Here are some new and very interesting facts about the US Smartphone landscape:

Nielsen reports that 43% of the phones in use in the US are now smartphones with Ages 25 to 34 having 62% penetration. 

Approximately 650k consumers switched from non-smart to smartphones every week during the month of September.

Based on trailing average of six months’ growth, 50% smartphone penetration will be reached by end of September 2012, though the trend is for accelerated adoption (see chart in linked article).

Here’s a link to the complete article:

http://www.asymco.com/2011/11/06/the-us-smartphone-landscape/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Asymco+%28asymco%29

Now is the perfect time to switch to TapGuest™, the leading restaurant waitlist solution that is 100% iPad ready with nothing to download or install. Your Guests and your staff will enjoy the easy, convenient text and voice communication, and the benefits that come from having TapGuest installed at your restaurant. TapGuest is Waiting Made Easy!™

Find out what TapGuest can do for your restaurant by visiting us at www.tapguest.com

According to a new study conducted by Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, Some 83% of American adults own cell phones and three-quarters of them (73%) send and receive text messages. The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project asked those texters in a survey how they prefer to be contacted on their cell phone and 31% said they preferred texts to talking on the phone, while 53% said they preferred a voice call to a text message. Another 14% said the contact method they prefer depends on the situation…

Just one of many reasons why TapGuest.com, the leading restaurant waitlist solution, was built to provide both Text and Voice communication methods for our restaurant customers, so you can effectively communicate with over 84% of your Adult Guests who prefer Text and Voice communication…find out what TapGuest can do for your restaurant by visiting us at http://www.tapguest.com.

To read more about this study by Pew Research Center, please visit:

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Cell-Phone-Texting-2011.aspx

Yesterday morning, ReadyPing™ sent an email to their customers (current and former) announcing that, effective September 10, 2011, their service would no longer be available for use. We would like to take this opportunity to wish the ReadyPing team well and to publicly acknowledge their role in pioneering the digital waitlist industry. We would especially like to address you, the existing ReadyPing™ Restaurant customers affected by this news.

If you are a restaurant subscriber of ReadyPing, this news is surprising, greatly impacts your business, and now requires prompt action on your part to prevent any breakdown in the level of service and convenience that you currently provide to your guests; at TapGuest, we want to help you thru this difficult time and have the opportunity to earn your business.

While we are shocked by their announcement for nostalgic reasons, we simply do not agree with the last portion of their email in which ReadyPing claims that short codes are more capable of handling messaging volume than long codes (fancy word for telephone number). We felt it was our duty, in good conscience, to provide you with some straightforward rebuttal information for you to consider while you choose the provider who will replace ReadyPing™ at your restaurant. We hope that you will choose TapGuest™ and here are just a few of the many reasons why:

1. Each Restaurant is assigned a unique TapGuest telephone number (long code) that belongs exclusively to that location, making it easy for your guests to save your TapGuest number in their contacts for easy access and self-service SMS functionality - you can’t do this with a shortcode.

1a. Short codes are incapable of voice response functionality, a key feature of TapGuest.com. In addition, Short codes can only support a limited number of keywords, and are primarily used for blast marketing campaigns rather than person to person/business to person 2 way communication - TapGuest is a platform built to enhance your business to guest 2 way communication.

2. TapGuest is 100% powered by the leading cloud communications provider, offering virtually unlimited message capacity for your TapGuest number, even during your busiest times - we are mobile carrier agnostic, and TapGuest numbers can, and do process staggering numbers of incoming and outgoing messages simultaneously daily.

3. TapGuest is priced exactly the same as ReadyPing™, except that we only charge you for the actual messages you use, after you use them. No pre-paid messaging bundles, no reloading, and most importantly, no running out of message credits.

3a. Short codes, especially exclusive ones, are extremely costly, ranging between $1000-$3000 per month, and shared short codes can cost well over $500/month just for the shared right to use that short code.

3b. Shared short codes, like the one used by ReadyPing for all customers and messaging, are not unique to your location or your brand - why would you want to publicize a short code that may also be shared by your competition?

