The Fat Boar pub in Wrexham, Wales, is encouraging customers to interact by offering a 25% discount to patrons that lock their phones away while they eat. The new initiative is part of the pub's 'Mobile-Free Monday's' campaign. Patrons looking to take part in the initiative simply need to place their phone in a cash box brought to them by their server. The box will remain on the table, but will be locked with a key held by the server. The Fat Boar made the announcement for this campaign over Facebook and outlined a list of rules, all of which are quite easy to follow.
Rich Watking, the Fat Boar's director, explained the initiative as a push to increase in-person interaction and offer a break from an increasingly mobile phone-centered world. The campaign has already received a fair amount on praise on social media and the pub plans on continuing this initiative with its sister restaurant.
Device-Free Dining Initatives
A Discount Will Be Given to All Deviceless Patrons at 'The Fat Boar'
Trend Themes
1. Device-free Dining - Restaurants creating device-free dining experiences for customers to encourage in-person interactions and decrease phone usage.
2. Mobile-free Mondays - Businesses offering discounts or incentives for customers who can go without their devices on specified days to promote face-to-face communication.
3. Server-held Phone Boxes - Restaurants, cafes, and bars providing locked phone boxes or pouches to customers to encourage more face-to-face interactions during meal times.
Industry Implications
1. Hospitality - Opportunities for hospitality businesses to differentiate themselves by offering device-free or mobile-free dining experiences.
2. Retail - Device-free dining campaigns can encourage customers to spend more time in-store and increase in-person conversations with staff.
3. Technology - Opportunities for technology companies to create mobile device monitoring software or behavior-tracking apps that can aid in breaking phone addiction and decrease usage in social contexts.