Not only will OpenTable find you a meal, it will let you pay your bill with your phone.
Credit: Provided
Now that home cooking is being taken over by computers (see our main story), it’s time for restaurants to feature even less human interaction. The app OpenTable already bypassed any need to speak to some lowly maitre d’ over the phone. Now it’s added another feature: you can now store a credit card, so you don’t have to stoop to requesting the bill from the person waiting on you.
Now, now, let’s not get all luddite here. Restaurants are still in the stone age, technologically speaking — at least they were, a week ago. With this new addition, you can not only pay your bill (and tip) over your phone. You can check on your check at any point during the bill, making sure you’re not getting charged for that weird experimental soft shell crab dish you didn’t order. Throw in not having to wait for a slow waiter to bring the bill and that’s technology working for the good, not just the lazy or stranger-phobic.
Enjoy it while it lasts, though: The service may be free, but according to The Wall Street Journal, OpenTable CEO Matt Roberts said he “hopes to eventually” profit from mobile payments — whatever that means, exactly. And perhaps you’ll long for the days where you were stuck nipping on your last remaining drops of wine, making awkward small talk with the person you will never date again while a stressed-out waitress got high in the bathroom.
Follow Matt Prigge on Twitter @mattprigge
