Platform enables diners to view the menu and order on their smartphone

Developed in the Netherlands, Your Smart Butler allows customers to view sit-down restaurants' menus and place their order solely using their smartphones and QR code technology.

QR codes have proved themselves to be a useful tool across a wide range of industries, and the catering sector is no different. In February, we covered the LA-based Paperlinks service, which enables take out restaurants to direct customers to mobile ordering via a code on their menus. Now offering a system for sit-down restaurants and other hospitality services, Your Smart Butler allows diners to view the menu and place their order solely using their smartphones through QR code technology. With the aim of bypassing the need for menus in restaurants, those purchasing the service place a QR code on each table. Customers scanning the image with a mobile device are then directed to a menu of available items and are able to place their order within the app. Their choice is sent to the restaurant’s point-of-sale or computer system, along with table number, and an order voucher is printed out for staff to send to the kitchen. Diners can also notify staff when they would like to settle the bill through the system, as well as share their order along with a review on Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. Your Smart Butler’s use is not limited to restaurants however and could easily be used for room service at hotels (with QR codes located in rooms) or services elsewhere – the company gives the example of a beach caterer printing the codes on sunloungers. The system makes the ordering process more convenient for both customers and restaurant owners and has the potential to reduce any mistakes made through traditional waiter service. Like Paperlinks, the system could also be used on takeout menus, opening up its use both inside and outside the premises of the business. QR codes are just one way we’ve seen menu ordering moving into the digital realm, with BlackBerry Messenger also being implemented in Malaysian nightclub No Black Tie. Are there any other platforms which could make the ordering process easier?