Booking dinner, with a side order of social media

April 4, 2014

Ok! I’m going to share with you all what I honestly believe the power, potential and future social media could be (but you’ve got to promise that you’ll continue reading- as what I am about to say is a little “out there”).

Social media has the power to change how we do “everyday” activities and the potential to make all our lives easier and more efficient.

There I’ve said it- I guess I better back-up this claim. Communication is at the heart of everything we do, whether that is making a phone call, sending an email or even a Snapchat. We all have daily communications with a friend, family member or sometimes a complete stranger.

There is no reason why we can’t (and in in some cases already do) substitute slow and traditional everyday tasks and processes with new and efficient ones. I think the driving force behind this change can be social media.

Let’s take booking a restaurant as the perfect example. I know booking a restaurant really isn’t a lot of effort, pick-up the phone, dial a number, speak to someone at the restaurant, tell them how many people you’d like to book for, what time and what day. EASY…sometimes this is not so straight forward. What happens if they don’t have any availability? Do you have time to call the restaurant when you’re busy at work?

Why not send them a tweet? 140 characters to book a restaurant- now that is EASY!

Agreed- not all restaurants will be able to provide this service but the ones that do hold a competitive advantage over others.

Here are a few examples of how I was able to book a table at a number of pubs and restaurants. You’ll see that the larger chains did not offer the social booking service but they were able to offer me the information needed to make a booking over the telephone.

The Lighthouse, Battersea

@PeteKnott1 hi Pete yes we’re showing all the games, would you like us to reserve a table for you? #6nations

— The Lighthouse SW11 (@lighthousesw11) February 12, 2014

Wagamama, UK

@PeteKnott1 hey pete, we only take bookings for a minimum of 6, but you should be fine to get a seat when you arrive on wednesday — wagamama uk (@wagamama_uk) March 17, 2014

Pizza Express, UK

@PeteKnott1 Hi Pete, I’m afraid not – but here is a link to our online booking service: https://t.co/oyZ1qIsgOy — PizzaExpress (@PizzaExpress) March 17, 2014

The Plough, Clapham

@PeteKnott1 what time for Pete?

— ThePloughStJohnsHill (@ThePloughSW11) March 17, 2014

I hope small changes like this will encourage other industries to make the step from being a great company to an efficient social company. We will have to wait and see…

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