4. No Contracts or long term commitments. At TapGuest.com, we believe we have to earn your business every month, so we refuse to require you to sign any long term contracts - your subscription to TapGuest is month to month, and you can cancel at anytime.

5. 100% iPad ready - TapGuest is the only digital waitlist solution built exclusively for the iPad with nothing to download or install. Other services claim to be iPad ready because you can view their software via the browser, but only TapGuest is 100% formatted and optimized (behind the scenes) for use on the iPad and iPad 2. Sure, TapGuest also works on most desktop and laptop computers too, but the iPad is flexible, portable and easy to use with a 10 hour battery and no physical installation or construction concerns.

Those are just a few of the many reasons to choose TapGuest™, but in order to make the transition even easier, we would like to offer all existing and former ReadyPing Restaurant customers this special:  

Sign up today for TapGuest™ service for a special low price of only $10.00/month* thru December 31, 2011! A savings of $156.00!

And, if you still have a message balance in your ReadyPing account, we will even credit your TapGuest™ account for your pre-paid ReadyPing™ messages** so you won’t have to lose your previous investment, all you need to do is send us proof of your current ReadyPing™ message credit balance. Please note that we are not working with ReadyPing in any capacity, nor are we being reimbursed by them in any way for this offer; we simply want to make it as easy as possible for all of the restaurants and guests impacted by this announcement to transition from ReadyPing to TapGuest™ service. In the process, we hope to exceed your expectations and earn your trust for a long time to come.

If you give us the opportunity, we are confident that you will discover what our growing customer base already knows - that TapGuest™ is simply the very best restaurant waitlist solution available today; TapGuest is Waiting Made Easy!

To take advantage of this special offer, please email readypingoffer@tapguest.com or call 877-753-4699. We look forward to hearing from you, and to earning your business.

To find out what TapGuest can do for your restaurant, please visit us at http://www.tapguest.com.

Waiting Made Easy™

*plus $.05cents per message, monthly.

** up to 1000 messages, one time only, credited to first monthly billing. Proof of existing ReadyPing™ message credits required.

Offer good for new TapGuest customers only and expires September 30, 2011.

Apple devices are clearly dominating wifi network useage, especially in restaurants as well as other locations around the US. According to Meraki, a leading provider of cloud based network solutions to small and medium sized businesses, including companies like Burger King, Starbucks and Toyota, iOS devices have grown significantly since 2010 while desktop operating systems have declined in useage over the same period…

For complete details and the infographics, please visit the entire article here:

http://meraki.com/blog/2011/06/meraki-reveals-ipads-use-400-more-wi-fi-data-than-the-average-mobile-device/

You could say we already knew that because TapGuest, the leading Restaurant Waitlist Solution, was built specifically for the iPad, and although we support most desktop and laptop computers as well, our primary focus is and will remain the iPad and iOS devices. We believe that the iPad is truly revolutionary and as the above referenced article proves, will dramatically change the world (and it already has). The iPad is fast becoming the technology of choice for restaurants as well as other businesses. At TapGuest we believe that the iPad will become the leading technology used in restaurants in the months and years to come (and it appears that Meraki’s findings support our beliefs - Thanks Meraki).

Here are some quick statistics regarding iPad usage in the US:

• 80% of businesses will be utilizing the iPad with their workforce by 2014
• 50 million iPads will be in workforce by 2013
• 75% of the Healthcare Industry are actively engaged in small to full scale iPad deployment
• 50% of the Education Sector is actively engaged in small to full scale iPad deployment
• 80% of Fortune 500 companies are actively testing iPad deployment

If the iPad or the iPad 2 is part of your restaurant operations, or you are thinking about adding it, find out what TapGuest can do for your restaurant. Visit us at http://www.tapguest.com.

Waiting Made Easy!™

Nothing if you are taking notes, directions or working at a desk. However, these common office supplies have no place in a busy, professional, classy eating establishment or it’s waiting process. Nothing says Stone Age like an old-fashioned clipboard or pile of scrap paper in the hands of your Host staff. Your Guests’ first impression of your restaurant should be one of elegance, sophistication, professionalism and being on par with modern conveniences. Instead, clipboards, dry erase boards, crayons, grease pencil, scrap paper and all of the other aged symbols of eras and processes gone by are more than common sights at countless restaurants across the country. Here comes the therapy - These items should be relegated to history or at least to the office, and removed from any proximity to the Host Stand or your waiting process. 

