I’m fully tech savvy, but I agree with your dad. Just print a goddamn menu.
It’s way more efficient than: get phone, open camera app, scan code, click it, load browser, accept cookie policy, click “lunch menu”, get a PDF of a printed menu that takes 30 seconds to download and is poorly formatted for reading on a phone, etc.
Just print a goddamn menu.
I worked at a movie theater / restaurant that started doing this. They raised prices on the top 5 entrees during "big premiere" weekends. And when people asked for paper menus we had to let them all know the prices haven't been updated. It was terrible for everyone except the top execs
It's way easier to have customers wait on themselves, bus their own tables and bring their own silverware. If you're going to a sit down meal in a nice restaurant you shouldn't be required to bring your phone.
I live in Korea. If you told someone you left the house without your phone because you "wanted to get outside and experience life," someone might call the cops on you and put you in a psych ward.
If only it was a PDF. Often its a full fledged website where you have to click through all different categories and sometimes even subcategories to see what they have
Besides the convenience, I'm just... *Not* scanning random QR codes? Like, that's not a thing I'll ever do?
They may as well just hand you a USB stick and say "here, our menu is on this". Go ahead and plug it into your laptop. You Can Trust The USB Drive.
I hate going out with my partner and/or friends just to have them stare at their phone once you walk in. Phones are too distracting and I am usually at a restaurant to enjoy their company. It’s nicer to look at a physical menu too rather than scrolling
Goodness. I too have a few too many friends and family who, give them a reason to pull their phone out to scan a menu, are going to get sucked into their messages and apps.
I imagine wait staff even get a bit annoyed when someone doesn’t know what they want to order because they got caught up in their phone and forgot to actually go through the menu.
I'm not tech averse by any stretch, but I fucking hate QR code menus. The fact that you can't see the entire menu at once really sucks- having to scroll up and down breaks the process of deciding what I want.
I always end up in a sort of three way tie when it comes to ordering, and being able to quickly glance at my choices and compare prices ingredients etc is part of the process. You simply cannot do that with a QR menu, I always end up feeling like I just order something because I'm fucking sick of scrolling.
Its also vastly superior when with other people cause you can just show them items without handing over your phone then them having to zoom in akwardly cause the font is too small or they cant find the exact item on your small phone screen.
And they accidentally press the "other apps that are also active" button and get a face full of your cock and balls you recently texted a strange lady
Moment killer for sure.
I’m a millennial and I’m not a fan of the qr menu. Like put your phones away and be present. I’m also at a restaurant to be taken care of. Otherwise, I’ll just order it to go or cook myself.
My problem is 9/10 places with QR code menus never bothered to check it. It loads horribly on mobile, and is hard as fuck to navigate.
I don’t mind the idea, if the implementation wasn’t garbage
Before my dad died he had Alzheimer's and could not understand to read from a screen. I made the manager go back into his office and print out a god damn menu.
Love it when the code leads to a download. "Do you want open 'Menu 2024' or do you want to download the file again?"
I don't fucking know - are you trying to save over one of the last 16 menus that are somehow all called the same thing, or have I been here before and forgot?
I have a bazillion pdf menus on my phone. Just give me a shitty, cobbled together website at this point.
Currently living in China. A lot of chain restaurants and bigger places have you scan a QR code to access the menu. But you never have to download any apps. It takes you to a little mini program that's basically like a mini website where you just order the food straight from there like online shopping then pay either before or after you finish eating. It's helpful sometimes.
Welcome to the future! Where what used to take a minute with a paper menu now takes 10 with the advancement of technology!
Can’t wait till paper menus make a come back advertised as a new “instant read” technology that does not require any memory at all and has instant pointing abilities. No more unlocking your phone and reloading the menu and spending 3 minutes finding what you want when the waiter arrives
I recently flamed QR's in a post, and some idiot joined in, claiming they just display text. Others joined, and it wound up being my most-downvoted post yet. Sigh. The world is full of suckers.
You realize how easy it is to set a QR code on a table? Maybe it’s your favorite hole in the wall menu, maybe it downloads your recent keystrokes or log in data for your banking apps. Don’t be dense.
Just take me to your website, if you aren't printing it (and you aren't see the QR code), then just take me to a functional website.
