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TECHNOLOGY Friday 12 May 2017

Restaurants use technology to nudge us into spending more

NEW YORK (AP) — Restau- taurants, which let people
rant chains are making it order food and pay for their
easier to order food with a meals, can have a similar
few taps of the screen — so effect. Ziosk, the company
much so that you may lose that makes the devices
sight of how much you’re available at chains includ-
spending. ing Chili’s and Olive Gar-
The convenience den, said restaurants see
that technology offers may more orders of dessert and
make us less vigilant about appetizers with Ziosk devic-
how much we’re buying. es. Dessert orders also tend
Digital ordering also lets to have more coffees at-
companies better track tached to them, said Ziosk
our spending habits, and CEO Austen Mulinder.
may lead to increasingly “The Ziosk will always re-
personalized offers that are member to ask, ‘Do you
more likely to catch our at- want to add coffee to
tention. that?’” he said.
Digital ordering helps you Most restaurants that use
find more of the things you Ziosk devices use them to
want, but it’s worth under- let people order appetiz-
standing the other side ers, desserts and drinks.
of the equation: Some- With entrees, Mulinder said
times, technology is an it makes more sense for a
opportunity to get you to In this May 5, 2017, photo, a Ziosk tablet displays an appetizer a customer can order at a Chili’s server to take the order,
spend more. restaurant in Andover, Mass. rather than having people
DOMINO’S Associated Press passing around a device.
About 60 percent of Dom- Chili’s has cited other ben-
ino’s orders now come ing. That can result in peo- ple might be asked if they tent. efits of Ziosk, including the
through the chain’s web- ple getting another pizza want to “cheese it up,” or “The computer never feels collection of customer
site, app and other digi- topping, or adding sides. add drinks near checkout. rushed, the computer nev- spending data. The de-
tal channels. And people “They tend to upsell them- Employees taking orders er feels rejection person- vices also generate money
tend to order more online selves,” McIntyre said of by phone are also encour- ally,” he said, noting that from games that people
than over the phone, says online customers. aged to suggest extras — a some employees might be can play while waiting.
Domino’s spokesman Tim Domino’s also has prompts tactic known as “upselling” shyer than others. That revenue more than
McIntyre — likely because during the ordering pro- or “suggestive selling.” But CHILI’S, OLIVE GARDEN offsets the cost of the de-
they can browse the menu cess. Once a pizza is or- McIntyre says the human Tabletop tablets being vices in most cases, Mu-
and take their time decid- dered, for instance, peo- attempts aren’t as consis- used at some sit-down res- linder says.q

Apple plans $1 billion expansion at data center in Nevada

SCOTT SONNER lot in downtown Reno that new $1 billion fund aimed The 5-year-old $1 billion nomic development suc-
Associated Press will make it eligible for mil- at creating more U.S. man- data center is located in cess in northern Nevada
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Apple lions of dollars in tax breaks. ufacturing jobs, but pro- the Reno Technology Cen- and helped place this
announced plans Wednes- “We’re excited to be in- vided few details. As part ter near the Tracy gen- region on the technol-
day for a $1 billion expan- creasing our contributions of a strategy emphasizing erating station along U.S. ogy and innovation map.”
sion of its massive data to the local economy with its role in the U.S. economy, Interstate 80. It’s between “Apple’s decision to in-
center east of Reno, dou- an additional $1 billion in- it also released a state-by- Reno and the Tahoe Reno crease their local invest-
bling its investment and vestment to expand our state breakdown of where Industrial Center where Tes- ment by $1 billion is a tes-
roughly tripling its workforce data center and support- its 80,000 U.S. employees la’s giant battery factory is tament to our successful
at the technology campus ing facilities,” Apple spokes- work — more than half in based about 15 miles (24 partnership and a demon-
where company officials man John Rosenstock said California’s Silicon Valley. km) east of Reno-Sparks. stration that the best com-
expect to hire 100 addition- in an email to The Associ- Apple currently has more Apple was awarded $89 panies in the world are
al workers. The announce- ated Press. “As part of our than 700 workers in Ne- million in state property coming to Nevada, creat-
ment came as the Reno growth, we plan to hire 100 vada, which Rosentock and sales tax abatements ing hundreds of jobs, invest-
City Council approved employees and expect said is home to the com- when it committed to the ing in our communities and
Apple’s plans to build a $4 construction will support an pany’s largest solar invest- data center in 2012. making our state their per-
million shipping and receiv- additional 300 jobs.” Last ment, “powering our data Gov. Brian Sandoval said manent home,” he said in
ing warehouse on a vacant week, Apple announced a center with clean energy.” it was “the first major eco- a statement Wednesday.q