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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#481

Post by Broken_Hippo »

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…

I'm the poster you responded to, and I think you've taken some things out of context. Of course there is sexism. I was talking about history, and history has a lot more sexism than a lot of western, more "liberal" countries retain - and this is a fairly recent development.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#482

Post by matz1 »

melomal wrote: post #469
Kaze404 wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having both could cause issues, as the digital menu is much easier to update than the physical one, which can lead to inconsistencies. Not that it means it shouldn't be an option, it's just something that needs to be considered

This is very true. I wonder how often restaurants change their menus. I live on the coast of Poland and 5 years later of living here, I can probably tell you what the menu is for the 5 'hot' locations to go to because it literally hasn't changed.

Then you might wonder whether the restaurant can't change their menus often because paper menu is hard to change!

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#483

Post by kerkeslager »

basisword wrote: post #382

Really didn’t take us long to get back to our first world problems did it? As with most tech things the QR menus work well when they’re implemented well and poorly when they’re implanted poorly. Multi-language support (without having to print menus in lots of languages that might not get used) is something I’ve seen in a few places. There is also the opportunity to make them a more accessible option if done right. It…

Ah yes, the "accessibility" of a $200+ smartphone. $500+ if you actually want it to come with a working ad-free QR reader preinstalled.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#484

Post by Grustaf »

syshum wrote: post #405
loonster wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I absolutely stopped going to restaurants that have those table tablets. It's just too distracting.

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

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?

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#485

Post by greenshackle2 »

syshum wrote: post #357
resonious wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#486

Post by kerkeslager »

giarc wrote: post #400
dantheman wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have a small device, where you have to scroll. So much nicer when you can actually look at the menu.

I suspect there are things that would improve the experience for everyone. For example, instead of the customer asking "Is X gluten free, is Y gluten free" the online menu could have filters for various allergies etc. Online menus could also offer more pictures, videos of meals, better upsells etc.

Videos of meals? Better upsells? Are you trying to create my personal hell?

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#487

Post by infecto »

Grustaf wrote: post #480
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…

That's a bit like saying "why bother serving wine from bottles with impractical corks, each table should just have a wine hose with a tap". Going to a restaurant is an experience. A waiter, a physical menu and lots of other inefficiencies are part of that experience.

Definitely not the same so please don't imply as such. Everyone has a different taste for their dining experiences definitely. For me, the normal I need something to eat experience does not need a waiter. But definitely if I a going to a nice place to sit, relax, enjoy the service, yes a waiter, paper menu is a nice experience. These are very different segments in the dining market imo. Kind of like how your normal restaurant is not going to use Tock for reservations.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#488

Post by matz1 »

grumple wrote: post #377
astura wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The reason these wait staff get tips is because they work so hard The reason they get tips is because they are waitstaff, it has zero to do with how hard they work, it's simply custom to tip waitstaff, even lazy waitstaff. Most employees work just as hard without getting tips (like the people who are actually cooking the food).

Perhaps you are unaware, but in the US, tipped waitstaff only make $2.83/hr in most places (tipped minimum wage). These people need tips in order to make any money. Nobody is working hard for 2.83/hr. This is changing since now people are refusing to work those jobs. And yes, the entire industry is dumb and corrupt for having this practice in the first place, but it is what it is.

Maybe you are not aware, if the tip is not enough to match the non tipped minimum wage then the employer has to make up the difference.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#489

Post by skocznymroczny »

malka wrote: post #391
hungryforcodes wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> sold in Asia irrelevant.

Well, Asian phones too I suppose. Most Xiaomi phones if not all are dual sim.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#490

Post by msrenee »

astura wrote: post #358
monkeynotes wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe for you, I tip extra for working hard to keep my meal hot on delivery, water topped up, checking in at appropriate times. I honestly don't understand how you can say tips are not proportional to level of service and how level of service is entirely detached from working hard. > Most people work just as hard without getting tips (like the people who are actually cooking thr food) Most people get paid a real wage…

> I tip extra for working hard to keep my meal hot on delivery, water topped up, checking in at appropriate times. Those are things happen with good management, they have little to do with how hard an individual employee is working at a given time. Besides the claim wasn't waitstaff gets "extra" tips for working hard, the claim was that waitstaff is tipped because they work hard. Don't move the goalposts. >I honestly…

I will admit that I gave a really shitty tip the other week. I ordered the salad bar. All she had to do was refill my pop and settle the bill. She dropped the check off and didn't come back for 15 minutes. I walked over to the bar area to find someone to run my card and she was bullshitting with another employee. Yeah, no. I make it a point to tip well and just consider that part of the cost of my food. Not this time. I rounded up to the next dollar and I don't know why I even did that.
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