Phila pretzel vendors using touchscreen technology

The new machines are not error-free, however, as some customers ordering mustard are getting catchup.

Don't let the rusted shopping carts, mildew-covered cardboard boxes or broken milk crates fool you. Philadelphia soft pretzel vendors are going high-tech. On January 1st, during the annual Mummers march up Broad St, ten to twenty vendors across the city began to use touchscreen ordering technology.

Only three weeks later, that number has easily surpassed twenty-five. The new--and costly--commitment to technology by vendors, however, is not by choice. The City passed a law in November requiring that all vendors begin to use the touch monitors by March 1, 2010.

"It's an efficiency thing," said Councilman Jim Borten. "I mean, c'mon, we need to embrace technology, not fight it."

Customers will approach the stands and, instead of verbally communicating with the salesman behind the cart, will simply use the attached screen to order pretzels and choose from various condiments.

"It was a little strange," said Gail Rosioli, 53, of South Philadelphia. "It takes a lot longer to order now than it did before. Is it so difficult to say, 'I want a pretzel with mustard?' I guess, like all new things, it will just take time to get used to."

"It's fantastic," said Gail Travers, 48, a parade reveler from University City. "I don't have to make eye contact with the vendors anymore."

Most vendors are warming to the idea of the new systems.

"It's a new interactive experience," said Frank Sullivan, a vendor from Pennsport, as he used and old comb to remove the salt from a pretzel for a no salt order. "Although, I will say that I do miss the interaction with the customers that come to buy the pretzels."

The initial screen greets patrons with a picture of a smiling, hand-clapping soft pretzel (vendors can add costumes to the pretzels for different occasions). This is followed by a screen asking, "What would you like today?" The only choice is a pretzel icon, which customers touch to advance to the next screen. Here, icons for quantity and an option to checkout are shown.

At the bottom of every screen is the option to purchase pretzels that are more than a day old--a Philadelphian's God-given right. "Do you like your pretzels a little more stiff? Choose pretzels from two to sixty days old."

Orders are then displayed on a smaller screen facing the vendor at the back of the cart. Most screen systems are powered by car batteries, but the option to plug into an outlet is also available. Solar power may also be a power choice in the future.

Most of the ordering devices being fastened to the side of the metal shopping carts are secondhand, sold to the mobile merchants by Wawa, Inc. The popular local convenience store chain said they will not be requiring a percentage of the pretzel proceeds.

"Every now and then there is a glitch in the system and customers are given the option of ordering a shorti hoagie or soup," said smiling vendor Steve Butterfield, as he sprayed his inventory with a solution from an old Windex bottle. "And I'm like 'pretzels only people, pretzels only.'"