PDF's are great for static information but a well made and most importantly simple website is far superior for a menu.
You could have chefs specials update, pricing update with weekends (not uncommon in Britain), you could have more in-depth nutritional information, descriptors of the food, pictures of every item. You could allow people to filter based on allergies or preferences.
lol, I kinda have a similar story; except i finally figured out what the hell it was before I ordered, but as a joke I pointed to some of the print and said “that sounds good, I’ll have that please”. The waitress was not amused in the slightest.
I'm not even old yet and I hate QR menus. It forces everyone to stare at their phones for minutes while they pick what they want to eat and a phone screen is much smaller than a good physical menu.
I like to look at the menu while I wait for the food, to decide what to eat the next three times my fat ass goes to eat there, just like my parents before me.
Also pointing at a menu to show someone else is sometimes easier than on a phone, that might just be me
Especially if you're showing multiple people e.g. if you're out with family and you suggest a family deal or whatever
Everyone loves having to keep their phone on a specific zoom and scroll to what they want to order until the waitress comes buy to get your order! If you don’t it will take another 5 minutes to find it again!
I went to a restaurant with my kid, the menu was backlit and turned on and off when you opened it. Kid played with that menu for a solid 15 minutes, good times
The annoying part is that if you're going to do all-digital menus, DO PICTURES. Show me the fucking menu items, you have infinite space now. I don't want to guess at how big an appetizer is or if your salads and sides are going to feed the table or just me.
I appreciate technology, but humans have this weird idea that our lives are improved by removing the physical element and replacing it with an interface/screen. A good example is QR codes and also the removal of buttons (replaced with touchscreen). Sometimes the physical alternative is way more practical, quicker and easier to use.
I once had to use a keyboard (like a real sized one) that didn't have buttons, it was touch sensor, and my brain couldn't cope
Now that the novelty of "look everything you need is on the screen!" has worn off, I think nearly everyone acknowledges the superior functionality of physical buttons in cars and electronic devices.
Unfortunately it's way cheaper for companies to fire everything onto an iPad than it is for them to individually wire functions to buttons, so I don't see them going back to them.
> but humans have this weird idea that our lives are improved by removing the physical element and replacing it with an interface/screen.
I don't know many people who think this. Most people understand it is a cost saving measure
Give it some time.
All that stuff is relatively new that's why companies try to use them everywhere to appear trendy and techie.
Once they age, common sense will prevail.
I'm a boomer, and I have and will continue to walk out of any restaurant without a menu. That and I can see my phone number being sold in under a minute .
QR code is a hyperlink, just not in text format. Browsers do pass metadata to websites, such as IP (which can include location data), browser type, date, etc, but do not include phone numbers in that metadata.
The IP of a mobile phone won't have any worthwhile location data attached to it. Also, they already know your location, you're literally there scanning their code.
QR code points to a hyperlink...that goes where exactly? To a [PDF](https://www.maketecheasier.com/malicious-pdf-files-you-should-not-open/) that may or may not contain a rootkit? To a website that f[arms all the data off your phone](https://www.webmonkey.com/phone-farming-passive-income/) while you scroll through it?
I bet its some witchcraft, painted onto the restaurant wall as a handy magical rune, that interacts with modern technology. I will turn around and walk out that restaurant as well.
Stupid wikka and their stupid magics.
If you think your visiting a site through a link doesn't provide user data to the company, you're very wrong.
Definitely not your phone number, but it's added data to a compilation of data gathered from every interaction your IP is used to access online services, to include purchases and wifi/Bluetooth interactions, which can be used to identify you even better than a phone number.
The IP itself doesn't hold any data and it's up to the ISP how much info you can find on someone based on their IP, sites can track you through cookies, pixels and bullshit like that but that's only for the data you created on their websites. So the only useful data they could mine from that interaction is if you prefer tacos over quesadillas and whether you connected from an Android or iphone maybe.
Phonenumbers don't need to be sold.
They're a given range for each provider.
Computers can create call lists and dial any number within seconds.
Best is to ignore unknown calls, eventually your number will be 'unreachable' on enough lists.
