They still don't at the three Chilis that I frequent in my area. They still use the original Ziosk equipment.

They're not supposed to upgrade until next year from their Apple Pay announcement.

I went to a Chili's with a tablet at the table, and when it was time to pay, the machine automatically put the tip % at 18% including tax. I was mortified that a computer was trying to rip me off, so I reduced it to 10%. And I haven't been back either. Every so often I give this asinine industry another chance and every time they fail. Screw it, I'll just eat at home forever. :mad:

It suggested a particular percentage and let you adjust it down or up as desired. I don't see the problem here, nor why the server should be punished for something that's likely beyond their control*.

* If Chili's is anything like Olive Garden, they probably have or will soon have a corporate policy requiring use of the Ziosks for all card payments.

A couple of our local Uno's have the Ziosks, but most people avoid using them.

Agreed. The Ziosk wasn't trying to "rip off" anyone; it simply puts a big, obvious slider on the screen so you can choose your tip amount, but instead of setting it to 0% it sets it to 18% by default. I don't have a problem with that at all; it's not sneaky or uynderhanded, and I don't even feel that it's coercion, much less an attempt at ripping off the customer, because 18% is the most common percentage used by American restaurant patrons today. I simply adjust it to my preferred level and continue.

I'm a big fan of the Ziosk and any similar equipment that might hit the scene, so I wouldn't have any objection to that policy. In fact, I'd be in favor of it - using the Ziosk for credit and debit transactions not only speeds up the payment process, it also reduces the work load on servers, which gives them more available time to actually serve food, and most importantly, the pay at the table means that you keep your card under your control at all times, just like when you pay for a purchase in a retail establishment.

I'd like to see better options for splitting checks, and of course I'd like to see upgrades to accept chip-based cards, but I can be patient as long as my cards maintain the magnetic strips for backward compatibility.

Why is that, do you think? They're pretty much limited to Chillis in Maryland, so I don't have a lot of exposure to others using or avoiding them.

For me at least, I find them incredibly distracting while actually eating. Maybe if there was a way to turn off the display until it's time to use it, I'd like them a bit better--on my last trip to Olive Garden I put the Ziosk face-down on the table to solve that issue.

I agree and also hate giving up table real estate to one more item I don't need or use but once a visit. I usually set it next to me if I'm seated at a booth.

So apparently there's at least one restaurant (in Miami) that has the European-style portable terminals now. I'm curious to see if anyone else's run into that anywhere else in the US yet. In my experience since the thread was last active, there are still very few restaurants around here that even do chip, let alone portable terminals.

I finally ran into a restaurant with pay at the table in the US today. To be honest, I think I prefer servers just leaving the terminal at the table and picking it up when done. This particular place held the tablet while we were paying, which looked pretty uncomfortable for the server and maybe a bit more awkward than it should have been for the guests. They also didn't bother printing out a paper check and simply brought the tablet when we asked for it; doing the former first probably would have reduced the awkwardness a bit.

Anyone else run into such a restaurant yet in your domestic travels?

There's at least one here, an independent tapas place we've eaten at 3 or 4 times. The manager brings her iPad to the table. You are able to review the bill in detail on the screen first. Then the app has you select a tip% and sign while she pretends to look away. There doesn't seem to be a means of providing a paper or emailed receipt so I am forced to write myself a note on my phone. This whole process is awkward and will have to improve if we are to continue patronizing the restaurant.

That's an online service/app that a lot of independent places user. I have seen it not only at food stands, but also some small stores, too. A cheap alternative to regular credit card agreements. I have seen it at a number of events, too.

Unos has the pay at the table Zooks, as does Friendly's

She might have been wary of leaving something that can be easily stolen and sold with guests. Or even just worried that a guest would drop it and shatter the screen. They really should be using stuff that's more durable for this sort of thing.

What's the service called?

Here in Dubai, there are some instances where the pin is required but the machine cannot be moved because battery is low or something or it's behind a counter at a takeaway place. People will simply tell the pin to the cashier.

On this topic though, I don't really have any preference and I never thought about it until now. I guess from a security standpoint, I do prefer to have it done at the table.

Ro

It may be Square. It's popular in Canada and is apparently also available in the US and a few other countries. There is a small card reader that can be attached to an iPad and customers sign on screen with their finger.