If they don’t have a good internet connection available for free for customers with a good mobile website, why would anyone visit and actually struggle through the ordering process?
Boomer is a state of mind.
I don’t often agree with boomer takes, but I agree with this one.
I went on a date and both of our phones were dead lol
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I don’t want to have my device tracked by your cookies in order to eat
Disagree, this ils one of those changes that not only is very hyginic but also has a juge impact on reducing the amount of work for staff.
I won’t disagree however that they could still have menus available for the instances people don’t have a smartphone or are having problems with their smartphone. However, overall the impacts are mostly positive aside from incoviniencing the customer slightly to look at the menu on their phone.
Yeah sorry, if I can view the menu from my phone instead of touching a menu that 6000 other people have touched, without having to deal with either the server taking it away or it being in the way on my table, I don’t see why I would want or need an actual physical menu
The option still seems pretty nice to have.
QR codes as menus are a security risk. A bad actor could make up some stickers and put them on the table in place of the menu QR code. The code could then take the user to a malicious site, that they think they should be able to trust.
Even a restaurant’s legit web site may require cookies or some other thing that not everyone is comfortable with
I’m with you on this, I live in a country where a digital menu is not a given and I hate it more than people who prefer physical menus seem to hate digital menus. I do agree that both should be available as an option
Yeah. That happened while I was abroad. I explained to the waiter that I didn’t have a data plan there. But they couldn’t help me since they had no physical copy.
I would have to pay a 14$ fee to use data for a day until midnight just to look at a menu for a dinner at 8pm.
So I asked him to either tell us what’s on the menu or to give us his phone. He actually sat down with us with his phone. He was really nice about it. He said he’d tell the owner and they’d keep a few physical copies in the future.
Having free WiFi might also be nice. But the physical copy is more versatile.
Or, just get a cheapo used tablet and keep that in reserve for people to view the menu if needed.
Oh yeah, right. Even better.
I’ve actually been to a restaurant in Prague that only handed out iPads as menus. 🤷♂️
CTRL-P
It’s been so long since i had to print something, it took me a minute to remember what CTRL-P does lmao
Thanks for explaining that for me, I didn’t get it.
Well for certain restaurants it makes some sense. Like if your a nicer seafood place all that shit changes by the week in price, sometimes daily. You don’t want to have to print out menus on nice card stock everyday and you also don’t want shitty looking paper menus.
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That’s exactly why I prefer qr. I don’t need to touch dirty menus and before anyone says that they clean them every night. Doesn’t matter, they use the same watery rag on all the menus, they may not be sticky but they sure as shit are still dirty. I’ve worked at plenty of restaurants, including ‘high end’ ones. The only way to guarantee they’re clean is to just print out a new one for each guest.
Your phone is definitely not sanitary, unless you sanitize it.
Your phone only contains your own dirt.
It’s like saying you’re okay with sleeping in someone else’s unwashed bed just because you’re okay with doing that with your own.
Your phone contains germs and bacteria from everything you’ve touched throughout the day, and every surface you have placed it on. You touch things and then touch your phone all day long. You wash your hands before you eat to get rid of all those germs, but if you handle your phone after that, then you might as well not wash your hands.
If the QR code was just encoded text or an image as apposed to a weblink, then this could have been avoided. Although, I’m not sure how many QR readers support images, and if your phone doesn’t have a built-in QR app nor you have a third-party one, then you’d be SOL anyways.
I don’t get how people go abroad and don’t just get a local sim. In most countries, a travel sim is something between 20 and 40 bucks. In my opinion, that’s pretty essential.
Extended layover. Not going to buy a SIM for a day in Lisbon.
Eh, guess so. I just never go for this extended layover kind of deal.
And, because I’m European, I do not even need a different sim for the whole of Europe. Unlimited data.
I’m with boomers on this. It’s even worse if it redirects you to their FB page
Agree. And it is an unnecessary wall to go through for most people. Printing a Menu is really simple.
I went to a restaurant that had the barcode menu. I prefer a physical menu, but fine whatever. The problem was, there was no reception inside the restaurant, and you couldn’t connect to their wifi for whatever reason.
This happened to me recently as well, but while traveling when I was low on data. Like ok, I will use your stupid QR code menu, but then you better provide free functional wifi.
I don’t know why but the QR menus just piss me off in a service restaurant. I won’t use em (been bailed out by a date more than once).
For a counter place where they are just slinging me the food? Ok I guess. But if we’re out paying for a dinner that’ll hopefully lead to nookie, phones should be the last thing on the table.
It’s because there is no need to involve your personal pocket computer in their food transaction, but everybody wants to get a piece of your data with their fucking apps and customer “rewards” programs. Of course just pulling up a URL may not give them much, but it’s like they are working towards getting the tip of their data-raping dick in your pants.
And also, it’s an extra step that’s a bit of a hassle. I don’t want to have to use my phone’s browser and internet connection to read little words on a phone screen and scroll around and zoom in etc.
I went to a restaurant once that wanted me to install their app to see the menu. I just laughed at them, left, and never went back. The sad part about that is that the kids working there don’t understand why that would bother anyone and view me as a crotchety old man who yells at clouds. .
