I went to Chili’s a few weeks ago. Rookie mistake, I know.
But my girlfriend and I were preparing for a road trip and were desperate for any kind of sustenance.
We walked in, and, as no one greeted us at the entrance, just sort of wandered to a nearby table with what appeared to be an iPad anchored to its top. I was confused until the tablet’s screen flashed to life and started telling us about the fabulous deals available on a variety of pseudo-Mexican dishes.
Chili’s recently installed 45,000 tablets in its restaurants across the country to help facilitate ordering and in-restaurant advertising, and presumably to give you something to fiddle around with so you don’t have to talk to the people at your table.
At first, I was a little disgusted. It seemed such a barefaced affront to everything that restaurants and the entire dining ritual are about.
“What happened to hospitality?” I thought, remembering the empty host’s podium and blaring TVs that greeted us. “What happened to the kindly server who calls you ‘hun’ and knows what you’re going to order before asking? What happened to ‘the usual?’”
It made me a little sick at first. But I’m not a Luddite. Tablets are fantastic pieces of technology that can really augment the way we think and act in our daily lives. I’ve met grade schoolers who are just as, if not more, fluent with a touchscreen as with a pen and paper.
And sitting in that restaurant, it was pretty great to punch in my order and have it arrive at my table within 10 minutes, all while never having a waiter interrupt table conversation. The fact that the tablet didn’t tell me it was happy hour and the waiter surprised me with an extra Sam Adams was just the cherry.
Because really, who goes to Chili’s for the great service? We go there because it’s easy, the food’s not terrible and we know we’ll be out of there within the hour.
We shouldn’t hold it against Chili’s that they’ve found their niche and now they’re exploiting it to the best of their resources.
If you want an interesting cast of characters, you can go to Louie’s. If you want great food, you can go to Juban’s. If you want great Mexican food, well, you’re in the wrong city.
If Chili’s wants to become a modern automat, one of those crazy future dreams of the ’50s where business travelers gathered for microwaved hamburgers served via conveyor belt, I say let them.
To borrow a phrase from Don Draper, change is neither good nor bad. It just is.
Gordon Brillon is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Lincoln, R.I.