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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#591

Post by squeaky-clean »

cultofmetatron wrote: post #587

Interesting as my startup is going in the opposite direction. WE've embraced QR codes and trying to make the experience of ordering from a menu even better. Unlike these guys, we're working on software that makes the waiter more efficient. You download the phone app and scan the code that the waiter gives you. From there, you have shared list between you and all your friends at the table from which you can send order…

Wait, you're saying I have to install your app on my phone if I want to view the menu? I find the QR menus annoying, but not a huge deal. But requesting I install an app would get me to ask my group if we could dine somewhere else.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#592

Post by xxpor »

greenshackle2 wrote: post #485
syshum wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several of the large chains already have pay at table kiosk's I have always wondered why they just do not have order at table as well... I am waiting for the first restaurant that only has Cooks and Food Runners with no traditional waitstaff... This will likely coincide with the removal of tipping as a custom in the US. We will move to kiosk ordering, press a button to get drink refills, pay at the table, and leave.

> only has Cooks and Food Runners with no traditional waitstaff They've had this in Japan since before tablets in the form of vending machine restaurants. You order and pay at a vending machine and get a ticket, you sit down and hand in your ticket, and someone brings the food to your table. I haven't been in many years, I guess now they have touch screen kiosks instead of old school vending machines.

I loved those as a tourist that doesn't speak any Japanese. The touch screens would always have an English option.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#594

Post by nyghtly »

infecto wrote: post #417

It's really interesting to see how a crowd of tech workers who generally are trying to pave the way are so quick to attack and be negative. Like all things in life, when its implemented well it works and when it does not it is terrible. I still think there is room for this to be the future though. I say this as a westerner but perhaps the west is not ready for it yet but I really enjoyed the experience of using QR co…

I think this is more than just a difference in technology. The entire culture of restaurant dining is different in China. The greatest example of this is the fact that servers in China will always wait to approach the table until they are called over. This is quite different from the American approach in which the servers always come to us without being asked.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#595

Post by xxpor »

tester34 wrote: post #250
sksksk wrote: 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…

what if I dont have smartphone?

Then sucks for you.

There's not enough people in the demographics the restaurant cares about to make an accommodation.

It's like when people complain pages are broken when they turn off JavaScript.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#596

Post by andrewzah »

_Nat_ wrote: post #584
alisonatwork wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This process was one of my most hated "innovations" in food ordering in China. It turns every restaurant into a production line fast food operation, exactly like American chain restaurants. At that point, why even bother going to a restaurant at all? Might as well just order a Sysco-equivalent microwave meal at the supermarket or 7/11, because the flavor and the service will be exactly the same. For me the best resta…

Most ordering-apps I've tried allow customers to customize items and make special-requests. It's often easier to do these things on an app, and these modifications are automatically reflected on the receipt. I guess an app could give people access to a webcam to engage in discussion with a cook as they prepare the food, for people who really want to watch the process and talk to the cook.. is that a feature you'd be…

I believe they’re referring to places small enough and slightly open so that you can see the few kitchen workers.

I ran into a few of those mom and pop joints in Korea as well. Basically every 김밥 (kimbap) shop is kinda like subway where you can see them prepare the food.

I believe they were talking about how interacting with an actual human is part of the experience of going out for them. And just going to a restaurant in order to fiddle with a menu screen and order kind of defeats the purpose since you could just do that with takeout? It doesn’t bother me either way, but I prefer restaurants that have a button on the table to call the server.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#598

Post by allenu »

infecto wrote: post #417

It's really interesting to see how a crowd of tech workers who generally are trying to pave the way are so quick to attack and be negative. Like all things in life, when its implemented well it works and when it does not it is terrible. I still think there is room for this to be the future though. I say this as a westerner but perhaps the west is not ready for it yet but I really enjoyed the experience of using QR co…

I suppose for me, going to a restaurant is not a matter of "efficiency". I go there to socialize with friends, to enjoy the atmosphere, to interact with people. If service is slow, then, yes, I get annoyed. However, I don't think I ever go into a restaurant thinking, "I wish they would make restaurant ordering more efficient." If I want that, I go to a fast food place or place that does takeout.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#599

Post by dragonwriter »

nyghtly wrote: post #593

Regarding the "cashless trend": Isn't this technically illegal in the United States? That is to say, all businesses are obligated to accept U.S. currency as payment, which includes cash.

> Isn't this technically illegal in the United States?

Nope.

> That is to say, all businesses are obligated to accept U.S. currency as payment

No, they aren't. If there is a preexisting debt, the “legal tender” status of currency has some effect especially if there isn't a contracted-for form of payment, but many businesses operate payment-first with no debt created, and those that don’t tend to contractually specify forms of payment.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#600

Post by unethical_ban »

infecto wrote: post #417

It's really interesting to see how a crowd of tech workers who generally are trying to pave the way are so quick to attack and be negative. Like all things in life, when its implemented well it works and when it does not it is terrible. I still think there is room for this to be the future though. I say this as a westerner but perhaps the west is not ready for it yet but I really enjoyed the experience of using QR co…

I don't think it is bad as an option, but I resent it as the only method.

* Homeless/poor may not have phones

* Old people don't have smartphones or know how to use them

* I don't want to have my phone with me at all times. I actually leave my phone in the car when dining sometimes.

* Something as simple as a listing of options, which is often static for weeks or more at a time, now depend on a WAN connection! It's meatspace dependency hell.

I know "menu costs" are such a thing that it is taught in accounting and business classes. Nevertheless, the idea of getting rid of a hard menu, even as a backup, is absurd, unnecessary, and dare I use a buzzword I hate, "privileged".

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