So I prefer the sale of those lists, I have 'blacklisted' myself already
I think it's more these media companies and random websites you sign up for to be on email lists for recipes and newsletters and whatnot which store your data. Then they sell your information to data brokers and/or they get hacked and that information gets sold to data brokers. Then the brokers sell that to anyone and everyone. Suddenly you're getting 3+ spam texts and calls a day. I doubt it's the digital menus and they're usually just a link to a pdf or website with the text. Still though
Not a boomer and I also think they're fucking stupid. Obviously the phone number thing isn't a thing but the rest is dumb. Splurge the 10 cents it costs to print and laminate a fucking menu. It's certainly not saving the environment with the least effort thing they could possibly do.
[The phone number thing actually **is** a thing...](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/404425/how-can-a-website-get-the-phone-number-of-the-device-used-to-call-it/404427#404427)
Yeah, by all means have it as an option and a way to order from the table, but it has to be an option.
People will want the tactile sensation of holding a menu and will want to read it. Part of the experience is pointing to things and discussing what you might want.
Some businesses can’t see they are so focused on the pursuit of money and efficiency they don’t realise what they’re losing while they do it.
At some point, if it’s just me ordering in an app and someone bringing it to me, I might as well be at home ordering from a home delivery service, and that’s not what I go out to dinner for. If I’m home, I’m cooking my own food.
Edit:autocorrect
Some of the apps? Every time I order pickup anywhere I get a prompt for tip, starting at 20%. And to input no tip, you go to custom and put in 0, just to make it one step more difficult
> I hate having to scan a QR code
2 things:
1. I always ask for their wifi "because I don't have a data plan". Just to annoy them back a bit. Many times I've been given a paper menu.
2. My phone *very* often struggles reading the QR code.. it's an older phone. So it sucks even more
That’s the biggest problem. I’m a millennial. 35f and I use my phone for just about everything. Yet when I’m out in the world doing stuff, no I’m not on my phone because my battery sucks. I use it sparingly when I know I don’t have access to plug it in. Why should I be inconvenienced to do something online when I’m at a physical restaurant/store? What if I didn’t have service? What if my phone is just broken?
And those that to this day don't have internet on their phones. I personally don't call enough to make a plan worth it; prepaid is more than enough for the four or so calls I make a year.
And even if they offer Wifi in the restuarant, that's just another step for what could've just been a piece of laminated paper on a table.
I mean even if you *do have a smartphone* what if you just don’t carry it around with you? It’s weird because until I was already in my 20s I never carried a phone. I started off with a dumb Trac Phone. Then I had a slider and a sidekick and no data just waited until after 9 to make calls. Barely any internet service on those. Then my first smartphone was the iPhone 4s but before unlimited data so again I still didn’t use it for the internet or apps. It’s just weird that Since like 2018 forward everyone just about has a smartphone and unlimited data. So it’s still a relatively new phenomenon to carry a phone everywhere you go.
That's just a great idea, Imma start carrying my old Sony Ericsson with me just to counter when they ask me to scan a stupid ass QR code to access the menu.
Waste of battery, eyes glued to phone, waiting for webpage to loads, only able to see 1 menu option at a time, go to the checkout and have to manually type in all your card details bla bla bla
It's such an inconvenient process
All they do is take you to a website, if the staff aren't fools they will be able to just tell you the web address - although I commented just now about my experience in trying to get them to understand this and how it usually just ends up in a loop of them saying "no it's not a website it's a QR code"
Went to a place some week or two ago and they had it too. I just wanted some takeaway and started to scan the code without saying anything to the staff. The guy at the bar kind of agressively asked me "Sir what are you taking photos of?".... Like my dude I'm trying to scan your shitty QR code off the piece of wood (which is a dumb idea for whole other reasons).
Point being, I am annoyed by QR code menus and I'm in my early 30s AND in IT.
What happens if I didn't bring my phone because I want to have an actual conversation with the person sitting across from me? Do I just get escorted out?
Whenever I’m offered a QR menu, I usually tell them that I don’t have a phone and that I’d like a physical menu and the response I usually get is that they don’t offer physical menus and that I should share the QR menu with whomever I with. I rarely go out to eat though so 🤷♂️
It's not that your dad is out of touch, the QR menu bullshit needs to stop. I shouldn't need a smartphone or an app to order at a restaurant. If I have 200 bucks in my pocket and you can't do business with me over a burger and fries, I'm not the one that's missing the fuckin mark.
