Many tourists who visit London are fascinated by the efficiency of the transport system, the grandeur of the buildings, or the resilience of the locals to a lack of sunlight.
On my recent trip to the United Kingdom, however, I was most impressed with a mobile app which allowed me to order food and drinks in a pub.
Immediately upon arriving, I was struck by the ubiquity of smartphone-based interaction, Wi-Fi hotspots, contactless payments, and other technological amenities which have yet to penetrate South Africa’s urban centres outside of certain shopping centres.
The perfect summary of this was the first night I spent in London when we visited a local pub for dinner.
At the suggestion of my local friends, we took a train to a Wetherspoon-owned pub. Wetherspoon is a UK company which owns pubs and hotels, with each of its properties operating under their own name.
Upon finding a table, I was prepared to brave the queues at the bar (many pubs in England have no table service – you must order food and drinks at the bar) before my friend chimed in with some unexpected advice:
“Don’t queue at the bar, it’s so much easier if you order using the app.”
Using the app
I’m no stranger to ordering food on my phone – I open Uber Eats more than my fridge – but it seemed counterproductive to order food through an app while at the venue where the food is made.
I was curious, however, and promptly downloaded the Wetherspoon app using the pub’s Wi-Fi.
The app allows you to register in a matter of seconds and after entering your credit card details, you are ready to order.
Each table at the pub had a number affixed to it, and by entering this into the app and choosing from the selection of food and drinks on the menu, I was able to place my order in just a few taps.
In the time it had taken the app-less patrons to reach the bar and order, I had already received my burger and beer delivered to my table without speaking to any service staff.
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