The iBeacon from Apple will be used to help to provide regular customers the experience they want.
In Germany, the managers of upscale restaurants take great pride in their ability to recall the names of the majority of their regular customers and to be able to remember each of their preferences in terms of seating, drinks, and meals, and now geolocation technology will be used to help to give them a bit of an edge.
This location based tech will remind them of the diner’s favorite table, the dishes they order most, and more.
The Mook Group, which owns five high end restaurants is now testing the geolocation technology from Apple called iBeacon. The owner of the company, Christian Mook, will be using this technology to track the customers who enter one of his restaurants. Should this prove to be effective, he intends to roll it out into the remaining four locations, as well.
The geolocation technology will only work with the customers who have downloaded the app.
The app uses location based tech in order to detect when the guest has entered the restaurant and tracks how much time that individual actually spends within the restaurant. It also uses a type of ranking system that will reward that individual for his or her loyalty. According to Mook, he is hopeful that it will also be able to track additional information, in the future, such as indoor location, the items that are ordered, and the amount that is being paid by any given customer.
This entire effort is being made for the purpose of being able to provide additional services to regular customers, and to improve those that already exist.
The iBeacon element of the app functions through beacon pods that are installed throughout the restaurant location. This uses low energy Bluetooth technology to identify when a customer has entered the restaurant, and then it tracks that individual’s location to within an accuracy of five to ten inches. The app merely needs to be downloaded and installed in order to work with the geolocation technology of the iBeacon pods. It does not have to be opened and activated.
