Mobile Menus Now Live

Consider your life just that much easier: The mobile-friendly version of Snapfinger.com just went live. You can now order from your favorite restaurant from everywhere you can carry your phone.

Basically, if you've got a browser-enabled phone, visiting now would be the easy way for you to check out just what this new development means. But for the rest, allow me to tantalize...

All the service's great features, including search by zip code, group order, text reordering, and online payment are available. You're simply seeing them on a smaller screen that you hold in your hand, and scrolling and selecting with the keys on your phone (or by touch, if you're so lucky).

In short, users can expect the same satisfying experience on their cell that they previously got on their computer. Now you can order from the car, from the kids' practice, from...well, you get the idea.

And a special note to iPhone users: You may want to check this blog and the Snapfinger site later this week.

What "Point-of-Sale Integration" Means to You

If you've used Snapfinger or follow us via any of the social media outlets, you've probably seen the phrase "point-of-sale (POS) integration" tossed around.

And when you saw it, your eyes probably glazed over, as you didn't think it pertained at all to the consumer. Don't feel bad; we do mainly use it when marketing our software to chains.

But that doesn't mean it's all technobabble for programmers and owners to worry with. It's the key to making the experience as easy as snapping your...well, you know.

To put it simply, POS integration makes your web browser an extension of the restaurant's computer system. Your clicks are translated into the "language" of whatever location you're getting your food from, be it Aloha, POSitouch, or Micros.

The menu you see is synched with what's available at the particular location you have selected, so you'll be able to see today's specials but won't accidentally order something that the kitchen is out of. The connection also means that prices and taxes on your screen reflect just exactly what you'd pay if you walked in.

In short, when you are perusing the full-color branded menus and making your special requests, you're doing what a waiter or waitress does when they're inputting a meal on their touch screen. And your order pops up on the screens in the kitchen just as though an employee had entered it.

It's the very definition of "streamlining" the process, and it greatly reduces the chance for human, phone or fax error. Unlike all other remote order services, which require a second submission of orders by someone other than yourself, Snapfinger gets your desires on the cook's queue with perfect timing for your customized pickup.

You do the waitstaff's job, though it takes no time and you suffer through none of the training.

Feel free to tip yourself.

Focus on Coca-Cola Partnership: Talk About Going Hand-in-Hand

Picture a takeout meal from your favorite restaurant. What's sitting next to that slice of pizza from CPK, that footlong from Subway, or that burrito and chips from Moe's?

A Coke. Or Diet Coke, or Sprite, or Pibb...

It just follows you've got a tasty beverage with your tasty food, and it just follows that Snapfinger has had a strong partnership with the Coca-Cola Company since before the website's inception (the first contract was signed in May of 2006, and an extension was agreed upon in May of '09).

The connection exists not just because both Snapfinger parent company Kudzu Interactive and Coke headquarters are based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Account teams in Coke's restaurant hospitality division are always looking for creative solutions to present to their clients, and Snapfinger is just that. Between point-of-sale integration, menu customization, and individual location synchronization, our technology makes takeout orders a breeze for both customers and providers.

Those restaurants who pour Coke products know Coca-Cola is about more than just soda; the company has always seen itself as a consultant for each franchise and individual location. That's why Snapfinger has been a highly-touted innovation that has been featured in their sales programs for years.

The opportunity to be part of the internet's largest takeout food ordering site could certainly be described as a "selling point."

The realtionship continues to build; Snapfinger CEO Jim Garrett says a new emphasis on independent and regional restaurants has emerged. The process is moving "downstream" so that even smaller establishments can get on the "online food court."

What's it mean for the Snapfinger user? More of your favorites are going to be available.

It just follows that the neighborhood mom-and-pop gets an equal chance to be on the service.

SNAPthat! YouTube Contest on the Horizon

Do what you do to get the creative juices flowing, because Snapfinger's SNAPthat! YouTube Video Contest is coming.

The rules are pretty simple, really. Contestants are challenged to put together a 60-second "jingle" that incorporates snapping fingers. Feel free to take it in the direction you prefer: We want everything from simple rhythms to complex beats, plus songs, raps, and dances. Big things are expected; just make sure at some point to mention the service that we offer!

