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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

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Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#721

Post by brokenmachine »

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…

Sounds nice until your menus have pop-unders and you need adblock to order food.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#722

Post by dagw »

bregma wrote: post #714
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.

> Women have been stuck in home kitchens for eons ... 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…

A woman's woman perhaps?

Servants and maids where much more common in the past than now, especially among the middle class. Also it was more common to have several generations living under the same roof, so 1-2 people would often be preparing meals for 6-12 people. Today it is much more likely that you have 1-2 people preparing food for 1-4 people.

I strongly suspect that the proportion of people eating a meal they cooked themselves is almost certainly higher now than at virtually any point in history.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#723

Post by yoz-y »

IshKebab wrote: post #715
yoz-y wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most bars/restaurants I've been to have menus but no ordering system, you order and pay as before.

Must be regional. Are you in America? Maybe because card payment is less common?

In France. Payment by cash is very rare, most everything is paid by contactless. But I think it's more of a habit that in restaurants and bars, you usually pay when leaving.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#724

Post by stryker7001 »

the__alchemist wrote: post #360
stemlord wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only QR related issue here is lack of signal, everything else is irrelevant

You shouldn't need internet connectivity or a smart phone to view the menu.

Why? its 2021. Everything is connected. You're on a hacker website.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#725

Post by grumple »

matz1 wrote: post #662
grumple wrote: post #657

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In practice, tipped employees typically get 0 dollar paychecks from their employers; the business assumes that your tips bring you up to the minimum wage, whether true or not, and they pay taxes on your behalf accordingly. This is also typically calculated on a pay period basis, rather than by hour or by day, which results in overstaffing during slow periods to the detriment of all employees, because as long as you g…

Thats not true, tipped employees typically do get >0 dollar paycheck from their employers. That is their base hourly wage. general minimum wage is peanuts, yes. but tipped waitstaff only make $2.83/hr is not true. If the employer did not make up the difference then they risk being fined/shutdown.

> Thats not true, tipped employees typically do get >0 dollar paycheck from their employers. That is their base hourly wage.

This is not true. I’ve been a service employee. Your employer withholds taxes on estimated tipped earnings, typically resulting in literal $0 paychecks. This is the norm in states with lower tipped minimums (might not hold true in states like CA). In fact, getting actual cash on your paycheck means the business was so slow that they needed to pay you to make up the difference (or close to it). In which case, barely over $7 is still abysmal to deal with the bs in that biz, and obviously far too little to actually live a decent life.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#726

Post by conductr »

brewdad wrote: post #677
conductr wrote: post #580

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've visited and really enjoyed that model. I'm in Texas and we're not progressive at all in this realm; or many other realms when comparing to a progressive state like Washington.

You are still expected to tip the same as other states with the $2.13 minimum for tipped employees. In fact, you should be tipping more, so goes the rule of thumb, since cost of living is higher.

In Washington? I don't recall that being the case. I was there around the time they converted about 5 years ago and there were signs everywhere saying that the prices may seem high because they pay their people a living wage. I have to assume that means living wage locally. If waitstaff is wanting a regular tip now, it's just a naturally greedy thing to want as much compensation as you can get. Have their cake and eat it too. American's are passive on this in general and don't negotiate well (we're not used to it). So I think we tend to feel guilted into sheepish behavior instead of challenging the "rule of thumb". The reality is, some jobs just aren't meant to earn big bucks. I support a minimum wage, but you also have to realize that means minimum lifestyle.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#727

Post by conductr »

FalconSensei wrote: post #621
conductr wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

If I have to do math and input in dollar, I do 10%, which is easier to calculate

I've thought about this. My "15%" standard in application is more like. 10% + 50% of 10%, ambiguously round to whole dollar. So if the bill was $45, I think, $4.5 + about $2 is $6.5 so I'll give $6 but maybe I go $7. I never do cents unless it's to force the total to a whole dollar amount (rare).

I'm moving towards a fixed amount. Since, as I mentioned elsewhere I don't see a strict correlation between menu price and work performed. The amount of work to bring me a steak is same as work to bring me a burger; but the steak might cost 3x more. Majority of dining experiences follow the same script and same amount of interaction with waitstaff so I'm thinking of just giving everyone $X and don't even consider what I spent. Maybe adjust up if we had appetizers, extra beverages, or some difficult situation. Having a toddler, I've left my fair share of huge "sorry for the mess" tips and that doesn't bother me at all.

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#728

Post by conductr »

qazxcvbnmlp wrote: post #585
conductr wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Yep - and now the waitstaff will gossip about you behind your back, give you bad service and thing you’re grumpy old man. You thought you were dissenting, but it mostly just reflects poorly on you. Source - brother is a server.

I don't care what someone that behaves that way thinks of me. I seldom repeat to places with bad service. Or if I do, I seldom see the same waiter. In reality, this has zero impact on me except further diminishes my opinion of the "profession" which goes back to my original comment about degrading service and increasing expectations ($) being at conflict

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#729

Post by conductr »

Camillo wrote: post #567
conductr wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

A related problem with the apps is that they expand the tipping expectation to all sorts of interactions that were not traditionally tipped, such as ordering at a cash register. You don't need to tip someone just because they have an iPad!

Agree. The worst are the little vendors. I want to support you and all because I love your small batch popsicles, that's why I'm paying $7 each. But, you just took it out of a freezer and handed it to me, this is a pure retail transaction at this point. It's like going to 7-11 and saying, I need $20 on pump 8 and here's $5 for your trouble...

Re: Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

#730

Post by matz1 »

grumple wrote: post #725
matz1 wrote: post #662

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats not true, tipped employees typically do get >0 dollar paycheck from their employers. That is their base hourly wage. general minimum wage is peanuts, yes. but tipped waitstaff only make $2.83/hr is not true. If the employer did not make up the difference then they risk being fined/shutdown.

> Thats not true, tipped employees typically do get >0 dollar paycheck from their employers. That is their base hourly wage. This is not true. I’ve been a service employee. Your employer withholds taxes on estimated tipped earnings, typically resulting in literal $0 paychecks. This is the norm in states with lower tipped minimums (might not hold true in states like CA). In fact, getting actual cash on your paycheck m…

That's not true. I've been a service employee too. You typically get your hourly wage in the paycheck resulting in >$0 paycheck, even with tax withhold.

>In which case, barely over $7

Right, so tipped waitstaff only make $2.83/hr is not true.

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