Team Name
Q-UP
Timeline
Spring 2021 – Summer 2021
Students
- Parker Brooks
- Robbie Frazier
- Kristina Pham
- Sarina Sanjel
Abstract
Q-UP is a system that provides restaurant management the ability to order and fast-track reservations and customers waiting on tables. Counter this, it provides a system for restaurant goers to queue up to wait for a table and know when their table will be available to remove the hassle of waiting in long lines to be seated. Management users of Q-UP will be able to manage reservations, give the best fitting tables to users in line and provide more accurate wait times for their customers. Restaurant patrons using Q-UP will be able to reserve a table for their party, know how long of a wait they will be faced with and wait in line anywhere instead of in a crowd at the restaurant due to Q-UP’s estimated wait time and table ready notification systems. The focused user for this product is the end user, referred to as Restaurant patrons, however restaurants will need the product for users to use it there, so having management features will be a benefit of our product extending the user base to the restaurants using Q-UP.
Background
Currently, the only true measures of knowing if a restaurant will have a wait time for a table is unreliable Google Maps data and patrons past knowledge and experience given the time, location, and day. When a customer arrives and is greeted with a long line they have two options, turn around and find somewhere else to eat or traverse the crowded line to make it to the maitre d’ to be placed in the “20 minute” queue for a table. This short 20 minute wait can turn into 30 to 40 minutes of waiting in a crowded lobby in no time. With current waiting a solutions, customers are at the liberty of a vibrating disc that tells them to return to the front desk. There are no updates, no time estimates other than the one given to them when the disc is received. If something happens to lengthen or shorten the wait there is no way of updating the customer. With all that being said, there are major issues that may arise for a restaurant for both customer decisions.
In the case that the customer leaves before checking on wait time, there is loss of potential business. While a line may look long, there is not always a wait. All too often people are waiting for other members of their party to show up before getting seated. On a busy Friday night, this looks similar to a long line that may turn some patrons away. Even though a customer turning away here and there may not have a major effect on the nights profits, every loss of potential customer adds up. With a solution to better manage wait and especially the perception of waiting, an increase in clientele is likely to happen.
In the case the customer decides to wait, this could tailor the patron into having a negative encounter with the establishment. Having to wait in a crowded lobby where the wait may take longer than estimated could set off a chain reaction that may lose the potential business. Also in current times where many restaurants are at limited capacity due to Covid-19 and state orders lines are longer and waiting in restaurant lobbies is potentially dangerous for both customers and staff. Mitigating wait in house could not only increase profits but allow for businesses to operate in a safer manner given ever changing health guidelines.
Project Requirements
- Display list of participating local restaurants
- Display wait times at local restaurants
- Allow patrons to join a restaurant waitlist remotely
- Allow patrons to view their position and remaining wait time on the waitlist
- Protect patrons’ privacy from other patrons viewing the waitlist
- Notify patron when their table is ready
- Allow restaurants to modify their floor plan and table availability
- Allow restaurants to add walk-in users to the same waitlist
- Determine the optimal table for each party to minimize wait times for all parties
- Function on all internet-connected mobile devices
System Overview
System Architecture Diagram
Results
Demo video
Source code repository (link)
Future Work
- The public website needs to be hosted and APKs added to app stores
- The restaurant floor plan needs further development
- The core wait time logic needs to be developed
Project Files
Project Charter (link)
System Requirements Specification (link)
Architectural Design Specification (link)
Detailed Design Specification (link)
Poster (link)
