they want so they return on a regular basis and to create new customers. Read more »

Many businesses, especially restaurants, have long known that one of the main ways to secure customer loyalty is by making sure children have a positive experience. This is evident in the kid’s products you will see in almost any family-oriented restaurant. You may see any number of things geared towards kids, including toys and tablemats with games on them, crayons for coloring, and special menu items creatively designed to appeal specifically to children. A happy kid means a happy parent, and that turns into repeat visits for the establishment. A startup called bizzieMe aims to use its platform to create a tech-based, modernized version of leaving games on the table for children. Read more »

Hiring in specialty industries such as computer repair or food service can be a tricky situation.  Finding the best employees in these fields doesn’t quite work the same way in other, as resumes and static lists of qualifications mean much less than demonstrable skill in a certain area.  When employers post specialized positions in these fields on public job boards online, they often end up with many applications from unqualified people who do not have the specific experience and skillset necessary for the job.  Cool person in technology Mike Wagner wants to make it easier for employers to find qualified applicants in one of these specialized industries—restaurants and food service. Read more »

No one likes going to restaurant and having to wait to sit down at a table.  It’s even worse when disorganization or inefficiency makes the wait longer than it needs to be.  Cool product in technology NoWait is a service that uses smartphones to help restaurants seat people more efficiently and quickly.  By making the seating experience better for customers, NoWait is helping both the restaurant patrons and restaurant management.  Read more »

Many restaurants invest in large complicated websites, but many owners don’t realize that the time and money spent on these sites doesn’t always translate into value for their business.  For one, many of the complicated websites that restaurants make aren’t mobile ready, leading to problems for customers who access the site on their smartphones or tablets.  Another issue is that many establishments don’t realize that the vast majority of customers only visit their websites for a few key pieces of information. Simplicity is often more useful in a site’s design than complexity that inconveniences users.  Cool product in technology Cilantro aims to help restaurants by providing them a more effective web presence using one-page sites.  Cilantro lets companies design a simple site that provides all the necessary information for their potential customers, such as location, menu and hours, without the extra clutter that creates inconvenience for users.  Cilantro makes sure that all the designs that restaurants can create with their service will work well on tablets and smartphones as well.  Companies that experience trouble with their Cilantro sites on mobile devices should seek a mobile IT support specialist. Read more »

Everyone knows the popular tourist attractions and most famous restaurants in a city.  People got to New York to visit Times Square, Central Park, and the Empire State Building.  In London, people visit Parliament and eat at popular pubs.  The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the restaurants and shops on the Champs-Elysse are the biggest draws in Paris.  However, these big cities have more than the obvious to offer not only tourists, but residents as well.  Gems like amazing bars, small cultural festivals, outdoor markets and specialty shops can give people excellent experiences, but they don’t get the publicity that draws big crowds.  Phaedra Chrousos is a cool person in technology that wants to help people get it on the secret of these smaller, but immensely enjoyable attractions with her company Daily Secret. Read more »

One of the most common ways that people find new restaurants to frequent is through the recommendations of friends and other peers.  Whether it’s for a one-time event or for more regular visits, people trust the recommendations of people like them when it comes to food.  This fact is what has driven cool person in technology Shane Quigley to found his company Foddr.

Foddr is an online web tool that connects to social networking in order to provide users with restaurant recommendations based on where their friends and the friends of their friends are going to eat.  Through the use of algorithms and a connection to customers’ Facebook profiles, Quigley’s web tool scans different statuses and geotagged locations from a person’s social networking connections.  Foddr then uses this data to provide Quigley’s customers with recommendations for their next night out on the town.  Foddr currently requires a connection to Facebook in order to work properly.  Anyone whose Facebook profile does not properly connect to Foddr to give them recommendations can seek help from an online tech support professional.  Read more »