System and Method for Integrating Business Operations

Abstract

A method comprises providing an electronic menu to a customer, receiving a request for a new item, adding the new item to a plurality of item selections based on receiving the request for the new item from the customer, and providing the electronic menu to a second customer. The electronic menu initially comprises a plurality of item selections. Each item selection comprises one or more ingredients for the item selection and preparation instructions for preparing the item selection. The new item is not in the plurality of item selections when the request is received. The request for the new item comprises a list of one or more new item ingredients and new item preparation instructions for preparing the new item. The electronic menu comprises the plurality of item selections comprising the new item when the electronic menu is provided to the second customer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for adding a menu item to an electronic menu, the method comprising:
 providing an electronic menu to a customer, wherein the electronic menu comprises a plurality of item selections, wherein each item selection comprises one or more ingredients for the item selection;   receiving a request for a new item, wherein the new item is not in the plurality of item selections, wherein the request for the new item comprises a list of one or more new item ingredients; and   adding the new item to the plurality of item selections based on receiving the request for the new item from the customer.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: providing the electronic menu to a second customer, wherein the electronic menu comprises the plurality of item selections comprising the new item 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining that the one or more new item ingredients are available in an ingredient inventory;   preparing the new item for the customer based on determining that the one or more new item ingredients are available in the ingredient inventory; and   serving the new item to the customer.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a plurality of requests for the new item;   determining that a number of the plurality of requests for the new item exceeds a threshold; and   providing feedback to the customer based on the number of the plurality of requests exceeding the threshold.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the feedback comprises at least one of a discount or naming privileges for the new item. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: sending a description of the new item to a social media outlet in response to adding the new item to the plurality of item selections. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: providing a link to the new item to a social media outlet in response to adding the new item to the plurality of item selections; and allowing another customer to order the new item based on the link. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the new item comprises a drink item. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the new item comprises a food item. 
     
     
         10 . A method for creating a new menu item, the method comprising:
 receiving, by an electronic device, a list of ingredients for a menu item;   storing, by the electronic device, the list of ingredients in a menu item store; and   providing the list of ingredients to an establishment, wherein a user of the electronic device receives the menu item from the establishment based on the list of ingredients provided to the establishment.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein providing the list of ingredients to the establishment comprises generating a new menu item message, wherein the new menu item message comprises the list of ingredients; and sending, by the electronic device, the new menu item message to the establishment. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising; receiving preparation instructions for the menu item, storing the preparation instructions in the menu item store; and providing the preparation instructions with the list of ingredients to the establishment, wherein the user receives the menu item further based on the preparation instructions. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: sending a description of the menu item to a social media site. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: receiving an indication of a request for the menu item; and tracking the total number of requests for the menu item at the establishment using the indication of the request for the menu item. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: retrieving the list of ingredients from the menu store; and providing the list of ingredients to a second establishment, wherein the user of the electronic device receive the menu item from the second establishment based on the list of ingredients provided to the second establishment. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: receiving a list of menu items from the establishment, wherein the list of menu items comprises the menu item received from the electronic device; and ordering a menu item from the list of menu items from the establishment. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: comparing the list of ingredients for the menu item to a database ingredients for known menu items; and determining that the list of ingredients does not substantially match any of the ingredients for the known menu items, wherein storing the list of ingredients in the menu item store occurs in response to determining that the list of ingredients does not substantially match any of the ingredients for the known menu items. 
     
     
         18 . A method of providing a level of service to a customer at an establishment, the method comprising:
 creating a customer profile for a customer of an establishment, wherein the establishment comprises a restaurant or bar;   storing customer information in the customer profile during one or more visits to an establishment, wherein the customer information comprises at least one of a total amount of money spent by the customer, an amount of money spent per customer visit, an amount of profit made on the customer, a number of guests associated with the customer during one or more visits, a time period of one or more visits, an amount of an item ordered, a type of item ordered, or any combination thereof;   determining a customer ranking based on the customer information in the customer profile, wherein the customer ranking is selected from a plurality of customer rankings;   detecting a presence of the customer at the establishment; and   providing a level of service to the customer based on the customer ranking when the customer is at the establishment.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the customer profile comprises personal information, demographic information, billing information, preferences, login information, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein creating the customer profile comprises receiving the customer information from the customer. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the customer information comprises an image of the customer. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein creating the customer profile comprises:
 receiving customer information from the customer at the establishment; and   generating a customer profile using the customer information in response to receiving the customer information.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein receiving the customer information occurs in response to at least one of receiving an order from the customer or receiving purchase information from the customer. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 receiving valet parking information for a vehicle of the customer; and   adding the valet parking information to the customer profile.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 determining that the customer is leaving the establishment;   retrieving the valet parking information from the customer profile;   sending the valet parking information to a valet service to retrieve the customer's vehicle prior to the customer exiting the establishment.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein determining that the customer is leaving the establishment comprises, receiving payment from the customer. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising: updating the customer profile based on the presence of the customer at the establishment, wherein updating the customer profile comprises storing information for at least one of a customer order, a customer order time, or a customer order price. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein detecting the presence of the customer at the establishment is based on at least one of receiving valet parking information for the customer, visually identifying the customer based on an image stored in the customer profile, receiving login information for the customer, receiving payment information for the customer, or detecting the presence of an electronic device associated with the customer. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising: providing an incentive to a customer based on the customer ranking. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the incentive comprises a progressive discount, wherein the progressive discount is based on the customer ranking.