JFK Airport: iPad Café
There was an interesting thing I noticed while traveling home this holiday season. When we got off the plane at JFK Terminal 3, there was a café with long countertops filled with iPads. Upon closer look, I realized the iPad had the sole function of receiving the customers order. So I could sit down, tap on the screen to order my food, and wait a few minutes until the waiter arrived. On the downside, the iPad did nothing else. There was no way to close out of the menu screen and bump up my Cut the Rope score.
I did a quick number crunch to figure out the economic advantage if using an iPad as a dedicated kiosk. On the one hand there is the option of creating a traditional kiosk; hire a design firm to create the interaction and visual design of the menu software, spec out the hardware including cpu and touchscreen, a programmer to write the code, hire a fabricator to create the kiosk shell and wrap it. And then have the whole contraption installed. On the other hand there is the option of creating an iPad app, which could be done by one of many nimble design and technology companies cropping up these days (or a freelancer like me!), and a means to secure the device down. It seems clear that each menu station might be a few hundred or thousand dollars less than a traditional kiosk. And from a design POV, I would much prefer to create an experience on an iPad then have to work with a subpar CPU or touchscreen which often yields problems that involve screen resolution, processing delays, and a lot of debugging after installation.
But what’s really interesting here is not the technology itself, but the decision to have people order from directly their seats without having a server take their initial order. As far as service design is concerned, I can see this being a major advantage in crowded airports, and when customers want their food ASAP. They can belly up to the counter, tap in the order (instead of waiting for a server), and in a few minutes the order is out. It’s a good model for that environment. However, on the day we showed up, there were a lot of people crowded nearby, but very few people at the counters making it a bit of a wasted space. If people don’t want to order or eat, they were pushed off to the side to talk on their cellphones or pull out their laptops. It would have been great to use the iPad for all those other things we travelers like to do. I imagine that would make the space more useful and flexible.
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- Café countertops
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- Power source
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- Menu close up