TapGuest.com is the ONLY truly 100% iPad Ready Restaurant Waitlist Solution available today with nothing to download or install. With a simple purchase of Apple’s Magical iPad, you can impress current and new guests alike, with razor’s edge technology, simplicity and the convenience that Digital Restaurant Waitlist Solutions like TapGuest.com can provide. TapGuest is Waiting Made Easy!™ As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”, so put an end to the use of  clipboards, notepads and scratchpads and make the switch to TapGuest.com today. Your guests will Thank you and your staff will too.

To find out what TapGuest.com can do for your restaurant, please visit us at www.tapguest.com. 

Waiting Made Easy!™

Bulk marketing is costly and risky to say the least, and while we acknowledge it’s value and purpose, we believe strongly that we have a duty to protect and preserve the trust that your guests have placed in you and your business. At TapGuest.com, we have very strong feelings about Bulk messaging, Privacy, and Spam, and we take these topics very seriously. Let’s take a few moments to clear up some common misconceptions about Restaurant Waitlist solutions, Bulk Messaging and Spam. 

Misconception #1: “Waitlist Solutions who offer bulk text messaging to consumers by the restaurants for “Marketing” purposes provide a much needed and welcomed service…”

- Dictionary.com defines SPAM as disruptive messages, especially commercial messages posted on a computer network or sent as e-mail.

The technical definition:

An electronic message is SPAM if (A) the recipient’s personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients AND (B) the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit and still-revocable permission for it to be sent. 

Mobile phone spam is a form of spamming directed at the text messaging service of a mobile phone.

Any digital waitlist solution that claims that the Bulk Text Messaging of unsolicited offers is a needed and welcome service to the consumer, clearly doesn’t understand SPAM or the consumer. A consumer who willingly gives their mobile phone numbers to your restaurant for the purposes of being notified that their table is ready, is willing to accept messages for that expressed purpose, but they are NOT therefore giving their consent to receive bulk offers from your restaurant in perpetuity long after their visit.

At TapGuest, we believe that cellphones are the last bastion of safety from SPAM. We will not violate your guests’ trust or provide a means or mechanism for our restaurant clients to do so, even with the best of intentions. The primary function of Digital Waitlist solutions is NOT Direct Marketing. The trust of your guests is worth far more than any temporary spike in business from a couple of thousand SMS coupons “Pushed” at midnight on a Tuesday to anyone who provided you their cellphone number. This form of Bulk messaging is nothing more than an untargeted barrage of messages blasted to as large of a group as possible, with no indications that the audience and the message/offer even align.

TapGuest has innovated and separated ourselves from the competition by currently offering only a “Pull” marketing process instead. Here’s how it works: Restaurants, using TapGuest, create 160 character SMS Specials in the TapGuest system, setting the start and end dates of these specials. Guests interested in receiving a restaurant’s active Special can request this information by texting the word SPECIAL to the Restaurant’s unique TapGuest number. TapGuest receives the request, and returns the restaurant’s 160 character Special to the Guest. The Guest will not receive any further specials until they request one again by following the same process. All the restaurant has to do is keep their specials up to date in the TapGuest system, and clearly inform the Guests of this service and how to use it. We feel that your guests will appreciate and value this demand-based approach to Direct Marketing.

Misconception #2: “Digital Waitlist solutions offering 2 way SMS Text message communication between guests and host staff are providing a vital communication service that improves the waiting experience.”