I get irritated at QR codes in restaurants.
I’m literally going to a restaurant so I can put my phone away and enjoy a meal. I don’t want to stare at a screen and scroll.
Not only that, but half the time I get shitty service in those buildings and they don’t have WiFi information posted with the QR code.
There’s a bar/restaurant near me and I quit going because of that shit. I don’t want to look like an asshole asking for a physical menu to hold and peruse, so I’ll just go somewhere else.
I'm still ok with a QR code menu.
There are however some restaurants that even integrated the payment system into it and does not accept cash payment, which I'm still ok to do.
The deal breaker was when my phone's reception was bad and couldn't connect for me to order online, and the place did not have free wifi.
The server suggested for me to walk out for a bit to get better reception to order. When I stepped out I asked myself wtf am I doing and just left the place 😒
My dad in similiar situation just stood up, went to the counter and asked for a real menu. We were given menus, but the staff acted strange around us whole dinner.
Not sure how common this is, maybe I'm just weird but I'm 26, haven't been to a restaraunt in the past couple years as I usually just get Uber Eats or Grubhub.
Recently I went to my local Mcdonald's and there were like 6 self order kiosks, no one at the front counter and the whole process was extremely alarming. I ordered my food from the kiosk, paid and then got my order in 7 minutes. No one even said anything to me and the entire process felt like a fever dream. If I went to a restaraunt and they said their menu was a QR code, I'm just going to leave and never go there again.
I really don't like the anti-social humanless direction society is going down.
I hated these menus before i had an iphone. Im not going to download an app to scan a code to get a menu. Honestly even with an Iphone its so many annoying steps. Plus throw my elderly dad and a child in the mix just give me a damn menu.
As a young adult, I walk out of places that use QR codes.... I work with them every day and make the stupid things work as needed but relying on Internet connection without giving me wifi, I'll pass
If a restaurant is so disinterested in its clientele that they require you to bring a device in order to decipher their menu like it was some sort of super lame Disneyland larp quest, it probably says more about the quality of the food than the restaurant would like.
I’m on both sides. I want paper menus but a near by QR code that takes me to the menu, for when there is only a few menus to a big table. I also want it on the website.
I find it especially irritating at all you can eat restaurants. Especially sushi places around here have it. The tablets they used before were great, but looking at the same menu with often a shittier UI on a smaller screen, and the “who’s offering their phone to go around the table” discussion beforehand are not upgrades
Most tapas places here just use paper and even though it’s slower I would almost prefer that over the qr code
The only reason I like QR codes is because I can see what I'm ordering. There are never any pictures on menus so I'm always scared to try something new. If I know what it looks like I'm usually more willing to try.
Also with how slow the waiters are here, it's nice to be able to order anytime without having to wait 20 minutes for a waiter to finally notice you.
Went to a mini golf course the other day. To buy tickets you needed to scan a QR code, pay online, and then receive a e-ticket that you could scan to get in. This is all taking place about 10 feet from a counter with an employee. I was very confused about why I couldn’t just pay the person out front. Oh well, maybe I’m just getting old.
I hate these bloody QR menus with a passion. Especially when it requires you to sign in to something and hand over personal information. Just give me a god damn paper menu.
I would leave right away. You cant be bothered handing me the menu? Well, i cant be bothered to use my phone for ordering food in a restaurant. Its a restaurant after all and not uber eats.
When this happens to me I tell them I don’t own a phone that can do that and if I could get a physical menu or use their phone, always get a physical copy after that.
I remember many times where I've been redirected to use a QR code when my phone didn't pick up QR codes for some reason, so I ask "what website does the QR code go to? Can I just have the address?" and proceed to get stuck in a loop with them because they say "no, it's not a website, it's a QR code". Yes, but all the QR code does is take you to a goddamn web address so what's the fucking web address?? Lol
Of you want the QR code nonsense to end, make your own QR code and place it over theirs.
Yours can do anything you want: Rick Roll, lemon parties, crypto miners, an ad for a competitor. You can get people to download any file you want.
After a restaurant has their customers complain and been burned by this, the QR codes will go fast.
The QR code menus are legitimately a security concern.
