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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#701
I was always wondering, how secure are QR code menus? What if someone will quietly put identically looking QR code that would point not to https://coolcafe.xyz/menu/table/5, but to https://thecoolcafe.xyz/menu/table/5, that is a full copy of the legit site, just with payment form logging CC details and then throwing some vague error and then redirecting to legit site (or even more elaborate scam with proxying all requests to legit site and logging all data)? Should be pretty low-effort and low-risk operation to collect CC details. Clients do not know which site they expect to land on when they scan that QR code.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#702

I was always wondering, how secure are QR code menus? What if someone will quietly put identically looking QR code that would point not to https://coolcafe.xyz/menu/table/5 , but to https://thecoolcafe.xyz/menu/table/5 , that is a full copy of the legit site, just with payment form logging CC details and then throwing some vague error and then redirecting to legit site (or even more elaborate scam with proxying all r…

This has already started happening in India where thiefs are replacing QR codes which are stuck outside of a Shop

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#703

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most of the people calling for a $15/hr base wage have a delusional belief they will make $15/hr PLUS tips... that is never going to happen It almost does in Portland. Starting July 1st, it's $14 plus tips. There is no "tipped employee" minimum wage. It's the same for all. I think it will be $13 per hour in the rest of Oregon outside the metro area but there may be a third level for the most rural counties.

I'm in Oregon and I didn't realize that. Don't mean to be too much of a jerk, but I may adjust my tipping downwards. I typically do closer to 20%.

There are many states where minimum wage for workers is above the federal $2.13 (actually, a bit more than half): https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped

This whole $2 thing is bullshit that’s carried forward if you’re the average HN reader in a coastal city. My friends who are waiters across a spectrum of restaurants (in a coastal city) probably make $50-60 an hour, and double that at the higher end places, for a job that yes, can be exhausting (but not exceptionally more so than many other low-skill jobs), and requires no specific training or degree.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#704
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…

That sounds excruciating. Would absolutely make my blood boil. I had the opposite experience today:

Arrive at the table, scan the QR code

Connect to the wifi, just a short PSK, no captive portal

Order food from web page (no registration or account, the QR code is already set up to be my table). Extra-options for the dishes available.

Initiate second order, add some 0-cost salt, mayo, and water.

Payment didn't involve the website at all, just paid at the register with cash like normal.

At no point was I urged to enter any personal information or install an app.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#705
post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hmm, I prefer them. I never liked handing my card to wait staff where they take off somewhere.. I 100% prefer pay at table, and would 100% prefer order at table as well, less chance they get my order wrong

> I never liked handing my card to wait staff where they take off somewhere.. Just realized this is another problem averted by Chip+PIN for payments. Since you have to physically touch the keypad, there's reason to take you to the PoS terminal, or the terminal to you, and no reason to take the card from you.

Chip+Pin is not really used in the US at all.

Chip+Sign is what we have here. I dont even know what my PIN would be for my Credit Card, Pin's are only really used for Debit cards but I almost never use my Debit card for anything at all.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#706

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only does the "recommended" tipping amount keep going up, but in a lot of discussions there's the additional bullshit of waiters saying "Well 25% is the bare minimum, (if you're a total jerk), but if you tip 35% we'll really take care of you!" To me, a waiter provides no value at all. I'd rather order at a counter and pick up the food myself. Then I don't have someone asking me "how is everything" when my mouth i…

Yes. The discussions I've seen from waiter expectations like you mention is what has soured me the most on tipping. Also, I don't feel like my check size is very related to the amount of work involved. At least in my 95% use case of 2-4 people. The waiter does the same thing, checks in on us just as much, still juggling 5-10 other tables. I'm there for an hour. I just don't see $15-30 of value in the service I got du…

>It's probably outdated rule and needs some adjustment for inflation

Honestly if the minimum wage was increased appropriately we wouldn't have to bother with tipping at all.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#707

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hygiene theater? That’s just hygiene. You don’t HAVE to bathe everyday, nothing will happen if you don’t. But doing so is just hygiene.

A year ago it was generally believed that fomites passed by contact was or could be a significant path for spread of the covid-19 virus. This turns out not to be the case - but that hasn't stopped a huge number of organizations from demanding high levels of surface cleansing. If you're just unusually fastidious, I guess that's your right. But when you're claiming (or at least implying) that everyone must conform to t…

Yeah, the CDC has acknowledged the surface thing [1], but sadly people are still operating on last year's knowledge and stil think disinfection is super important. Meanwhile despite new knowledge that Covid spreads in the air (not just through visible spit)[2], things like good ventilation (e.g. keeping windows open) hasn't really been pushed to people's heads. Maybe it's the failure of media?

[1] https://nypost.com/2021/04/05/low-risk-of-catching-covid-fro...

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/opinion/coronavirus-airbo...

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#708

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.

The tent/box "solution" was so dumb, the idea of "outside dining is okay" is because fresh air would dillute the virus being breathed out by people. If you're "outside" a building but in a tent, that's no difference, but well it follows the letter of the rules and somehow authorities also turn a blind eye, so they've been allowed. From a science point of view, if that was okay, you might've as well stayed indoors!

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#709

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. 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?

You're starting from an opinion that you haven't presented any evidence for, and then asking for evidence when someone disagrees with you? Let's be clear here: we're both presenting opinions without scientific studies behind them.

The study you proposed doesn't address the topic at hand, because there's a very large confounding factor: packed lunches are going to have very different foods in them than what you'd get at a restaurant, which has obvious health implications.

I think most people have life experience that shows them that in-person human interaction is a necessary component to human happiness, especially after the pandemic. Maybe somehow you've never experienced or heard other people's experiences of that, but if that's the case, you really should seek out the opinions of people who aren't like you more often. Maybe start with the waitstaff at your local restaurant. ;)

Are you aware that there's a widespread feeling that tech/business folks are out of touch with reality?

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