A system and method including an Internet preordering system accessible
online or onsite at a free-standing kiosk located in or near client
properties in which customers may create profiles for the requested
services and provide such information to the service provider in advance
of the customer's arrival for the requested services. When the customer
arrives, the customer identifies himself/herself and the preorder is
accessed, verified and/or modified. The preorder is then forwarded to the
service provider and the delivery of the service is optimally timed to
the readiness of the customer. The customer's profile and preorder
information are maintained in a database and used for in-house precision
marketing campaigns and cross-promotional opportunities. For example, in
a restaurant embodiment, a registered customer is given access to menus
and may create menu preferences for a participating restaurant. The
registered customer may also make a reservation at a participating
restaurant for a party of any size in advance (for example, up to 24
hours) of the reservation time. The food and/or drink preorder for each
guest in the party may be completed in advance and maintained on the
server, with the reservation time, for access when the party arrives at
the designated reservation time. After a verification process, the
customer may retrieve the party's preorder, make any desired changes, and
then verify the preorder at the kiosk. Once the preorder is verified, the
customer may finalize the preorder and proceed to the hostess kiosk where
the preorder is accessed by the restaurant staff. Either when the party
is seated or at an appropriate time prior to seating (based on a
comparison of the seating wait queue to the kitchen wait queue), the
preorder is forwarded for preparation so that the ordered food and/or
drink arrives shortly after the customer's party is seated.