- This is an interesting and highly divisive topic. Clearly, any time that you can communicate with your guests it is an opportunity to improve service and their experience with your business. However, the real danger here, is that by allowing guests to openly and directly communicate with your host staff via SMS text messaging, the host will be so busy replying to countless messages from some guests, that the majority of your other guests will suffer in service and attention. Your host staff will also be forced to respond to or dismiss notifications of new messages while trying to manage a lobby full of new guests eager to be added to your waitlist in a timely manner, as well as the countless guests waiting to be seated. Restaurant Waitlist solutions are supposed to improve the efficiency of your Front of House operations, not complicate and weigh them down with additional processes. Next, this additional communications channel disrupts your primary communication channels - the telephone and in person with your guests. Most people have experienced a clerk or employee who was too busy reading or responding to a text message or call to provide customer service or even acknowledge their presence - is that what you want your guests to experience every time they encounter your host staff? Lastly, of course, there is the issue of price. If your digital waitlist solution charges for each message sent and received, as most all of us do, then this 2 way SMS communication channel will potentially add hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to your expenses each month with zero ROI, not to mention the potential for a host or hostess to use this tool to communicate with family or friends instead of performing the tasks for which they are paid. We believe that our product has a duty to enhance our restaurants’ business operations as well as enhance the guest experience, which is why we deliberately excluded this type of functionality from TapGuest.com.

TapGuest strives to provide our restaurant partners with the features and services that Make Waiting Easy™. One day, some form of a bulk message direct marketing system may be introduced as a part of the TapGuest platform, but we can assure you here and now, that we will only consider doing so with direct, detailed input from our restaurant partners and only when we are certain that both our clients and their guests are 100% protected from any potential concerns or threats related to Spam and privacy. TapGuest.com is proud to be 100% Spam Free and 100% Dedicated to protecting our clients and their guests.

TapGuest.com is the ONLY 100% iPad Ready Restaurant Waitlist Solution Available with nothing to download or install.

To find out what TapGuest can do for you and your restaurant, visit us at http://www.tapguest.com.

Waiting Made Easy™

That’s right, TapGuest.com, the leading restaurant waitlist solution is not only 100% iPad ready but also 100% iPad 2 ready with nothing to download, install or update. TapGuest is the ONLY true 100% iPad ready restaurant waitlist solution available on the market. 

TapGuest was built for the iPad specifically, and although we support most desktop and laptop computers as well, our primary focus is and will remain the iPad. We believe that the iPad is truly revolutionary and will dramatically change the world (and it already has). The iPad is fast becoming the technology of choice for restaurants as well as other businesses. At TapGuest we believe that the iPad will become the leading technology used in restaurants in the months and years to come (BJ’s restaurant group recently announced an all iPad fast casual concept).

If the iPad or the iPad 2 is part of your restaurant operations, or you are thinking about adding it, find out what TapGuest can do for your restaurant. Visit us at http://www.tapguest.com.

Waiting Made Easy!™

At TapGuest, we are passionate about changing the restaurant industry for the better. That means disrupting an industry that is very set in it’s ways, beliefs and practices. Not the least of which is Waiting. As restaurant guests, we eat out a lot - weekly in fact, and while we have our favorite spots with excellent food, excellent service and people who are just great to be around, we absolutely despise waiting. It’s uncomfortable, painful almost, and every restaurant that is popular has this problem - even those that are not popular have the problem. What is the problem with waiting you ask? Here’s my confession - as a guest - I’m going to tell you (attention restaurant owners, managers, Host staff members, industry pundits, experts, et al - the following information should be required learning)

The problem that every restaurant has is that they are not built for waiting, they are built for cooking and eating. There is little to no actual room to congregate and wait. There are no comfortable chairs or benches, or if there are, there are few at most. There is no ambiance to enjoy like fishtanks, television, WiFi internet service (Why on earth not, it’s 2011 - even airplanes have WiFi), and there aren’t any things to occupy the minds and hands of small, annoying children either…nothing worse than trying to enjoy a date or a business meeting lunch or dinner and having to wait for 30 minutes or longer next to a bunch of screaming, out of control children whose parents are just as frustrated as the kids. 

