Group Text Planning – I’ll Pass

The Challenge

While doing some digital housekeeping recently, I came across a text thread from 2020 that’s a great example of the Reservation Fail Syndrome that I’ve been acutely aware of lately. Reading through those old messages, I had to laugh – and also shake my head at this all-too-common problem.

First, a bit of background.

Around 2018 or so, serendipity brought together a group of new friends and we all really enjoyed hanging out with each other. Unfortunately, one member of this newfound tribe eventually moved out of town.

So, when she finally returned for a visit, we all wanted to get together for dinner. This led to a loooong thread of text messages as we tried to figure out logistics.

We had to make decisions on a number of fronts:

• Who to include in the party?
• What restaurant would be best?
• Which location (if the restaurant is a chain)?
• What day to get together?
• What time should we meet?

One of our friends offered to call the restaurant in advance for seating, once we had a head count. But of course, we discovered (45 minutes before meeting) that the restaurant we chose does not offer call-ahead seating.

Instead, customers must check in at the host stand and then they are given a pager that lets them know when their table is ready.  Other than a rough estimate offered by the host (after intense interrogation – they’re always reluctant to make any promises), a party has no idea how long their wait will be. And hanging around a crowded entrance or lingering outside in the cold, heat, or rain is no one’s idea of a good time.

It struck me, looking at that old text thread, what a lot of work we had to go through just to meet for a meal. So many confusing details, unknowns, and time spent waiting for responses from everyone! Each of us had to carefully monitor the ongoing text conversation in order to have any idea what was happening.

EnRoute™ by Floqque is going to change all that.

The Solution

There are three big ways that EnRoute will change everything about arranging a get-together or dinner with friends at a service provider, making the experience easy and fun while eliminating uncertainties.

Check out these innovations:

1. Open the EnRoute app to see a bird's eye view of restaurants in your area that offer our new method of call-ahead seating. 
2. Once you decide where to go, the organizer will create an event in the app, and invites people to join the event. This provides a single location with the latest on who, where, when, and what time. It also allows attendees to communicate any changes to their availability or party size.
3. On the day of the event, each attendee will click a button to indicate they are on their way.  GPS functionality estimates arrivals and notifies the staff and other attendees of any delays. 
4. When you are close, you can check in through the app and avoid crowding around the host(ess) stand.
5. Your priority moves up and your group will be notified when the host(ess) is ready to seat your party.

The trouble with traditional reservations – and even with call-ahead seating – is that they are essentially advance plans that can be disrupted by any number of unforeseen circumstances.

In contrast, EnRoute is mission control for your event. It uses technology that responds in real time. From the moment when you select a window of time for seating at the restaurant, you and the restaurant’s staff (as well as your guests) share a dedicated channel for communications all the way up until you’re seated at your table.

Pretty slick, huh? Subscribe below to stay informed of our progress as we finalize the build and roll out this amazing new tool!