Image courtesy of Ziosk

Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurant chain has opted for tabletop tablets in 823 of its company-owned Chili’s restaurants. The impressive the rollout is the largest of its kind in the US with more than 45,000 tablets being installed.

Austen Mulinder, CEO of Ziosk comments: “This rollout marks the first time a restaurant company has installed communal tablets at this scale…guests at nearly every Chili’s in the country can place orders, play games and pay their bills from our tabletop tablets.”

The seven-inch tablets, by partner Ziosk, let Chilis’ guests browse the menu, order drinks and desserts, and pay their bill without any staff assistance. Entertainment features have also been built into the tablets such as, news from USA Today, interactive games, links to Facebook and a built in camera that connects to social media like Facebook. As a security measure, the tablet cannot hold any on screen information and as soon as payment has been processed, it automatically deletes all the data entered by the guest(s) at the table, and re- sets ready for the next guest. The biggest benefit of the tablet for customers, apart from having control over their order, is the instant ordering that saves customers having to get the server’s attention.

As a result of the rollout Ziosk now commands 95% of the installed tabletop menu, ordering, entertainment and payment market, totalling over 55,000 tablets across 46 states and more than 1,000 restaurants. Ziosk reports that 80% of guests in a Ziosk-enabled restaurant use the tablet, and over 60% of credit card users opt to pay their check through Ziosk.

“Ziosk has proven to be a strong partner during the rollout process,” says Wyman Roberts, CEO and president of Brinker International and president of Chili’s Grill & Bar. “We’ve just begun to tap into the potential of Ziosk, giving Chili’s guests the ability to take control of their dining experience like never before. Additionally, we’re getting immediate, valuable feedback that helps us improve our performance.”