Studierende stehen vor dem LC und blicken lächelnd einer Kollegin mit einer Mappe in der Hand nach.

Exercise No. 36: Restaurant Customer Service

Transfer the following verbal description into an EPC

a) The process starts when a customer has entered the restaurant. The hostess then asks for an existing reservation. If the customer says that he has a reservation, she checks the reservation entries using the reservation system. Then in the case that a reservation entry is found in the system, the hostess guides the customer to his table.

b) In any other case, if the customer says that he does not have a reservation or a reservation entry cannot be found, the hostess searches for a free table. If a table is found, she guides the customer to it. If not, she asks him to wait. While he is still waiting, the hostess searches again for a free table. In the case that the customer is unwilling to wait, he leaves the restaurant and the process is over.

c) Once the customer is at the table, the waitress brings the menu. After that she asks for orders. The customer either wants to order or not.

d) For a customer that wants to order, the waitress takes the order using the ordering system. The customer may want something to drink, something to eat or both.* In the first case, the waitress passes the order to the bartender and once the drinks are ready, she serves them. In the second case, the same process applies to the meals (here, the order is passed to the kitchen). After the order is served, the waitress waits until the customer finishes his meal. Once this he has finished, she asks again for orders.

*The case when a customer orders several meals in one go is ignored.

e) For a customer that does not want to order, the waitress has to determine the reason. The customer either does not have more orders or, alternative, he is still not ready with his order.

f) If the customer is still not ready, the waitress waits. Then after the customer has called the waitress or appropriate time is left, the waitress asks again for orders.

g) If the customer does not want to order more, the waitress brings the bill. Here, the order and billing data are needed for the billing system. Once the bill is at the table, the waitress determines the payment method. Customers normally either want to pay cash, in which case the waitress settles the bill immediately, or want to pay with credit card. In the second case, she brings the mobile POS (mobile POS system). In the next step, the customer pays with his credit card and, as a result, the bill is settled. Finally, the customer leaves the restaurant and the process is over.