Olive Garden announced it has entered into an agreement with Ziosk, makers of an ordering, entertainment, and pay-at-the-table tablet, to begin the introduction of tabletop tablets in all of its restaurants nationwide.
Olive Garden has been testing Ziosk in a select number of its restaurants since last year, and the feedback from guests and servers has been positive. These restaurants are experiencing higher guest satisfaction scores, faster dining times, and increased tip percentages for servers.
Starting in May, Olive Garden will begin a phased rollout of Ziosk tablets into additional restaurants. The program will be supported by robust in-restaurant training to ensure this implementation reaches its full potential of enhancing the overall experience for guests and team members.
Olive Garden expects Ziosk tablets to be in all of its 800-plus U.S. locations before the end of the calendar year.
"We've been focused on improving the dining experience at every touch point, and we're excited to give our guests the ability to customize their visit by leveraging the technology of Ziosk's tabletop tablets," says Dave George, Olive Garden president. "This additional resource benefits both our guests and our servers, enabling our team members to make more meaningful connections and provide more personalized service."
Using Ziosk's 7-inch touchscreen tablets that run on the Android OS, Olive Garden guests will be able to browse the menu, order drinks, appetizers, and desserts, and quickly pay their checks with ease.
Ziosk tablets also feature news from USA Today and interactive activities such as zTrivia, a Ziosk-developed game updated bi-weekly with questions from current news and events, designed to bring family and friends together as they share a meal.
"Olive Garden provides guests a warm, family atmosphere that promotes the same kind of togetherness the communal entertainment on Ziosk tablets is designed to foster," says Austen Mulinder, Ziosk CEO. "We are thrilled to partner with a restaurant that shares our vision for using technology to encourage fun and interaction over a great shared meal."