The problem may be intentional and deliberate, but it’s a complete disregard for the guest experience and it’s a horrible first impression. When I dine out at a new restaurant (new or new to me), if the waiting experience is painful, I am most likely NEVER returning to that restaurant, regardless of how good the food or service was. People are increasingly impatient, busy and at our core, creatures of habit. We like routine, and we are easily frustrated in these trying times. Restaurant owners are not likely to be able to re-design their establishments to create a comfortable waiting room, nor are they likely to expand the number of tables and staff they currently have to reduce or eliminate waiting. Waiting is inherent in the Dining out process and it’s ubiquitous throughout the world…so what is the solution to The Problem you may be asking yourself? That’s simple. 

TapGuest is Waiting Made Easy! Ahh, you knew that was coming, right? But it’s true nonetheless. Restaurant margins are razor thin even in the best of times, and now more than ever the success or catostrophic failure of your restaurant really depends on how you distinguish yourself from your competition and how you can best cater to your guests and their needs without going broke to do it. TapGuest, a disruptive technology, can easily set your restaurant apart from the competition in the eyes of your guests because TapGuest Makes Waiting Easy! No more fighting for a seat on a wooden or metal bench outside, no more clunky unsanitary pagers that limit you to a 30 foot radius from the front door of the restaurant, no more noisy mis-behaving children screaming in your ear(unless you’re their parents - sorry), no more elbow to elbow, standing room only, and best of all, no more feeling like time is standing still because you cannot stop focusing on your misery and discomfort. Guests are free to roam, wander, shop, walk, browse, stroll or whatever else they want to do to pass the time until their table at your restaurant is ready for them. Their first impression of your restaurant will be as perfect and as pleasant as the rest of their visit and they will return more often, spend more money, and tell all of their friends about your restaurant and how you have Made Waiting Easy by subscribing to TapGuest.com, the only 100% iPad restaurant waitlist solution available with nothing to download or install. 

Problem Solved. 

Find out what TapGuest can do for your restaurant by visiting us at http://www.tapguest.com

Waiting Made Easy!™

Things move at the speed of light here at TapGuest.com, and our focus is 100% on providing the very best products and service to our growing list of customers, while at the same time always innovating, improving and maintaining our lead over the competition by listening to our customers. Our customers know best, and we are smart enough to know that.

So it is with great pleasure that we introduce our new and greatly improved informational website as the direct result of listening to our valued customers. You told us you wanted more information and more FAQs and now we have them. You told us you wanted a fast and easy way to get the basic overview without having to search, and now we have it in the form of our information slideshow on the home page. You also told us that you wanted a more modern site that was easier to read with larger text, and now we have that too…Oh, we also updated and added screenshots of the newest version of TapGuest for your viewing pleasure…so please check them out!

By the way, in the coming weeks, we will be adding more new features to our already impressive list of features that are included with every TapGuest restaurant waitlist subscription…we have a few surprises up our sleeves that we are sure will impress…Stay tuned - we will post more information on the blog when they are fully baked and ready for consumption. In the meantime, please visit the new website, refer a friend or two, and continue letting us know how we can improve and serve you better. Your Business IS OUR BUSINESS! Thank you for your continued support and feedback!

Sincerely, 

The TapGuest team

Find out what TapGuest can do for your restaurant - visit us at http://www.tapguest.com

Waiting Made Easy!™

That’s right, Voice AND Text have been baked right into TapGuest since forever, the beginning, the dawn of our time, etc, etc…We’re sure you all knew that, but we just wanted to re-state it in case you were wondering or comparing TapGuest to other services who may just be announcing the addition of these fundamental features that TapGuest has always been made of…if you are a TapGuest customer you know this. If you are not a TapGuest customer, this information is an important part of your daily business - it’s nutritious and good for you…OK, so it’s not nutritious, but TapGuest IS GOOD for YOU and YOUR Business…

This announcement may come as a shock to those living under rocks or in caves, but for the rest of us, Voice and Text capabilities are basic necessities like food and water, and they are, in our humble opinion, core functions of any solid solution to restaurant waiting that actually works…at TapGuest, we pride ourselves in offering the most effective, comprehensive and affordable waitlist solution available for your restaurant.

Don’t take our word for it…find out what TapGuest can do for your restaurant - visit us at http://www.tapguest.com

Waiting Made Easy!™