I don’t want to have to use my phone’s browser and internet connection to read little words on a phone screen and scroll around and zoom in etc.
The last place I went with a QR menu linked to a fucking PDF. It was absolutely abysmal trying to look through a phone PDF reader at a menu. Unsurprisingly, the restaurant had some of the worst service I have ever encountered in decades of eating at restaurants.
Yeah I’d just walk out if the restaurant can’t afford menus
What if the restaurant can afford it, but don’t have it anyway?
The supply the tablet/phone with the digital menu. Sushi places here do it, I’m ok with that. Making me use my own device, ehhh no thanks. I might as welp provide and make my own food too.
Well, your own device is relatively more hygienic to you, in comparison with shared device. You may hope a restaurant will disinfect device after each guest, but it’s safe to assume they’re not.
Debatable…whens the last time you sanitized your phone. (Never…).
It is also possible to be too hygienic and actually making things worse for you and developing allergies, skin conditions, etc…
If you’re really afraid of menus, then don’t touch the door knob at the restaurant, or the seats, or the bottles of sauce, salt pepper shakers, etc…
Debatable…whens the last time you sanitized your phone. (Never…).
But it’s bacteria your body already familiar with and probably already have some immunity.
I love and seek out restaurants that use online ordering and payment. I don’t need someone waiting on me. I’m in the US and they are not paid a living wage, the work is difficult with little reward. Now there is a place in my neighborhood where you sit down the QR code is table based, interaction is simple, clear and designed to work (uses Toast as the backend iirc). You order, the order stays open till you pay it’s a restaurant/bar so if you need another you don’t have to do anything but tap on your phone. They have amazing helpful servers that are paid well. You pay on your phone and leave when you are done. It’s amazing.
I think this is more about power dynamics than currency and menus. I think many people just want or more accurately demand that others (with less power) to serve them. I’ve even heard people say “it’s not my job to check me out or take my order.” Those same people treat their waitress like shit, when those waitresses are paid basically nothing to take the abuse. Then they try to weasel out of the bill. Seen it time and time again.
Now, some restaurants do poor a poor implementation of modern menus and it’s frustrating. However… long term those that do it well will win. It reduces friction and costs leading to lower prices higher margins and quicker more accurate service.
I am serious. And don’t call me surly.
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You can call me Shirley!
I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me you can call me Al.
Well, duh. I know. But the original joke works because it exchanges “surely” for the homophone “Shirley.” With “Shirley” already in the title I can’t do that, so swapping it for the not-quite-homophone “surly” seemed like the next best choice.
You didn’t get it.
What’s meshurley’s phone number?
Doubly egregious when you have one of those annoying GDPR windows that make opting out a hassle just to view the menu. I’ve left restaurants over this.
for bonus points, the website uses 15 web frameworks and you have to click your way to a gallery of jpeg images for every page of the menu (obviously incompatible with half the mobile browsers so none of this even attempts to render).
“You need to enable Javascript to view this site.”
For when trusting them to not leak our credit card numbers isn’t enough.
Don’t they legally have to have gdpr options?
Not if they don’t track you. As far as I understand the fabled cookie law, you only need to have that notice if you’re using cookies in a way that’s not strictly necessary for the site’s functionality.
Only if they use cookies which frankly…why the fuck would they need to?
They do but lots of places make it a major hassle to set preferences. Like having “accept all” but rejecting has to be done one by one.
Yeah. That’s standard asshat practice now I feel like. There needs to be a GDRP2 that specifies these settings can only pop up if standardized user defaults saved within the browser settings are not present. It’s gotten way out of control.
I’m not a 100% on this, but from what i remember, this is technically also not allowed. Something about refusing has to be just as easy as accepting. What is unfortunately not regulated (i’d assume, since nobody does it) is a refuse all option for legitimate interest, so they can give you an option to opt out of all cookies but leave all the legitimate interest options on and you have to turn them off one by one. Worst part is you might not even see that they’re on if you just say refuse all instead of going to the settings
Tbh this is the reason I’m just using Firefox focus as default browser. Sure you can install your shit cookies, I’ll wipe them off after I’m done with your site
You’re supposed to enjoy your meal, then tape a QR code to the table and say that’s your payment as you walk out.
Ok. (hands out)
Waitress: …What?
Your phone?!
I am fine with it but I feel they should have alternatives. Some people don 't have a device, connection. Or have issues with using technology for whatever reason, being old, incapacitated, etc.
Shit cell service, and an inability to easily take in the menu online are my biggest gripes
There’s a waiter, so I assume you could just tell them you don’t have a phone for it
Then they don’t eat there. I don’t see the problem. Might be the owners problem. But hopefully it was taken into cinsideration. If not, though luck again.
That’s not quite how accessibility regulations are structured. Wouldn’t surprise me if there are requirements on this in any given jurisdiction. Perhaps not a ‘thou shalt have printed menus’ but some kind of reasonable accommodation I think isn’t absurd.
I’ll have the 4 dots in an L shape, that looks good.
