Way back in 2014, I once built a neat test of a product I wanted. I was CEO of a company that allowed an internet API to interface with bar/restaurant POS systems. We could open/close tabs, make orders, etc..
I always hated closing my tabs at the end of the night at bars since it could frequently take a little while for only a few seconds of work.
So I built an app that detected once you entered a beacon's area, and opened a bar tab for you with your name on it. You'd just go up to the bar and order as if you had a tab open already, and when you were done, you'd leave. If your phone didn't detect the beacon for 15 minutes, it closed the tab with your preferred credit card and tip (which you could edit).
We had a demo going for employees at Local Edition on Market street. It was really cool and worked really well. The issues came that exact position was not very exact at that time and I didn't think it was a feasible product to build and market since the installation of beacons at bars vs gaining users would be difficult.
But for a brief period, I never had to hand my credit card to a stranger or worry about getting stuck 20 minutes trying to close my tab.
If you like the idea, take it and run with it. I'm not going to do it but I feel like people would love it.
This is the first time I realized that restaurant POSes were open to something akin to a plugin. I'm guessing you had to set up everything for your test location. Was it more difficult than you would expect a non technical person to be able to do?
I always hated closing my tabs at the end of the night at bars since it could frequently take a little while for only a few seconds of work.
So I built an app that detected once you entered a beacon's area, and opened a bar tab for you with your name on it. You'd just go up to the bar and order as if you had a tab open already, and when you were done, you'd leave. If your phone didn't detect the beacon for 15 minutes, it closed the tab with your preferred credit card and tip (which you could edit).
We had a demo going for employees at Local Edition on Market street. It was really cool and worked really well. The issues came that exact position was not very exact at that time and I didn't think it was a feasible product to build and market since the installation of beacons at bars vs gaining users would be difficult.
But for a brief period, I never had to hand my credit card to a stranger or worry about getting stuck 20 minutes trying to close my tab.
If you like the idea, take it and run with it. I'm not going to do it but I feel like people would love it.