Since I was eighteen I was always working behind a bar, pouring pints, making cocktails, and making sure people have a good time (and one they hopefully could remember). Throughout this part-time career my work tended to revolve around face-to-face transactions with a customer. A little small talk, here, the pouring of a drink over there; yet, this changed in 2017. At the time I was working in Falmouth Wetherspoon’s and that year they introduce their ‘order and pay’ app (Griffin, 2017, para. 2). The worry for me was that such an app, as an extension of McDonaldization, would kill the relationship between the barman and customer (Ritzer, 2011, sixth ed.).
Initially the app didn’t seem to do much, as the people still came to the bar, especially our older clientele. However, as the app became more popular, more and more people would order their food and drinks from their tables. In this case, we would simply read a number off a screen and the order, where we would make it, and let one of the waiter’s take it over. Suddenly I felt alone, in a job which historically thrived off conversation. It was not long before I left.
Looking at this from my current perspective, it is evident that this was a system designed to increase the efficiency of orders and the swiftness of service. No longer did consumers have to stand up and wait at the bar, as they could now order their drinks from the comfort of their own phone. Moreover, all payments are made online, and as such day-to-day financial checks can be done at a much faster rate. In this sense, I wouldn’t be surprised if Wetherspoon’s in the future went completely cashless, as contactless transactions remove the time-consuming element of managers cashing up.
In addition, when reflecting upon this, following the ideas of Douglas Adams, and his statement concerning new technology, it is evident that I was very reluctant to accept these new social changes that stemmed from a new app (Adams, 2003, p. 95). However, it has proved successful and is still used today. My question then is how long till such technologies kills the barman?
Bibliography:
Adams, D. (2003). The Salmon of Doubt. London.
Griffin, A. (2017). Wetherspoon’s ‘Order and Pay’ App is the Future – Not Just of Pubs but of the World. Retrieved January 26, 2019 from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/wetherspoon-order-and-pay-pub-iphone-android-automation-a7623591.html.
Ritzer, G. (2011). The McDonaldization of Society (sixth ed.). London.
Digtial Business Models 
Very interesting! I wonder if there’s a way to combine the best of both worlds. I hate standing at the bar, hoping that at some point a bartender will notice me among all the other people clambering for a drink. I’ve even seen in some British bars that people form a queue in front of the bar (this seems very English indeed to me!). At the same time, conversations had with bartenders can be really great, and I can imagine that it’s a wonderful part of the job for the bartender themselves. In some bars, recommendations from the bartender can make the night – particularly in your fancy cocktail bar where you really have no idea where to even start. On another note, a bar recently opened in Prague, where I’m from, that doesn’t have bartenders at all. Instead, they have a complicated robot system that takes orders, pours and delivers drinks. Gimmick or vision of the future: https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-czech-robotic-bar/welcome-to-pragues-wonderful-robot-saloon-idUKKCN1NX2CR?
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Hi Jon,
Shame this new initiative lead you to falling out of love with your job, obviously the pub chain will point to more efficiently and less time waiting for customers to make up their mind, customers will also point to not having to wait at a crowded bar (a tedious task sometimes). However in a ‘local’ pub everyone still talks to each other! I don’t think it spells the end for bar staff however!
There is the idea of slight distrust in some technology, an example being where an Amazon robot put 24 workers in hospital by setting off bear repellent! Some people may worry that a glitch in the app may lead to them the wrong order or if they have specific needs that an app can’t account for that! Either way on the plus side, technophobes will still want to talk!
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Hi Jon, I really enjoyed reading your post- it made me stop and think about my own experience in bars and pubs. I must confess to using the Weatherspoons app, however, I do agree with you in the fact that the social aspect of the experience is lost. You mentioned that older clientele did not engage with the app initially- did you observe a change? If not, do you think that there is possibility that they ever will? I read this article (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180312091715.htm) about older people and their relationship with technology. One of the critical findings was that older people felt a sense of social responsbility and that this sense means that they limit their online interactions. Do you think that this relates to the food and drinks industry? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Thanks, Katharine (https://katharinesblog.home.blog)
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I found this really interesting, my initial engagement stemmed from my limited knowledge about both Steam and Valve. It was fascinating to learn that Steam was able to centralise the online gaming market back in 2006/2007 through the online marketplace, offering consumers the option to download games at their ease, launching them into the digital sphere of the gaming world. I agree with the overall message of your blog showing that Valve’s business model has certainly set standards in the gaming industry. However, similarly to the end note of your blog, I feel they may have to start becoming more innovative to avoid succumbing to the mass amount of new launchers and sites being created. Furthermore, they need to create a stronger product quality check within Valve’s digital content policy for Steam, to review what games they allow. I say this because recently they have allowed some catastrophically controversial games, giving them nothing but bad publicity, such as one of their recent releases I found reports on here: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-03-05-steam-is-in-the-rape-fantasy-business-opinion
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