How many times have you tried to flag down a restaurant server to order another food item or drink? How many times have you been in a hurry to leave but had to wait around for your check?
Frank Estadt, owner of Waldo’s BBQ & Catering in Mesa and Gilbert, thinks he’s found a solution.
Estadt and partner Aaron Zeper have developed and launched a mobile app called Servd. It replaces, or at least supplements, servers at a sit-down restaurant.
‘‘I had the idea about nine months ago when I noticed that my third-party delivery apps showed significantly higher guest check averages than my human employees achieve,’’ he says.
‘‘I actually looked around to buy a tech product that could deliver the same results in a dine-in situation. To my astonishment, no one had this or was even working on it.’’
Using the free Servd app on their phones, diners no longer wait to be seated, wait for a server, or wait for the check. On the other side of the equation, restaurant owners can promote specials, increase sales, and save on labor costs.
‘‘Like many restaurant operators, I have been greatly impacted by the minimum wage increases in recent years in Arizona,’’ Estadt says.
Although there are numerous apps that allow restaurants to accept orders, process payments, or market themselves, Servd delivers all those features in one app.
‘‘The app was released about three months ago and has worked incredibly well inside Waldo’s BBQ,’’ Estadt says. ‘‘After a couple of version tweaks, we began marketing the app to other restaurants last week and have signed two other establishments already.’’
Restaurant owners interested in learning more about Servd can email sales@eatservd.com or call 480-382-3003.
