Submitted by Gerry Clare
Roving Reporter
If you haven’t been to Chili’s in a while, you may be surprised by the new arrival at your table, the Ziosk. Manager, Steve Gibson, told us that the “Ziosk” at our table was an experiment for Chili’s in Yulee over the last two months to see if it would work to be adopted or expanded at other locations.
Our waitress, Jennifer, seemed to like the additional help, as the restaurant was packed when we visited for dinner recently. Once we ordered, we looked at the Ziosk, which offered four sections: Games, Food & Drinks, Check-out and E-mail. I decided I wanted a cocktail and ordered on the screen. It arrived shortly thereafter with our meal. In the food (and desserts) and drink sections, many of the menu selections are described including all of the many margueritas and appetizers. When we were finished, we could not locate Jennifer, so we hit check-out and were able to pay our bill.
Steve Gibson said that we could have ordered 
computer games for the kids (if we had any with us) and even another Ziosk for a second child, if needed. Also available was the news from USA Today, so we could have learned of the new royal baby at the time of his arrival. The e-mail section offers customers special deals and future savings as well. All in all, Chili’s has decided the Yulee experiment was successful and will be moving to other locations in the near future, as well as possibly being expanded to include placing original orders.
Editor’s Note: Gerry began free lance writing for fun and is the author of a published book (available on Amazon and at Books Plus) about funny real estate experiences. Gerry is a longtime member of our local American Business Women’s Chapter, a volunteer cancer driver and church deacon who loves to read, travel and meet interesting people.
July 23, 2013 10:45 a.m.