[HN Gopher] The Restaurant Industry's Worst Idea: QR Code Menus
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The Restaurant Industry's Worst Idea: QR Code Menus
Author : fortran77
Score : 24 points
Date : 2022-10-29 20:41 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theatlantic.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theatlantic.com)
| codefreeordie wrote:
| QR code menus are fine, if made well, for quick-service and
| casual restaurants where the customer's interest is primarily in
| a quick and efficient meal (even a quick-and-efficient delicious
| and high-quality meal).
|
| But if you are operating a fine dining establishment(1), where
| the food is but one component of the experience, and you have a
| QR code printed on a piece of paper taped to the table ... you're
| really taking away from the experience you're supposed to be
| selling.
|
| (1) There are some limited exceptions for places which make a
| quirky tech vibe part of the experience, which mostly comes up in
| certain types of sushi bars.
| flkiwi wrote:
| There are certainly bad QR Code menus, but good ones are just
| menus. They're fine. Everything in Conor's piece points to an
| almost incredible lack of self control--he is incapable of not
| being distracted by his phone--which to me is a bigger problem
| than the format in which your menu is presented. Besides, give
| restaurant workers a break: it's one less thing they have to do
| to serve you, so they can focus more on providing good service.
|
| Having said that, I hope we can all agree that paying directly by
| phone is one of the unambiguously great COVID-era innovations.
| JoeAltmaier wrote:
| If the restaurant didn't have a printed menu and asked me to scan
| something, I always got up and left.
| toomuchtodo wrote:
| I personally like the QR code menus. To each their own.
| csdvrx wrote:
| If I'm hungry, I ask the same thing as whoever is close by and
| whose dish looks remotely edible.
|
| If I'm not really hungry, or if the food isn't easily visible,
| I do the same as you do: yes, I carry a computer, but refuse to
| use it in most restaurants.
|
| If McDonalds can afford some wall poster with pictures + names
| and prices, I'm sure most restaurants can. So the question is
| more why don't they want to? Even a flier by the door would be
| enough for me!
|
| However, on a site were most people love pushing tech even when
| the best solutions are not technological, I wouldn't be
| surprised if we were in the minority and people tried to
| rationalize using QR codes.
| [deleted]
| c22 wrote:
| I'm not saying you're wrong, but it's kind of weird to hold
| up the largest restaurant chain in the world by revenue as a
| baseline for what most restaurants can afford.
| throwaway5959 wrote:
| If having to scan a QR code to access a menu is enough to get
| you to walk out, you did the staff a favor.
| CaliforniaKarl wrote:
| https://archive.ph/cgEXf
| jasonjamerson wrote:
| I went for sushi this week and of course there's a hundred things
| in twelve categories. I couldn't even figure out how to get back
| to the daily specials, once you move on, you can't see them
| again.
|
| It's a fundamentally horrible experience and will definitely keep
| me from going back.
| pedalpete wrote:
| Though I'm not a fan, I suspect this will be the new standard,
| kinda like self-checkout at the grocery store. Hated it at first,
| but now the idea that somebody is going to scan my groceries just
| seems annoying and antiquated.
| fellowniusmonk wrote:
| For outdoor picnic table style dining it's my new preference. The
| ability to easily leave a tab open and progressively order food
| and drinks on demand is amazing.
|
| Not that it should replace all dining experiences but wait staff
| free dining when ordering from a bar + kitchen is superior for
| these instances.
|
| The ability to just get up an walk off without synchronous
| negotiation is a more relaxed dining experience, the ability to
| have people progressively join and leave your party is also
| fantastic and can facilitate an old school community dining hall
| experience.
|
| There are a few UIs I like for mobile, many are quite poor
| though.
| [deleted]
| bdcravens wrote:
| I like the idea. I think some do a terrible job with it, doing
| little more than digitizing the print menu, with all of the tiny
| print. An easily scrolled list, with a fast loading modal with
| more details when tapped, would be far better. Take it one step
| further, let me create my order, and then show the server a QR
| code. As they go to each person on the table, they can still
| answer questions and take the order on the fly if they need to.
|
| tldr; It's a UI/UX problem that can be fixed. The idea itself is
| sound.
| crazygringo wrote:
| I like it. It's annoying to wait for the waiter to come over with
| menus, it's annoying to wait to ask them to bring a menu back
| because you want to order more, and it's gross when you get a
| menu that hasn't been wiped down properly and is sticky with god
| knows what, and it's wasteful when they're printing hundreds of
| fresh menus a day for the places that give everyone a fresh one.
|
| Keep a few backup printouts for those who need them (like your
| phone gets no signal), but otherwise it's a fantastic step
| forwards. Goodbye to grimy wasteful printouts.
|
| Plus the bonus of never having to experience "oh sorry we're out
| of that" if they update the menus dynamically is _fantastic_.
| browningstreet wrote:
| I don't go out to a restaurant to stare at my screen, and screen
| menus aren't great.
|
| I don't mind using an app to pay when I'm done though. Especially
| if I don't have to wait for the server.
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