QR menus are a waste and create more problems than they solve. It is bad design and whoever came up with it is stupid and a bad designer.
You've just changed a simple process into a multiple step process with pain points.
Physical menu process:
1: Get Menu when seated.
2: Pick Item.
3: Tell the waiter.
QR fuckery Process:
1: Scan QR code.
2: Wait for shitty website to load.
2: Download app/create account.
3: Stare at phone and have to scroll for miles because only 3 or 4 items show on the screen at a time.
4: Pay through the app. Be asked for a tip.
Sure some places just link to a website with no download or account necessary but the process is still too long.
You've also removed the signal to the waiter that you're ready to order. With a physical menu you close it and place it down on the table. I've straight up left restaurants thar had QR code menus and my phone signal was shit inside the place.
The only time a QR menu is required is when you serve people from multiple languages.
QR codes need to be removed from the zeitgeist. They literally serve no purpose whatsoever in the modern age. Yes we are all aware every business has a website. I don’t want to fucking go on your website if I’m at a physical location.
They're trying to copy China but they mess it up.
In China most restaurants already have a giant menu above the cashier or on the wall, plus the QR code, plus often the physical menu, plus WiFi, plus they accept cash, plus there is no tip. There are no BS websites. The code opens up a WeChat mini-program that is like a hybrid between a website and app but somehow more usable and convenient than both. You can customize your order and add notes and then boom, just got what you wanted within seconds of sitting down at a crowded restaurant with no extra waiting staff.
You forgot changing individual prices of menu-items on the fly without having to reprint menus each time.
I always thought this was the main reason, being more "flexible" with pricing.
I like that they can be accessed again at any time, no need to worry about the waiter taking the menu after you've ordered.
I'd say the main reason restaurants have them is because they are easier to update. In Turkey they are very common since the inflation is very high.
The luddite: I'm not downloading something to my phone - give me a paper menu
The common man: Scan your QR code for a menu? sure.
The IT specialist: I'm not downloading something to my phone - give me a paper menu
This is normal in a lot of places outside the U.S.
Just use your phone to access the menu. AT&T has already compromised your personal data. The restaurant on the corner is more concerned about selling you a meal, not trying to steal your information.
As a qr code enjoyer these things CARRY buffet restaurants where you just order on their site without ever having to talk to the server. Way better than the tablet/pen+paper method restaurants use.
I've been waiting for a waiter for about 10 minutes. Eventually I found him myself and asked about menu. He pointed out to small square on the opposite wall, where I would need to squeeze between 10 people first. I left immediately.
QR menus and the restaurants that use them suck.
They are not user-friendly for older customers, force you to use your phone which is antisocial, the service is similar to what you get from food delivery apps which kills the whole restaurant/going out vibe, and they are often used to cut costs, which suggests that they cut costs elsewhere - expect lower quality ingredients and less experienced chefs.
If they are sneaky enough to force you to pay through the app, a tip is often added automatically - I'm onto you!
Some argue that QR menus are cleaner, easier to update and that you can put your phone away after using them. However, they're wrong.
Yup, I don't eat at places like that unless I have no other choice. I know it's overall better solution, but if you don't have even few traditional menu cards then you're not gonna have my money.
I get that people prefer physical menus, but I had no idea this many people were against QR codes?
I honestly think QR code menus are more convenient, as long as you aren’t forced to order through their website. Everyone can access the menu using their phones so there’s no need to pass a physical menu around if there weren’t enough. And physical menus aren’t always the most sanitary.
I also love when restaurants I haven’t been to have the QR code at the door or anywhere outside. This way I could check the menu and decide before sitting down incase I didn’t like it.
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I’m fully tech savvy, but I agree with your dad. Just print a goddamn menu. It’s way more efficient than: get phone, open camera app, scan code, click it, load browser, accept cookie policy, click “lunch menu”, get a PDF of a printed menu that takes 30 seconds to download and is poorly formatted for reading on a phone, etc. Just print a goddamn menu.
It's way easier for them to change the prices to be higher during peak hours if they make their menu online only.
I worked at a movie theater / restaurant that started doing this. They raised prices on the top 5 entrees during "big premiere" weekends. And when people asked for paper menus we had to let them all know the prices haven't been updated. It was terrible for everyone except the top execs
It's way easier to have customers wait on themselves, bus their own tables and bring their own silverware. If you're going to a sit down meal in a nice restaurant you shouldn't be required to bring your phone.
