Efficient restaurant experiences

Place: san francisco food court

Design issue: Restaurants that don't do table service commonly have to announce upcoming orders to customers. In its more primitive forms this entails shouting numbers from behind the counter, customers trying to find order numbers on their receipts, customers not hearing announcements, and customers needlessly standing waiting for food to be prepared. Not an ideal customer experience.

Solution: Some wise soul figured out that pagers had become dirt cheap and that when integrated with a vibration unit and LED lights could work as a personalized alert system between the restaurant and a hungry customer. Now (in some locations) when you pay for your food you get a "smart" coaster which vibrates and blinks when your food is ready or when you are ready to be seated at your table. It is a simple and elegant solution I have yet to find a problem with.