The modern service challenge

When a chef as innovative as David Chang begins raving about Taco Bell's new mobile app, it's clear that the digital era of restaurants has "arrived." The coolest thing ever is the Taco Bell app, the chef-owner of New York City-based Momofuku said during a session at this year's South by Southwest conference in Austin, TX. You walk in. No line. Sit down, and I have what you want -- boom, it's right there. Chang's words underline the growing interest in the concept of frictionless service -- when transactions at restaurants, between ordering, paying and receiving a meal, happen with less human interaction to slow down the process. While that means a shift in the traditional relationship between guest and server, the enviable growth in sales at fast casuals, where the approach is prevalent, suggests that it's a service model customers are embracing, as well.