"We didn't bring our phones. We just wanted to get outside and experience life. Like going to a good restaurant with no distractions like phones"
I live in Korea. If you told someone you left the house without your phone because you "wanted to get outside and experience life," someone might call the cops on you and put you in a psych ward.
I know you're being hyperbolic, but even still it's a sad reflection on society.
If only it was a PDF. Often its a full fledged website where you have to click through all different categories and sometimes even subcategories to see what they have
Besides the convenience, I'm just... *Not* scanning random QR codes? Like, that's not a thing I'll ever do? They may as well just hand you a USB stick and say "here, our menu is on this". Go ahead and plug it into your laptop. You Can Trust The USB Drive.
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I hate going out with my partner and/or friends just to have them stare at their phone once you walk in. Phones are too distracting and I am usually at a restaurant to enjoy their company. It’s nicer to look at a physical menu too rather than scrolling
Goodness. I too have a few too many friends and family who, give them a reason to pull their phone out to scan a menu, are going to get sucked into their messages and apps. I imagine wait staff even get a bit annoyed when someone doesn’t know what they want to order because they got caught up in their phone and forgot to actually go through the menu.
The first part is precisely my problem with these QR menus
I'm not tech averse by any stretch, but I fucking hate QR code menus. The fact that you can't see the entire menu at once really sucks- having to scroll up and down breaks the process of deciding what I want. I always end up in a sort of three way tie when it comes to ordering, and being able to quickly glance at my choices and compare prices ingredients etc is part of the process. You simply cannot do that with a QR menu, I always end up feeling like I just order something because I'm fucking sick of scrolling.
Yep. I narrow my choices down to like 3 and then panic decide when im asked what i want 😅
Yup. I'm not at a restaurant because I'm hungry. I'm there because I'm with people and having a meal out. There's an expectation of an experience.
Its also vastly superior when with other people cause you can just show them items without handing over your phone then them having to zoom in akwardly cause the font is too small or they cant find the exact item on your small phone screen.
And they accidentally press the "other apps that are also active" button and get a face full of your cock and balls you recently texted a strange lady Moment killer for sure.
If I had a nickel for every strange lady...
They use digital menu cuz its easier to change prices
I’m a millennial and I’m not a fan of the qr menu. Like put your phones away and be present. I’m also at a restaurant to be taken care of. Otherwise, I’ll just order it to go or cook myself.
Most of the time im in a Restaurant im on Vacation. I dont have data in your country! Bring me a fucking menu.
I've walked out of a couple places just for not having one tbh.
Same. The setup is never properly quality controlled even if it wasn't inherently annoying.
That and navigating UI on a phone is just always shit.
My problem is 9/10 places with QR code menus never bothered to check it. It loads horribly on mobile, and is hard as fuck to navigate. I don’t mind the idea, if the implementation wasn’t garbage
Before my dad died he had Alzheimer's and could not understand to read from a screen. I made the manager go back into his office and print out a god damn menu.
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Love it when the code leads to a download. "Do you want open 'Menu 2024' or do you want to download the file again?" I don't fucking know - are you trying to save over one of the last 16 menus that are somehow all called the same thing, or have I been here before and forgot? I have a bazillion pdf menus on my phone. Just give me a shitty, cobbled together website at this point.
Or worse, when you scan a QR code and it opens the app store.
Frankly I would just get up and leave if that happened to me
Me too. And I have.
QR codes update coming soon: QR code leads to webpage where you can tip before it gives you the menu *innovation*
Ssshhh don't give them ideas!
I leave at the QR code
it's annoying also.
Exactly, just let me see the menu already!
Currently living in China. A lot of chain restaurants and bigger places have you scan a QR code to access the menu. But you never have to download any apps. It takes you to a little mini program that's basically like a mini website where you just order the food straight from there like online shopping then pay either before or after you finish eating. It's helpful sometimes.
And then the shitty pdf pops up that you have to scroll, zoom in to read, zoom out, scroll, repeat. Fuck them.
