SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVING CUSTOMER WAIT TIME, CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND MARKETING EFFICIENCY IN THE RESTAURANT, RETAIL, TRAVEL, AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
First Claim
1. A method for improving efficiency of providing a service to customers, comprising:
- a customer creating a reservation including designation of the service the customer wishes to have provided by a service provider at a particular time, the reservation including customer preferences for the services to be purchased;
the service provider initiating the designated service prior to a time at which the customer is in a location to receive the designated service;
validating the reservation once the customer has arrived at the location for receiving the designated service from the service provider; and
completing delivery of the designated service to the customer once the reservation is validated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method including an Internet preordering system accessible online or onsite at a free-standing kiosk located in or near client properties in which customers may create profiles for the requested services and provide such information to the service provider in advance of the customer'"'"'s arrival for the requested services. When the customer arrives, the customer identifies himself/herself and the preorder is accessed, verified and/or modified. The preorder is then forwarded to the service provider and the delivery of the service is optimally timed to the readiness of the customer. The customer'"'"'s profile and preorder information are maintained in a database and used for in-house precision marketing campaigns and cross-promotional opportunities. For example, in a restaurant embodiment, a registered customer is given access to menus and may create menu preferences for a participating restaurant. The registered customer may also make a reservation at a participating restaurant for a party of any size in advance (for example, up to 24 hours) of the reservation time. The food and/or drink preorder for each guest in the party may be completed in advance and maintained on the server, with the reservation time, for access when the party arrives at the designated reservation time. After a verification process, the customer may retrieve the party'"'"'s preorder, make any desired changes, and then verify the preorder at the kiosk. Once the preorder is verified, the customer may finalize the preorder and proceed to the hostess kiosk where the preorder is accessed by the restaurant staff. Either when the party is seated or at an appropriate time prior to seating (based on a comparison of the seating wait queue to the kitchen wait queue), the preorder is forwarded for preparation so that the ordered food and/or drink arrives shortly after the customer'"'"'s party is seated.
70 Citations
64 Claims
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1. A method for improving efficiency of providing a service to customers, comprising:
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a customer creating a reservation including designation of the service the customer wishes to have provided by a service provider at a particular time, the reservation including customer preferences for the services to be purchased; the service provider initiating the designated service prior to a time at which the customer is in a location to receive the designated service; validating the reservation once the customer has arrived at the location for receiving the designated service from the service provider; and completing delivery of the designated service to the customer once the reservation is validated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for improving efficiency of servicing customers in a restaurant, comprising:
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a customer creating a reservation including a preorder of food and/or drink for members of a party; validating the reservation when at least one member of the party is present at the restaurant and available for seating at the restaurant; and when a wait time for the party is determined to be less than or equal to a preparation time for preparing the preorder of food and/or drink, forwarding the preorder of food and/or drink to a kitchen, a kitchen management system, and/or a bar for preparation. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for improving efficiency of servicing customers in a restaurant, comprising:
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a customer kiosk or customer terminal located at or near the restaurant through which a customer creates a reservation including a preorder of food and/or drink for members of a party and through which the presence of one or more members of the party at the restaurant is validated; and a hostess kiosk or terminal that accepts the reservation from the customer kiosk or computer terminal and, when a wait time for the party is determined to be less than or equal to a preparation time for preparing the preorder of food and/or drink, forwards the preorder of food and/or drink to a kitchen, a kitchen management system, and/or a bar for preparation. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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- 33. A computer readable storage device comprising first executable instructions stored thereon that when executed by a first processor causes said first processor to enable a customer to create a reservation including a preorder of food and/or drink for a member or members of a party and to validate the presence of one or more members of the party at a location of the first processor, and second executable instructions stored thereon that when executed by a second processor causes said second processor to accept the reservation from the first processor and, when a wait time for the party is determined to be less than or equal to a preparation time for preparing the preorder of food and/or drink, to cause the preorder of food and/or drink to be forwarded to a kitchen, kitchen management system, and/or bar for preparation.
- 37. A web server comprising a processor, a first memory including executable instructions stored therein that when executed by said processor causes said processor to enable a customer to create a reservation including a preorder of food and/or drink for members of a party, and a second memory that stores the reservation at least until one or more members of the party is validated to be at the restaurant.
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42. A method for improving efficiency of servicing customers shopping in a store, comprising:
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a customer creating a shopping reservation including a preselection of items of interest available from the store for purchase at a particular time as well as customer preferences for characteristics of said items; validating the shopping reservation when the customer is present at the store and available to evaluate the preselected items; and a clerk preparing the preselected items for evaluation by the customer at or before said particular time. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A system for improving efficiency of customers shopping in a store, comprising:
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a customer kiosk or customer terminal located at or near the store through which a customer creates a shopping reservation including a preselection of items of interest available from the store for purchase at a particular time as well as customer preferences for characteristics of said items, said customer kiosk or terminal further including means for validating the shopping reservation when the customer is present at the store and available to evaluate the preselected items; and a point of sale device that accepts the reservation from the customer kiosk or computer terminal, facilitates purchase of one or more of said items, and creates a record accessible by said customer kiosk or computer terminal identifying the purchased item(s). - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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- 58. A computer readable storage device comprising executable instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor causes said processor to enable a customer to create a shopping reservation including a preselection of items of interest available from the store for purchase at a particular time as well as customer preferences for characteristics of said items, said executable instructions further including means for validating the shopping reservation when the customer is present at the store and available to evaluate the preselected items and means for storing a record of any purchased item(s).
- 60. A web server comprising a processor, a first memory including executable instructions stored therein that when executed by said processor causes said processor to enable a customer to create a shopping reservation including a preselection of items of interest available from the store for purchase at a particular time as well as customer preferences for characteristics of said items, and a second memory that stores a record of any purchased item(s).
Specification