jesawdy wrote:Personally (and I'm not bragging), I think I could easily work a two-group by myself in a busy commercial setting, and with practice, maybe even a three-group, if all I had to do was build drinks. IMO, a good shop will know their regulars and start building their drink as they come in the door, and the PBTC should be taking orders 3 customers deep in the queue.

Ken Fox wrote:Let's assume for the moment that this machine makes better espresso than all the other machines out there, and is easier to use, by far. I'd still rate the likelihood of this being a successful business proposition, at slim to none. The world is full of examples of mediocre and worse products dominating their industries and squeezing out much better stuff. You have to look no further than the computer you are using to view this message (most likely a PC) to prove THAT point. If success in the marketplace was based on the quality and merits of the products, Microsoft would be but a footnote in the history of personal computing and we'd all be using something else. Betamax was reportedly far superior to the technology that was ultimately adopted, VHS, for videocassetes. A skilled barista using good and fresh coffee produces much better drinks than any superauto, but on nearly every street corner you will find a Starbucks full of button pushers and superautos making milk drinks from 6 month old coffee, and there are often lines out the door. I could continue but I think you get my idea.

Dasein wrote:Not sure I agree with your specific analogy here (and in the other posts) but I do understand what you are trying to say -- perhaps a better one to use in this case is to talk about the Delorean.

Randy G. wrote:I spoke to them at Long Beach and did actually mentioned to them that if the upper, exposed section could be lowered and fit flush with a counter top it could be a big hit in high-end kitchens.

The under-counter works appeared to be well designed and relatively easy to access for repairs.