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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#631

Post by idiotsecant »

colinmhayes wrote: post #624
thomascgalvin wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My big issue, which should be easily correctable, is that every menu QR code I've scanned results in a PDF that I have to download. Nobody wants PDFs. On desktop sites, it's common to add a (PDF Warning) to links that lead to PDFs. And on a phone, PDFs are even worse. They're almost always sized for the desktop, which means you have to pinch and scroll to see anything, and I don't download stuff from Firefox often en…

I love scanning a QR code and having a pdf open in my browser. Faster than waiting for wait staff and easier for restaurants to change the menu. I think most people disagree that nobody wants PDFs.

PDFs are better than a paper menu, for sure, but wouldn't you prefer a website that scales properly and allows you to place orders? I think that is the point parent post is making.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#632

Post by cogman10 »

kerkeslager wrote: post #617
cogman10 wrote: post #615

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I could see something like an open restaurant where you come in, scan the QR code, place the order, and get/pay for your food all without really interacting with someone. That'd be great, but I'd want a "push for server" button on every table for people without smart phones or people that don't know how to interact with QR codes. It certainly could be made super slick (embedding the table number, for example, i…

> Yeah, I could see something like an open restaurant where you come in, scan the QR code, place the order, and get/pay for your food all without really interacting with someone. That'd be great, but I'd want a "push for server" button on every table for people without smart phones or people that don't know how to interact with QR codes. Your belief that it's good to cut out a human interaction is one you should reco…

I'm open to reconsidering it. What's the evidence that human interaction with restaurant servers is good for either the servers or the person being served? Do people that pack in lunches to work experience lower health than those that eat out?

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#633

Post by ryantgtg »

unethical_ban wrote: post #600
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 m…

We went to a restaurant last week for the first time in a year, and sat there for 10 minutes waiting for a menu. The person who seated us didn’t tell us about the QR code. I discovered it after idly looking at the piece of paper on the table (which previously I assumed was an ad for drink specials).

A few minutes later I witnessed an elderly couple experiencing the same thing. They sat for 10 minutes expectantly waiting for menus to be delivered.

Lame experience.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#634

Post by seanmcdirmid »

whimsicalism wrote: post #564
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’d be surprised how many overseas Chinese (who have immigrated to somewhere else) who are visiting China are trapped by this. And even foreigners who don’t read Chinese can pick out certain characters of the food they like to eat (you don’t need to read Chinese very well to recognize stereotypical 宫保鸡丁). China is really bad at exceptions. Many of those restaurants have gotten rid of their paper menus (which didn’t…

Yes, it is helpful to have cell service, both in China and in the United States.

You can get by without cell phone service in the USA. On all my business trips back to the USA while living in China, I didn't have much a problem (free open wifi is pretty common, you can even use Uber pretty easily without a phone number).

In China...if someone else can get you a SIM, you'll be OK, or maybe you can get one at the airport in customs (that used to be possible), though they have been cracking down on SIMs without ID numbers or resident visas associated with them.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#635

Post by adamdusty »

acituan wrote: post #537
dsr_ wrote: post #519

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even more so: "a crowd of tech workers who generally are trying to pave the way" are professionally engaged in using, critiquing and developing user interfaces. These are the people you hire to tell you "this wasn't a good idea, here's a better one". Super-thin phones. Touch-screen controls in automobiles. QR codes instead of menus. All of these things seem nifty to marketing departments, may be accepted by consumers…

> Even more so: "a crowd of tech workers who generally are trying to pave the way" are professionally engaged in using, critiquing and developing user interfaces. “I don’t like it” is not a critique though. The people you would want to hire could try to answer “here is an imperfect solution, how would you improve it?”

The article gives reasons why it is an imperfect solution.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#636

Post by seanmcdirmid »

whimsicalism wrote: post #465
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find paying via QR code to be much less convenient than NFC that is more popular in the west. Tap and pay is really quick, especially in countries like Australia.

Hm, maybe. But can they afford to have an NFC reader at every single table? Can street vendors without access to electricity/mobile connection just hold up a QR code cut into some wood and you can pay that way? NFC seems to put the onus on the vendor, Wechat pay/Alipay has no such problem. It's definitely not quick in the US, where it hasn't been really adopted at the same level, it might be fast in Australia.

Different culture. You pay at one place, no or few street vendors, modern convenience stores abound.

I've seen and used NFC pads attached to cellphones using Square adapters, so you can go that route if you want.

NFC is definitely much faster in Australia than in the USA.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#637

Post by tonyaiken »

I really hate paying with waiter. I have to wait for waiter to come to table and call for bill, wait for the bill to come, wait for waiter to pick up bill and card, wait for waiter to get my card back and then sign. It’s so damn long process. I really love to have the bill ready anytime and pay with my phone or a kiosk on the table and just leave.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#638

Post by navhc2 »

drdeadringer wrote: post #590
fleddr wrote: post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To each their own, but to me this ceremony provides zero value. Waiters take the order and may comment on the weather, it's not like we're developing a deep friendship here. The "tradition" is to sit, wait for a waiter to appear. Ask for purpose (lunch? big meal? just a drink?). Then you wait again for the correct menu to appear. Then you get asked for a drink. And wait for the drink. And then comes the longer wait w…

3-4 hours is a long time. That sounds like a leisurely dinner set on "Italian Mode" [no offence] with a reservation, not a work lunch on Tuesday in the US. This ritual or ceremony of waiter, menu, waiting, ordering, signalling for the cheque that you apparently find vile... I enjoy it. Any inefficiency you have declared is part of the experience of going out to eat. You want fast food? Go get fast food. You want a bu…

Then you should continue patronizing restaurants that have the traditional method, and whoever doesn't want that can seek out restaurants with more efficient methods. Forcing your definition of what a restaurant "should be" is detrimental to everyone, more choice is better for everyone.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#639

Post by Grustaf »

syshum wrote: post #611
Grustaf wrote: post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you trust them to cook your food, but you are worried they will take off with your card? Do you live in a first world country or a failed state?

never heard of card skimming have you?

Not really in a first world country, no…

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#640

Post by cgriswald »

idiotsecant wrote: post #626
twerkmonsta wrote: post #538

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now I have to connect to their wifi before I can see the menu? And the restaurant is expected to maintain a menu server? What is MORE practical about this?

No, you can use your cellular connection all you want. It'll just eat your data. If you want to trade a little effort for a little data saving, that option is open to you.

That depends on whether the @ff317's solution (2) also includes availability over the internet.
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