We went to a seaside restaurant last week. No bookings were taken we had to queue outside and download an app to order. We were told food would take 45 min. We did this, ordered, paid, got confirmation message via the app and receipts via emails and our drinks came quickly and food came within that timescale.
However some friends went there. When they ordered they didnt get the confirmation message via the app. She checked with waiting staff, and they checked with the kitchen and said their order had been received. After half an hour waiting with no drinks, they checked again only to be told the order hadnt gone through, and they would have to order again, and there was a 1hr wait for food. When friend complained she was told to send an email! So they left and ate elsewhere.
It made me wonder (I'm not techie at all) what happens when things go wrong. I would have hoped the staff could apologise and cook their food quickly and maybe give a discount.....but can they refund or discount if payments are via the app? Is the app external from the restaurant itself? Likewise if your meal had been poor, or you did not get what you ordered, in a normal restaurant it would be discretionary whether they gave you a discount off the bill.
The staff in the restaurant all looked quite young (teen/twentysomethings) and while I felt my friends got pretty poor service, I felt sorry for the staff too, if they did not have the facility to resolve problems if everything is done via app, or whether they had had any instruction on what to do in these scenarios.