The first step in entering will be to upload your video to the SNAPthat! page on Snapfinger's YouTube group, TheSnapfinger. Then you'll go to the main Snapfinger website and fill out a submission form with personal info and a link to your clip.

From there, it's up to the residents of cyberspace perusing YouTube, as the 30 vids with the most views will make the "finalist" round and be featured on a tab of Snapfinger.com. Those lucky few will then be judged by us, and the winner gets...

A cash prize of $1,000. First runner-up gets $200, and second runner-up gets $100.

And even if you don't claim the dough, feel good that every video submission equals a meal donated to a child in need through World Vision, just as though you ordered a meal through the site.

June 25 is the start date; full terms and conditions will be added to Snapfinger.com within the week. Stay tuned for an example video and more details!

Focus on World Vision Partnership: Two Meals for One

We here at Snapfinger are pretty excited about our service. The website has a beautiful interface, and our company has already accumulated more locations in more cities than all 10 of the biggest competitors combined. How's that for selection?

Still, it's not uncommon around the office to hear one coworker remind another that at the end of the day, our service "just gets people their food 15 minutes faster." And while I'm sure that our customers' hunger is real and that they appreciate their meals getting to the table in a quick and convenient fashion, I'm glad I can say that the company that I work for does not ignore those in real need.

Sixteen million children die of starvation each year, but through a partnership with World Vision, a worldwide humanitarian organization, Snapfinger is doing something about that. For each meal you order through us (at the restaurant's normal price and no more), Snapfinger donates the monetary equivalent of a meal to World Vision, who distributes food to hungry children elsewhere in the world.

I say "elsewhere in the world" because that truly is the scope of our partner's efforts. Just look through their website and you'll be astounded by the number of countries they're involved in; the nations receiving donations amount to almost 100 over six continents. From the desperate in African locales like Mali to the poor in Appalachia of the United States, World Vision is literally lending a hand to the globe.

And food isn't all they give. The variety of education programs offered around the world is staggering, and the fields they encompass range from business and economics to hygeine and food preservation. World Vision also has many programs that your church or faith group can participate in (such as "Caregiver Kits" and "Appalachia Service Trips"), a traditional sponsor-a-child program (similar to the ads seen on TV), and well-equipped disaster relief teams that work all over (they're in the Congo and Sudan at the moment).

In short, it's the sort of foundation any company would want to be affiliated with, and Snapfinger automatically makes direct donations without any additional cost, so each order you make equals another meal for a hungry child.

Think of it as two-for-one every day. That's what we're most excited about.

The Meet the Interns Lunch: Group Order in Action

It was the intern team's third day here at Snapfinger.com's Buckhead offices, and already our positions were paying dividends. Why yes, you can count me in for a free office-wide catered lunch.

So, where's the one menu we're all sharing? I assume my choices are to either wait patiently for my turn to peruse it or be annoying and look over someone's shoulder, right?

As the nervous newbie, I guess I should be prepared for awkwardness.

And where's the scrap of paper that we're all scribbling our desired dishes on?

If there's even the slightest chance of the restaurant getting my food the way I want it, I'm going to need some quality time with the "order form" that's getting passed around.

Well, as it turns out, I never did find either of these staples of the typical group order. Instead, I got an e-mail in my inbox, clicked one link, and had my own copy of the California Pizza Kitchen menu in front of me. It was complete with pictures and descriptions, and I had all the time I needed to make my decisions.

After I selected the Chicken Caesar Sandwich, I just typed in my name so the folks at CPK could label my item and hit the submit button. Then Jay (one of my coworkers who I'd meet at the table later that day) went over and picked our food up, and we were eating mere moments after the pickup time, which my boss had set a day in advance when he created the event.

And still the greatest surprise was to come: They got everyone's order right. Guess that's possible when you entirely skip the step of talking to someone on the phone.

I'll be honest: The idea of the group order was not a big selling point for me when I first heard of the service my new employer offered. But hey, it just came in pretty handy.

I suppose you could continue your tradition of getting the wrong stuff and screwing up your colleague's meals.

Or you could snap out of it and order your takeout online, like you do everything else.