Is it ready yet?

For a much need brake from studying this week, I ventured over to the campus Einstein Bagels. It was near lunchtime and really busy. Between the long line and the ordering kiosk the workers were flying around behind the counter trying to keep up. They use the classic restaurant pagers that resemble over-sized coasters to alert customers that their order is ready for pick up at the counter. In many ways, these little devices are a great way to facilitate crowds of waiting people, and better than the alternatives. Having a person shouting out names or numbers is flawed for obvious reasons, and giving the customer a number that will flash up on a screen puts a little too much responsibility on them, plus requires them to stay within eye shot of the screen with constant attention to it. These paging devices allow the person to stray to where ever is comfortable for waiting, and requires no acute attention to the system. They are large enough that it would be hard to misplace one in the 5- 30 min span you might be in charge of it and they give the customer something tangible to stare at and fiddle with while impatiently waiting for his or her order. When the order is ready, the device vibrates and lights up wildly using bright red LEDs. The excited state of the pager is fairly satisfying after idleing waiting for your food, and there is no worry that you will miss it "blowing up". There is even a small LED that blinks periodlically to let you know it is still working properly. With out this feedback I could imagine many people would reach a point where they were sure their device was broken and would go to the counter to make sure they hadn't missed thier call out. The only complaint I have with these pagers, and one I would guess I share with the employees of Einstein, is that once you go to the counter to retrieve your food, they don't stop blowing up. So on a busy lunch rush like the one I encountered this week the whole room is filled with the obnoxious echoing buzz or 7 or 8 pagers dancing around the counter top. I believe they even have small metal feet that amplify the noise. Doesn't it seem like they could have eaisly put a sensor in to make them stop going off once they were close to home base?