Tech: Cheers! An app that lets you pre-order your drink

Whether itrsquos the local watering hole or a premium bar waiting endlessly for a server to take your order is something most of us encounter on a night out worse if itrsquos on weekends Naturally we were excited when we heard of 21 a new app that promises to save you from the waiting But thatrsquos not the lone attraction The app allows you to preorder your drinks even before you reach the bar or gift it to someone who is already there So to check its userfriendliness we tested the app with a colleague on a Wednesday eveningHow it worksStarted by Khushnuma Sheth Anuj Kanakia and Parag Mehta with technical expertise from Dhananjay Arora 21 is available for free download on Android and iOS app store search 21 jump the bar rush To use its services you need to log in by providing an email ID your contact number and date of birth Once logged in the app offers a list of bars that have signed up for the service At the moment 12 bars are on the app from areas like Lower Parel Juhu Andheri W Versova Breach Candy Kurla Powai Santacruz and Bandra W We tried the service at The Barking Deer in Lower Parel Once you have selected the bar the app lists out all the drinks on the menu There is a 10 discount on the app and all prices are taxinclusive The process to order is simple choose your bar select the drink pay online with a CreditDebit card or Netbanking and you are done You will receive a fourdigit code that you can show at the bar to get your drink You can also gift the drink to a friend by sending the code to their mobile number via the apprsquos builtin messaging systemThe tipple test driveAt the time of the order this reporter was at Phoenix Mill wrapping up lastminute Eid shopping while our colleague was at the bar catching a standup gig We ordered two glasses of Belgian Wit that were charged at R294 per glass as compared to Rs 326 at the bar Upon payment we received a fourdigit code which we gifted to our colleagueOur colleague received a text message along with the code Upon flashing the code two glasses of Belgian Wit were served in less than five minutes we are told Real quick we sayThe reporter arrived at The Barking Deer 15 minutes later The next step was to check whether orders are delivered with the same efficiency at all times Note the app doesnrsquot guarantee a table or instant serving of the drink but cuts the waiting time to place your order So we turned to the app again this time for a nonalcoholic Icy Lemonade Rs 235 against the bar price of Rs 261 We showed the code to the waiter to get our drink This time there seemed to be some confusion as the waiter forgot the code twice and our order was delivered after 15 minutes which is still a decent waitWhat we likeThe process is smooth and quick as long as the ordered drink arrives Therersquos a 10 discount however it might differ from bar to bar You can also store your card details on the app so if you remember the CVV code you can place an order without using your wallet or credit card Once yoursquove finished your drinks walk out without having to pay for your billsWhat we didnrsquotThe User interface could do well with some improvement especially when it comes to selecting subcategories like imported or domestic beer or whisky or rum in the menu The app doesnrsquot store old orders and therersquos no bill generated in the process Though the folks at The Barking Deer told us that an email receipt will be sent to the registered email ID none arrived until the time of this going to print Also gifting a drink requires you to remember the receiverrsquos mobile number which can be little tricky especially if you are slightly drunk Perhaps an option to select from your contact list could be more usefulA bit of advice bar offers arenrsquot applicable on orders placed by the app So we recommend checking the offers section in the app before placing an orderAvailable on iOS and Android