As the world races on faster and faster towards increased mobile connectivity, it seems that the Mobile media segment is developing ever new features and tools for customer engagement. Mobile is arguably the most important new communication medium, with mobile internet connectivity set to overtake desktop internet connectivity by 2014. Mobile Apps have all but taken over our lives, and now new potential mediums such as Augmented Reality and Google Glass are creeping into our lives. Yet in spite of such amazing technology developments, an existing technology that critics are suggesting is dead, SMS, is actually still proving it’s worth.

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With the new wave of iPad Apps coming into the restaurant market, an increasing number of them can give restaurants the edge to maximize patronage and productivity – enter NoWait to help restaurants seat guests faster and turn more tables. Our new partner, Ambur POS, is also utilizing the convenience of the iPad to revolutionize the traditional restaurant POS.

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Can you really have too much business? It sounds like a problem most of us would love to have, but the restaurant host is no stranger to the pains brought about by customer overload. Managing the wait is a tricky game, and different restaurants do it different ways. Some see great results, while others have angry customers venting their dissatisfaction on Yelp. So what separates the winners from the customer-losers? Let’s take a closer look at three restaurants and see how they manage.

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May is typically the month that the National Restaurant Association (NRA) holds an annual trade show in Chicago, and this past May the NoWait team made its second yearly appearance in the Windy City. The NRA show is a great event to meet customers, discover new technology products, and generally learn about the latest developments in the restaurant industry. It’s also an opportunity for the NoWait team to hit the streets of Chi-town and explore trends at local host stands.

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People hate to wait. No industry feels this more than the food service industry in which restaurant profit margins depend on the patience of hungry patrons. Unfortunately, it’s hard to control or predict what people will do when they hear, “It’ll be an hour wait for a table.” Parties must chose: flee to a less popular joint or bite the bullet and try to distract themselves from their rumbling stomachs. The method of distraction is critical to keeping frustrations low. So what do people do to pass the time, and how do restaurants aid the process? I was curious, so I went out to a popular local joint called Burgatory Bar and asked the waiting Friday-night diners what they were up to.

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How could we leave out Instagram?

If you’re like me, you didn’t understand the Instagram fuss until you downloaded it and got hooked. Maybe you found yourself taking pictures of street signs and hubcaps (and altering them with Instagrams’s one-touch photo filter) like you were a born photographer. Restaurants are jumping on Instagram’s popularity too, using their Twitter accounts to blast Instagram pictures to their followers and inspire social media engagement.

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