CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Menu plays an integral role in the restaurant industries as it serves as a communication tool between the kitchen and the customer. It presents the available foods and drinks within the restaurant and their respective prices to the customers.

Though menu is found in most of the restaurant worldwide but the mode, type and method differs from restaurant to restaurant base on location, type of the targeted customers and the standard of the restaurant. These include the human menu; which makes use of verbal communication between the customer and the waiter in which the waiter verbally tells the customer the available food and the customer make his choice verbally also without any documentation. The paper menu; this type of menu, uses the pen, the paper printed with the available food and the customer make use of the pen to make his or her choice. Lastly the digital/electronic menu; this is the most accurate and efficient type which deploys information and communication technology facilities to perform its functions.

Businesses in hospitality industry based on food services have grown significantly worldwide. In the last few years where many restaurants have opted to offering various types of menus for the customer, this has increased the competition in the hospitality industry. The restaurants have to provide the best services and maintain relationships with their customer in order to survive in this competition.

One way that restaurateurs have chosen to address this issue is through the introduction of technology in the industry.  The use of technology has become very diverse within the industry and ranges from minimal to extensive use and has assisted in altering the way restaurateurs conduct business (Huber, Hancer & George, 2010).

With the upsurge in Information and Communication Technology, many industries use telecommunication network as a medium of exchanging information. To overcome the problems faced by the restaurants, an application could be designed and implemented in a medium or large scale restaurant. The application is installed on each of the devices on the restaurant table. The customer can select the food from the menu application installed on the device provided on the table and then the order from the customer can be sent via the network to the kitchen.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Though menu plays a vital role in the restaurant industry as it is seen as the key disseminator of information and provides users with detailed descriptions that serve as a guide in the ordering process. In Nigeria, especially in Bauchi of Bauchi state to be specific, almost all the restaurant within the city, still make use of the paper base menu which is error prone and slow in performance which has serious effect on customer satisfaction. Within this locality, little is known about the customer and restaurant manager views on computerized restaurant menu, and the effect of its information, the service of waiting staffs and the new technology on customer satisfaction.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The general objective of this study is to design and implement a computerized Restaurant menu and the specific objectives are:

1. To analyze the requirement of the proposed system.
2. To design and develop computerized restaurant menu system.
3. To test and implement the computerized restaurant menu system.

To fill the knowledge gap on this topic (design and implementation of computerized restaurant menu system), this study seeks to investigate the following questions.

Q1. What are the views of the customers on computerized restaurant menu system?

Q2. What is the view of the restaurant management on computerized menu system?

Q3. Does the information on the menu, the waiting staff and the innovative technology on menu displaying devices affect customer satisfaction?

• Significance of the Study

At the end of this study, computerized restaurant menu system will be design and implemented, the stance of the customer on the new system, will be determined and the effect of information on the menu, the waiting staff and the innovative menu technology on displaying devices, on customer satisfaction will be established and it conclusion shall be beneficial to the restaurateur and the scholars in the field of hotel and restaurant management.