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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#251
post #168
post #129

When they work well, they're really good, but when they work badly, they're _really_ bad. The other week, I went for dinner at a place that had a online ordering system. My experience was as follows... Arrive at the table, scan the QR code No phone signal in the restaurant, so I need to connect to the wifi. Connect to the wifi, get a captive portal Need to put my phone number in to connect to the wifi; there is no si…

> Connect to the wifi, get a captive portal > Need to put my phone number in to connect to the wifi; there is no signal, so I need to go outside, to receieve the confirmation code. Somewhere around these steps is where I would leave. It’s the equivalent of sitting at a table for 15 minutes waiting for the waiter to give my group menus[1] - they don’t want me as their guest. [1] It happened, both the waiting and the l…

I fully agree with the addition that personal interaction can make waiting for 15 minutes acceptable if a reasonable explanation is given. I can accept that something has gone wrong if somebody feels responsible and apologizes for the mishap. It might even develop into an occasion for a welcome chat with restaurant staff. For instance, I recently visited a newly opened restaurant at its 2nd day where we had to wait for the food very long. The server apologized and talked about the challenges they've encountered, and gave us a free soup with bread. This can still be annoying if you are in a hurry. However, we were not and so it gave us the opportunity to get in touch with the new staff, increasing the likelihood of us going back there.

In a non-personal QR code setup, on the other hand, responsibility is shifted to some bureaucratic process which is nothing but frustrating.

As noted in the article, most/many people do not go out for diner to quickly buy and consume a meal, but to spend nice time with people. 15 minutes waiting time spent chatting with a waiter or with each other even has the potential to contribute to a positive experience, whereas 15 minutes setting up your smartphone definitely does not.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#252
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ordering and paying through the QR code is now pretty common place in NYC. fewer waiters can attend more tables.

How does tipping works in those places?

The same way other ordering services does it you can either do it through the app or you can always leave cash on the table as always.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#254
post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

Dining at a restaurant is a luxury I think this is the crux of the difference of opinions. Dining at a restaurant is different things to different people at different times. I love the 'luxury' dining experience with all that it entails, will happily pay a lot of money to experience it, and I cannot wait to do that again. And in those cases, yes I expect that all aspects of the dining experience live up to that. But…

It smacks of entitlement when dining at a restaurant is considered basic necessity and preparing your own meals is considered a luxury. Think about history. Think about the vast, vast majority of people on earth. Consider just how entitled one must be to have the help prepare your basic necessities of life.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#255
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.

I can bypass the self-signed cert error on my iPhone 8 on iOS 14.4.2

That aside, what's the point? There's no practical threat model where https makes what you're doing more secure. If you have neither a domain name that can use a real TLS cert nor your own CA added to the mobile device, it would be trivial for someone to MITM you. Just configure your Fedora dashboard to use http if you don't care about security

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is NFC on a phone more convenient than tapping a card?

The phone would be already out whereas the card is more likely in a wallet. The phone is probably faster than getting the card.

Okay so if your phone is your hand already and ready to be used, then it's "more convenient" (i.e. saves maybe 2 seconds) than your card, but then in all other cases it's not? I usually keep my phone in my pocket so this isn't more convenient anyway.

Personally I find any hard requirement of a phone extremely _inconvenient_, since it means I must have my phone with me. A card/cash takes up much less space than a phone.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#257
post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

> why do you feel like the conditions in place are acceptable? “Acceptable”? To whom? This is why you sound entitled. The alternative is not dining out . You make it sound like restaurants are letting you down or should try harder . The word “acceptable” has no place in this conversation. It’s fine that you don’t want to go out to restaurants right now. But you’re complaining about how inconvenient it is for you like…

[deleted]

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#258
post #254
post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dining at a restaurant is a luxury I think this is the crux of the difference of opinions. Dining at a restaurant is different things to different people at different times. I love the 'luxury' dining experience with all that it entails, will happily pay a lot of money to experience it, and I cannot wait to do that again. And in those cases, yes I expect that all aspects of the dining experience live up to that. But…

It smacks of entitlement when dining at a restaurant is considered basic necessity and preparing your own meals is considered a luxury. Think about history. Think about the vast, vast majority of people on earth. Consider just how entitled one must be to have the help prepare your basic necessities of life.

By that argument, indoor plumbing and safe running water can also be considered luxuries. Which, while true, is rather reductivist.

And if we want to talk history, having food made for you by other rather than making it yourself is not a new thing. Having a servant or a wife/mother/grandmother making you dinner was far more common in the past than it is now. I'd probably guess that more people know how to cook and cook their own food today, than at just about any other time in history

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#259
post #129

When they work well, they're really good, but when they work badly, they're _really_ bad. The other week, I went for dinner at a place that had a online ordering system. My experience was as follows... Arrive at the table, scan the QR code No phone signal in the restaurant, so I need to connect to the wifi. Connect to the wifi, get a captive portal Need to put my phone number in to connect to the wifi; there is no si…

I can already see myself, as a tourist who buys a US SIM card to get data on vacation, having to add a SIM card swap to this ordeal to confirm debit card transaction via my EU phone number. Why, oh why...

Could make life easier for tourists wanting to get round a language barrier.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

A.k.a. “mystery meat navigation”.
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