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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#421

Post by rdtwo »

syshum wrote: post #370
rdtwo wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tipping isn’t going away, an entire industry of wage suppression and exploitation is based on it

Except it is not, but ok. I bet you are one of those people that believe wait staff only make $2/hr right?

Not everywhere but in some places it happens if it’s a slow night and the restaurant does some sort of thing where they average out all the tips over a week/month. A waiter could very well earn 3-4$ per hour if they earned 15 on the weekend. It’s not legal but it happens.

Even shadier shit happens where the restaurant makes employees repot tips that didn’t happen to keep above the minimum. Then they have to pay taxes off income not earned. Is it illegal? Yeah but it’s difficult to enforce and the people getting screwed are already very vulnerable (not your hipster big city wait staff)

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#422

Post by conductr »

resonious wrote: post #349
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…

On the general topic of "technology in restaurants", I've noticed an increasing number of restaurants where the waitstaff uses phones/tablets with some kind of specialized app. This happens often: we start telling them our order, and they have to say "wait a sec.... (taps phone for several seconds) okay what was that?". The "UX" as a patron is pretty bad compared to the waitstaff just whipping out a notepad and scrib…

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% standard. Yet, many apps have defaults for 18%, 20%, 22%... all way up to 30% from what I've seen. And, they allow me to "Custom Tip" which I do once I find it (it's usually small and text instead of a button like the presets). However, once you select custom I'm back into dollars instead of percents so I have to do the math myself (and I don't even remember what the total was by this screen). At this point, I'm feeling like "okay you just don't want my money then because I'm not a whale of a tipper" so I have as some act of defiance started just skipping it altogether. I know it's not fair for that server but it's what little I can do to voice my dissent of the system.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#423

Post by atommclain »

hungryforcodes wrote: post #363
rplnt wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, most aren't.

I would dispute that -- except for iPhones -- almost all the smart phones I've seen sold in Asia are dual SIM.

My understanding is that the current iPhones offer both a traditional SIM card slot along with an esim, which gives you the option of two sims provided one of the carriers supports esim.

I also believe that current iPhones sold in China support two physical SIM cards and no esim.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#424

Post by devney »

gbasin wrote: post #414

What will actually happen is QR code menu experiences will get better, and paper menus will ... stay stagnant. A tale as old as time

That's great! As other commenters here have mentioned an online menu accessed by a QR code can have lots of extra features: multiple languages, filters for gluten/nuts/etc.

Meanwhile since I, speaking the local language and not having special dietary needs, want to look at a paper menu while my fone stays in my pocket.

I don't think anyone is actually arguing against having the QR/online menu. That's a great thing. What we're complaining about here is that restaurants have taken away the IRL menu.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#425

Post by melomal »

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…

It's odd because it almost seems like a middle ground of having both options is unacceptable. It's chalk and cheese, black or white.

You can literally have both physical and digital menu's and cater to everyone's needs. No harm done.

People who loathe the idea can carry on, people that love the idea can carry on.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#426

Post by mrlala »

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…

Don't forget to pay that 20% tip because how else would the servers make anything........

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#427

Post by driverdan »

biztos wrote: post #396
moelf wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how am I suppose to have a burner bank account to use with it? don't forget mobile number are associated with your identity in China

> associated with your identity in China Isn’t this true everywhere, just not effectively enforced? You are generally supposed to provide ID and a street address to the phone company when your number is activated. Some places treat that as just a formality and will take any number and address in the right format, but at least in the EU it’s the law and they have to “require” it. Are straight-up burner phones a la “Th…

> Are straight-up burner phones a la “The Wire” still a thing in the US?

Of course. Why would you have to provide an ID to buy a prepaid SIM card?

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#428

Post by prewett »

jbluepolarbear wrote: post #356
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That’s extremely sexist. I for one am an excellent cook, I’m not a women, and I haven’t been employed for my cooking abilities. I learned to cook because I wasn’t able to experience restaurants. I was tired of the bland boring food my parents made. I started cooking our meals and I would copy from tv shows, magazines. I wanted better food, but couldn’t afford to have it prepared for me so I learned a skill. Any resta…

Recounting historical realities is sexist? How does one talk about history then, since history is chock-full of inequalities? And might there be some decent, non-sexist reasons why women cooked and men didn't, consistently, over large periods of time and many different cultures?

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#429

Post by birdman3131 »

FractalParadigm wrote: post #177
topicseed wrote: post #150

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.....

Most, if not all restaurants I've been to around my area, were already either using or switched to using laminated sheets, sometimes bound in a plastic or leather cover. Plastic-enclosed paper is trivial to sanitize and lasts a VERY long time, plus I would like to imagine a laminator is quite a bit cheaper in the long-term than maintaining separate menu websites for every individual location. It's amazing how some ca…

A few here went the opposite route. Print the menu doublesided with a standard B&W laser printer. Every customer gets a new menu and it does not cost a ton extra.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#430

Post by dual_dingo »

elric wrote: post #222
dual_dingo wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And if you really insist on a silly QR menu, then at least include a human readable version of the URL. Seriously. It's not that hard. OK, here is the URL: > http://customer0931.incompetentagency.com/?location=2k12kx&i... Have fun :)

I would argue that doesn't quite qualify as human readable ... Surely something like https://restaurant.tld/menu would make more sense ...

Of course this is not useful or really human readable. It was meant as a "Be careful what you ask for" to the parent post and refers to the fact that at least in my part of the world, most restaurants are not part of a big chain and often end up with digital service/ad agencies of very dubious quality where this kind of URL would be completely acceptable both for the business owner and the agency because both just don't know any better.
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