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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#51

Post by whymauri »

Depends on the setting, honestly. In a cafe, it's nice to continue working while just ordering on the QR. In some sit down restaurants, it does feel like the service is strictly lower quality with the QR codes. It's hard to convey what exactly you want sometimes, especially since not all these QR apps have a notes section.

Allergies? Substitutions? This stuff just gets slightly harder/annoying, albeit not horribly difficult ofc. I find myself agreeing most with the authors on this, though:

> I despise spending the first 10 minutes of a social engagement on my phone.

This just sucks and I'm tired of it.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#53

Post by villgax »

redisman wrote: post #23
villgax wrote: post #16

Said no one ever

I’ll say it. Bring back menus, QR code’s are terrible. You already printed this goofy thing why not just print the menu so I don’t have to dick around with some PDF on my phone. Perfect example of a solution looking for a problem

Yes, we should just add more avoidable surfaces of contact which do not get cleaned as often as utensils, thanks to your big brain right?

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#54

Post by qbasic_forever »

_delirium wrote: post #41

My biggest surprise in these comments is that people seem to have actually successfully used a QR code! I always assumed they were an iPhone only feature, so I ignore them. I've read that the Android camera app is supposed to recognize QR codes, but it doesn't seem to on my phone.

It varies on Android, some manufacturers ship custom camera apps that include automatic QR code detection and decoding. Many people don't even realize the Android they're using is really a highly-customized vendor skin and suite of apps. Samsung in particular does this, and its camera app auto recognizes QR codes.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#55

Post by kelnos »

murphyslab wrote: post #50

As mentioned in the article, having a digital menu allows for a restaurant to adjust its offering in subtle and responsive ways. If a place is out of one ingredient, those items for which it is necessary could be struck. Or one could have "surge pricing" — not desirable as a customer, but certainly for a dining establishment. And one could also collect more information on customers. I'm still inclined toward tangible…

> If a place is out of one ingredient, those items for which it is necessary could be struck.

The article actually does mention that exact thing.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#56

Post by qbasic_forever »

villgax wrote: post #53
redisman wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ll say it. Bring back menus, QR code’s are terrible. You already printed this goofy thing why not just print the menu so I don’t have to dick around with some PDF on my phone. Perfect example of a solution looking for a problem

Yes, we should just add more avoidable surfaces of contact which do not get cleaned as often as utensils, thanks to your big brain right?

Wash your hands before the food is served, it's super common and recommended even in the pre-covid times.

If you're touching your phone right before eating you DEFINITELY want to wash your hands. Think about where your phone usually sits, tightly pressed against your body absorbing all the sweat and detritus and bacteria on your person. Think of the last time you actually washed or sanitized your phone too...

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#57

Post by noduerme »

whymauri wrote: post #51

Depends on the setting, honestly. In a cafe, it's nice to continue working while just ordering on the QR. In some sit down restaurants, it does feel like the service is strictly lower quality with the QR codes. It's hard to convey what exactly you want sometimes, especially since not all these QR apps have a notes section. Allergies? Substitutions? This stuff just gets slightly harder/annoying, albeit not horribly di…

"... it's nice to continue working..." yes, this is also the problem with so many cafes. People go there to get some work done but also to interact. To strike up conversations about work or life with people outside your usual bubble. If you didn't want to be around other people you could stay in the office or at home. But in recent years everyone wears headphones and has so many devices that walking into a cafe at lunchtime is like going into a call center. What's the point? I've worked on laptops in cafes since the early 90s when I was usually the only one with a computer. But I learned the civility that if you're going to work in a public space, part of the reason you're doing that is to take time away from your work to interact with other people, including the service staff. Usually I would never go work "out" until all the job reqs for the day were done and I was comfortable being interrupted. To go into a public space and tune everything out and demand that it function like your private office is a bizarre antisocial feature of a generation that has spent too much time on social media and doesn't know how to act or respond in real life. Walking into those places now just makes me sad.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#58

Post by _delirium »

qbasic_forever wrote: post #54
_delirium wrote: post #41

My biggest surprise in these comments is that people seem to have actually successfully used a QR code! I always assumed they were an iPhone only feature, so I ignore them. I've read that the Android camera app is supposed to recognize QR codes, but it doesn't seem to on my phone.

It varies on Android, some manufacturers ship custom camera apps that include automatic QR code detection and decoding. Many people don't even realize the Android they're using is really a highly-customized vendor skin and suite of apps. Samsung in particular does this, and its camera app auto recognizes QR codes.

I have a Pixel bought directly from the Google Store, so I assumed it'd have the most recent features, whatever they are! The Pixel 3a, though, doesn't seem to do anything special with QR codes, besides photographing them.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#59

Post by Talanes »

nsxwolf wrote: post #30
wlesieutre wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because you have good eyesight doesn’t mean everyone else does

If you have something that can read a QR code you also have something that can magnify text.

I dated a girl with poor eyesight, and absent a digital version her method was the phone flashlight and holding the menu very close to her face. So the physical version was workable, but a pinch to zoom is still more dignified.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#60

Post by Grumbledour »

I read an article a few years back (Though I am unable to find it now) that complained about diners taking longer and longer to order these days, especially because they play around with their phones instead of perusing the menu. (I think this conclusion was based on surveillance tapes)

I do wonder if having the menu on your phone could actually be more engaging to these kind of diners (or at least prevent them from doing anything else), so that the whole ordering food process is sped up?

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