711–720 of 735 posts
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…
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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…
Correct. Like most of my life, I have things that are opinions but I'm more than willing to change my mind if evidence comes along.
And to be clear, I did not make any assertions with my initial post about health and wellbeing from contactless ordering. It was you that came here to tell me:
> Your belief that it's good to cut out a human interaction is one you should reconsider.
The quote you quoted said nothing to that effect.
Personally, I don't believe it has an effect one way or the other. My opinion is this would probably only really matter for someone who's only social interactions came from talking to the waitstaff. That'd be a pretty rare individual.
> I think most people have life experience that shows them that in-person human interaction is a necessary component to human happiness
Correct, I don't disagree with this
> Maybe somehow you've never experienced or heard other people's experiences of that
Incorrect. What I've not experienced is any positive impact from talking to waitstaff, store clerks, bar tenders, valets, etc. I, like I'd assume most other people, do not get my human interaction from people I purchase services from. I get it from my family, friends, and coworkers.
Perhaps if I were proposing we move to a world where everyone lives in a box never interacting with another individual, you'd have more of a point. That said, my week is no better or worse as a result of moving to online banking or when I have groceries delivered.
I could concede that if the only form of human interaction someone experiences is from a restaurant wait staff then there'd be a net negative for that individual. However, getting food delivered or preparing food at home hardly seems like the problem you are painting. Nor does it seem like me being "out of touch with reality".
Perhaps another concession I'd give is that I could see how limiting human interaction would minimize opportunities for empathy. Certainly, I think more people would be empathetic to field hands were they to directly interact with them.
But, again, I don't see how that really translates when talking about food prep at a restaurant.
I hate how using a QR code actually goes. Unlock my phone. Open the camera app. Swipe to the photo mode in which QR codes work. Aim at the QR code and awkwardly try to tap the hovering URL.
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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.
Fast food has been a staple of life since antiquity: For centuries, folks went to the baker to get bread, since home kitchen facilities were very limited. Women have been stuck in home kitchens for eons, with male family members not learning even basic skills unless they were employed as cooks or bakers. I think we've been depending on others for food prep for a very, very long time.
Did the slightly more than half the population throughout history also have someone else cook for them too? A woman's woman perhaps?
No, I'm not buying any argument that says a person is not privileged to have someone provide for them just because they consider the provisioner to be a lesser being like a woman or a slave. Quite the contrary in fact: I consider that a reinforcing argument for a privileged existence.
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Every pandemic ordering system I've used has been a proper app or website. Surely you have to have that in order to actually enter your order? You can't click "buy" on a PDF.
Most bars/restaurants I've been to have menus but no ordering system, you order and pay as before.
If it points to a website properly designed for multiple screen size, and the WiFi works well without too many hassle or a mandatory invasion of privacy (login to Facebbok to access the WiFi network? No thank you), then it can be a great experience. The restaurant should make sure to have at least a couple of printed copies in case someone can't use their phone, if there's a website outage, etc.
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It’s closer to $3/hr before tips. If they don’t make minimum wage from tips and $3/hr the restaurant must supplement to at least minimum wage. That’s a lot to just make minimum wage.
Well lets do some math. Around here an average meal at a restaurant would be about $14 lunch and $18 dinner per person. So to make the often promoted $15/hr wage, the server would need to clear $96 in tips over the base wage of $3/hr. At an average of 18% tips that would mean the ticket revenue would need to be $534 for the shift. @16 avg per person that is about 4 people per hour, or 1 or 2 tables per hour If the re…
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That’s a worse user experience.
It’s much better. It’s easy for people to see even with visual impairments. Everyone sets up their phone to accommodate their own needs. You can always take the time to ask for a menu and I’m sure someone will bring you one, but it’s my opinion that you’re making too big of a deal out of something that’s such a small part of the dining experience.
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My biggest cheapskate-old-man gripe is how the UX as you said is systemically deteriorating in restaurants yet the tip expectations have creeped up from 15% standard to now 25% default. And, all apps that compute tip % or recommended tip amounts tip on top of tax, which really irks me as just a dark pattern to rip off patrons and inflate the tip amount. This is US tipping culture at absolute worse. I hold at 15% stan…
You're not really voicing your dissent at that point. The server gets no tip and doesn't get any indication why. Why not just bring cash to tip? Or call the restaurant and talk to the manager? Not tipping doesn't accomplish anything and the server who has no control over the system and is already underpaid gets screwed over.
What a curious statement, American Stockholm Syndrome in full effect.
I'm in Australia and tipping is only really done in the case of exceptional service. The price on the menu is the price you pay. Nobody feels animosity towards someone who pays the price on the menu, and nobody feels guilt for "only" paying the price that was specified.
Also nobody would expect sub-par service or to be disparaged if they don't pay more, as sibling commenters have mentioned.
Much simpler for everyone - why should customers have to do convoluted maths to work out how much to subsidize a business that can't afford to pay their workers? That is pretty much the definition of an unviable business.
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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.
Billionaires get tax breaks while the lowest-paid workers buying power goes down every year without fail.
And no guillotines because they're all too busy trying to keep their head above water. GG billionaires.