It depends on the situation. The camera makes a good tool, but it doesn't replace real human contact. It might be helpful for extra busy situations where your server doesn't have time to come tell you they will be needing another tray of something soon.
Here's how I use a camera: At the b&b, I get a lot of through traffic as guests come in and out. To avoid "hovering" over them and making a pest of myself as they come in, and to allow me to greet people that need greeting, I put in a webcam and connected it to my PC. I did have to buy an adapter to make a usb cable longer than 15', but I can now see who is coming in before they open the door, and decide if I greet them or not. If they are checked in, but start looking around for something, I go see if they need anything, just in case they're looking for me.
The setup was pretty quick, I did buy a $20 piece of software that worked better for me than the one that came with the camera. Total cost, not counting the computer and monitor, was about $179 ($59 for the camera, $20 for the software, and $100 for the cable adapter).  |