how does restaurant pagers work?

Question

I eat at various restaurants, some with longer waits than others but I'm always curious as to how the pager/buzzer works that lights up after a certain amount of time. Does the host(es) set a time on the pager regardless of the table ready or just click on a computer to activate that specific pager to alert you the table is ready..

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi,

There are a number of ways that the customer pager you will have been given can be activated. Most restaurants use a simple transmitter at the hostess station to call the pager. Each pager either has a sticker with the pagers number on it or new systems such as Pager Call Systems customer pagers http://www.pagercall.co.uk/products/GuestCall-IQ.asp have LED Number displays. When the hostess handed you the pager they will have taken a note of the pager number, all they need to do is key in the number on the transmitter and hit send and your pager will begin to vibrate and flash.



Many modern restaurant paging systems can also be connected to the restaurants reservation system, this way the hostess enters your name into the reservation system and records the pager number on the system at the same time. Then its just a case of clicking (or touching with a touch screen system) your name and you are instantly alerted by your guest pager, you can see this system here http://blog.pagercall.co.uk/2010/02/pager-call-systems-partners-with-logwood-to-deliver-integrated-restaurant-solutions/.



If you would like to know how they work and what they look like inside take a look at this website http://www.howstuffworks.com/restaurant-pager.htm. Its better than taking one apart at your local restaurant :)

Answer 2

Restaurant Pagers

Answer 3

The host has to keep track on a separate paper list of names, party sizes, the order that they came in, the quoted wait time (sometimes), and the buzzer number. Then he has to enter the pager number into a base unit to activate the buzzer when he is ready to summon one of the parties on that list. That is a lot of work and hassle for the host just to manage the list, let alone to deal with the customers who keep coming up and asking "how much longer", since the buzzer can't tell them; all it can do is buzz.



Wouldn't it be nice if the host could just enter the customer's cell phone # into a computer, and then have the computer text or call them when their table is ready? Even better, wouldn't it be nice if the customer could call that system any time to find out how much longer their expected wait will be, and to push themselves back in line if they need more time? There's a system that does all of this and more called QLess.



Check out http://waitinginlinesucks.com/coasters for more information on all of the other problems with coaster pagers that QLess eliminates, like limited range, expensive replacement costs, and health issues from all of the bacteria that end up on coaster pagers.

Answer 4

it works like a cell phone/normal pager, there's a master transmitter that sends out a signal to the pager when the table is ready. To page a customer, the hostess enters the numeric code for that pager into the master transmitter. (the id number would be simple like anywhere from 1-40) kind of like dialing a phone number with only 2 digits