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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With covid, many restaurants removed paper menus to avoid transmission. I hate QR codes so that was a move I was not in favour of.....

Restaurants open during the pandemic has been a joke. Outside in a tent/wood box never fixed any problem. I have not been to a restaurant since March 2020. Going to different restaurants was my favorite hobby, but the experience has become so hostile that I won’t go back until I can sit inside without a mask, have a menu, and not have to worry about a coughing idiot.

Your comment reeks of entitlement. Restaurant owners have been struggling to survive by serving customers any way they can. Sorry your high dining-out standards can’t be met while a few million people die from the pandemic.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#202
I've never enjoyed standing at the bar waiting to order, not even as an underage teen when going to a pub or club was a shiny new experience. Never. And especially not when it's busy. (If I never again experience standing 10 deep at the bar in a busy Wetherspoons, or a gig, on a Saturday night I will shed not one single solitary tear.)

So in some sense table service is an improvement. But I'm with the author on QR codes and mobile ordering. I'm sick to the back teeth of it. Every other restaurant or pub has their own flawed and busted-ass interpretation of how an ordering app should work, and payment is an inconsistent mess. Some places have an app, some have a website. None of it works the same bloody way, and it can all go and do one in the ninth circle of Hades as far as I'm concerned.

These are all first world problems, but they're still problems. And I'd take standing at the bar and ordering drinks over any of them, with possible exceptions for the busier scenarios I specifically picked out in my first paragraph.

(Don't overinterpret me: I don't mind sticking to the rules for the time being, but when restrictions relax and I don't have to do any of these annoying things any more I will literally skip for joy.)

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#203
My preferred combo: QR code at the table for menu browsing. Order with a human. Then QR code on the bill to (optionally) pay on your phone, ideally with Apple Pay. But you have the option still to leave out your CC for a more leisurely payment flow.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#204

> Before the pandemic, I’d shudder at the sight of a restaurant table full of people all staring at their phones. I was always happy not to be them or be sitting with them. I always kept the lively conversation flowing at my table. I always thought this perspective was funny because it always assumed what the people on their phones were doing. The assumption is that they are disengaged with each other when it's just…

Same crap no matter what... can't believe I am feeling old school for actually wanting to interact with people eye to eye when meeting them. Luckily all our friends have same approach, so we either don't have phones with us at all (because why really), or somewhere in deep pocket and untouched for whole evening. Refreshing feeling, one should try it from time to time

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Firefox has a QR code scanner - if you tap the URL bar, it has a "scan" button that lets you scan a QR code and use it as a URL. Perhaps Chrome does as well, i d k because I don't use Chrome.

Till I learnt about that, I used a simple QR code scanner from F-Droid (since Playstore is completely untrustworthy for generic utilities).

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#206
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find hard to believe that you can decompile any app that has bothered implementing key pinning (which I always assumed is done at app level, not OS).

Speaking of https, I will give my own example. I can get to the cockpit (local ip:9090) of my fedora machine on my android phone if I continue past the scary warning but not on my iphone.

You can most definitely bypass the invalid certificate warning on iOS (I also have a device that uses a self-signed certificate and listens on a local IP, I can open its web interface just fine on iOS)

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#207
post #138

It's really simple: if I can't read your menu, I'm not eating. Goodbye. IIRC there's a law here that mandates a menu visible from outside the premises, it isn't always followed to the letter, but but most places comply, and it's a great way to avoid unpleasant pricing surprises. Same with paying. You don't accept cash or credit cards? Goodbye. You only accept apple pay or some other nonsense payment system? Goodbye.…

> And if you really insist on a silly QR menu, then at least include a human readable version of the URL. Seriously. It's not that hard.

OK, here is the URL: > http://customer0931.incompetentagency.com/?location=2k12kx&i...

Have fun :)

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#208

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.

On Android, you open your camera app and then tap on "Google Lens". This allows you to scan QR codes.

The text "Google Lens" may not appear even though it is present. My Google Lens button is a cryptic symbol. Modern user interface design seems to give bonus points for being cryptic and obscure because companies are hostile to the idea that they might empower the user - a sense of confusion and uncertainty acts as a form of lockin.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With covid, many restaurants removed paper menus to avoid transmission. I hate QR codes so that was a move I was not in favour of.....

Restaurants open during the pandemic has been a joke. Outside in a tent/wood box never fixed any problem. I have not been to a restaurant since March 2020. Going to different restaurants was my favorite hobby, but the experience has become so hostile that I won’t go back until I can sit inside without a mask, have a menu, and not have to worry about a coughing idiot.

Lol, please stay home as long as possible

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#210
post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Restaurants open during the pandemic has been a joke. Outside in a tent/wood box never fixed any problem. I have not been to a restaurant since March 2020. Going to different restaurants was my favorite hobby, but the experience has become so hostile that I won’t go back until I can sit inside without a mask, have a menu, and not have to worry about a coughing idiot.

Your comment reeks of entitlement. Restaurant owners have been struggling to survive by serving customers any way they can. Sorry your high dining-out standards can’t be met while a few million people die from the pandemic.

How is this entitlement? Dining at a restaurant is a luxury, if I’m going to spend my money on a luxury, I’m going to choose an experience that is safe, enjoyable, and to my interests. Why are you so upset? Why do you feel that the conditions in place are acceptable? Personally, I grew up quite poor and never got to go to restaurants. It wasn’t until I started making a little money in my late 20s that I could start to go to restaurants as a way to remove myself from my current stressful life and just unwind for a bit. For me restaurant dining is an experience and the experience offered at present isn’t appealing.
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