In Italy, restaurants are encouraging their customers to forget their smartphone for the duration of a meal to really enjoy the moment. But to convince them to try the experiment, they have no other choice than to promise rewards…
Some will consider this initiative as a good plan, either to save money, or to learn to detach yourself (a little) from your smartphone… While using a cell phone has become as common as having the keys to at home in your pocket – according to the latest Arcep barometer, 87% of French people have a smartphone while 92% of them use it to surf the Internet, this everyday companion is becoming the target of restaurateurs who see it as an obstacle to the smooth running of a meal. Not content with making it an element of their communication, they use it as an argument to encourage their customers to digital detox.
90% of customers would have tried this digital detox
Opened on March 21, an Italian restaurant located in Verona has even installed lockers, like those available in hotels to house the most precious personal effects, in which consumers can store their smartphone during dinner. Many titles in the Italian press such as Corriere or the Gambero Rosso gastronomic guide have echoed this. This initiative is not obligatory, it is incentive. But, as a result, customers who agree to part with their device benefit from free wine. All you have to do is show the key to the locker to get the bottle, a red wine made from South African Pinot Noir (those waiting to sip a Barolo will no doubt be disappointed). 90% of consumers have already tested the experience, according to the owner of Al Condominio, who spoke to the Guardian.
When the smartphone spoils the tasting
In Tuscany, we make the same observation: the smartphone ruins the dinner experience. This is why the Separè 1968 restaurant located in Cecina decided to persuade its customers to put down their smartphones to obtain vouchers! According to owner Niccolo D'Andrea, concentrating on the contents of your plate without being bothered by the presence of your smartphone allows you to increase your tastes tenfold. In Europe too, we are tempted by the experience. At the start of the year, a restaurateur in Albi even took inspiration from the alcohol-free month (dry January) to adapt it to mobile phone use. At Samy's Diner, customers had the choice of placing their devices in a basket at the end of the table, giving them the opportunity to get a free coffee or tea.
Good in his body, good in his head!
Fight addiction with gifts
However laudable they may be, these initiatives still go against the grain of new uses in restaurants where the smartphone is increasingly becoming the tool of choice for reading a card or a menu in establishments that have adopted the QR code. and avoid printing paper. But we must also conclude by reminding that the approach is neither of European origin nor reserved for independent restaurateurs. Already in 2016, the American fast-food chain Chick-fil-A offered its customers the opportunity to abandon their cell phones to eat their fried chicken menu and thus obtain a free dessert. Proof that smartphone addiction is not new…