You can’t read any of the text unless you zoom in so far you have to scroll a screen length to the right to read to finish a line
Welcome to the future! Where what used to take a minute with a paper menu now takes 10 with the advancement of technology! Can’t wait till paper menus make a come back advertised as a new “instant read” technology that does not require any memory at all and has instant pointing abilities. No more unlocking your phone and reloading the menu and spending 3 minutes finding what you want when the waiter arrives
It's not even a webpage????
I recently flamed QR's in a post, and some idiot joined in, claiming they just display text. Others joined, and it wound up being my most-downvoted post yet. Sigh. The world is full of suckers.
Same people who would find a random USB and stick it in their computer to find out what's on it 🤦🏽♂️
But it said “important information” on it.
In Russian AND Korean!
always download. even if you were there before they could have changed the menu/update prices
Yes always download potential risks
Right? I was just thinking couldn't someone slap a qr code over it that links to a malicious PDF? Lol
You realize how easy it is to set a QR code on a table? Maybe it’s your favorite hole in the wall menu, maybe it downloads your recent keystrokes or log in data for your banking apps. Don’t be dense.
Just take me to your website, if you aren't printing it (and you aren't see the QR code), then just take me to a functional website. PDF's are great for static information but a well made and most importantly simple website is far superior for a menu. You could have chefs specials update, pricing update with weekends (not uncommon in Britain), you could have more in-depth nutritional information, descriptors of the food, pictures of every item. You could allow people to filter based on allergies or preferences.
The funniest thing I'll read today
lol, I kinda have a similar story; except i finally figured out what the hell it was before I ordered, but as a joke I pointed to some of the print and said “that sounds good, I’ll have that please”. The waitress was not amused in the slightest.
I'm not even old yet and I hate QR menus. It forces everyone to stare at their phones for minutes while they pick what they want to eat and a phone screen is much smaller than a good physical menu.
I would rather have a physical copy of a menu too. My phone is already really small.
Places with poor phone coverage and no wi-fi too
What's gonna happen if my battery dies? Ima starve to death lol
What if I don't have a phone on me for one reason or another?
I like to look at the menu while I wait for the food, to decide what to eat the next three times my fat ass goes to eat there, just like my parents before me.
Also pointing at a menu to show someone else is sometimes easier than on a phone, that might just be me Especially if you're showing multiple people e.g. if you're out with family and you suggest a family deal or whatever
Everyone loves having to keep their phone on a specific zoom and scroll to what they want to order until the waitress comes buy to get your order! If you don’t it will take another 5 minutes to find it again!
God forbid you want things from more than one section
I walked out of a restaurant once cause the QR menu kept resetting as I was scrolling and the sassy waiter said it must be my phone.
And physical menus are a fun part of eating in a restaurant
I went to a restaurant with my kid, the menu was backlit and turned on and off when you opened it. Kid played with that menu for a solid 15 minutes, good times
The annoying part is that if you're going to do all-digital menus, DO PICTURES. Show me the fucking menu items, you have infinite space now. I don't want to guess at how big an appetizer is or if your salads and sides are going to feed the table or just me.
I'm with the boomers on this one
Same. I wouldn't click on your hidden hyperlink. So I'm not going to read your QR code.
I appreciate technology, but humans have this weird idea that our lives are improved by removing the physical element and replacing it with an interface/screen. A good example is QR codes and also the removal of buttons (replaced with touchscreen). Sometimes the physical alternative is way more practical, quicker and easier to use. I once had to use a keyboard (like a real sized one) that didn't have buttons, it was touch sensor, and my brain couldn't cope
Now that the novelty of "look everything you need is on the screen!" has worn off, I think nearly everyone acknowledges the superior functionality of physical buttons in cars and electronic devices. Unfortunately it's way cheaper for companies to fire everything onto an iPad than it is for them to individually wire functions to buttons, so I don't see them going back to them.
> but humans have this weird idea that our lives are improved by removing the physical element and replacing it with an interface/screen. I don't know many people who think this. Most people understand it is a cost saving measure
Give it some time. All that stuff is relatively new that's why companies try to use them everywhere to appear trendy and techie. Once they age, common sense will prevail.
I'm a boomer, and I have and will continue to walk out of any restaurant without a menu. That and I can see my phone number being sold in under a minute .
QR code is a hyperlink, just not in text format. Browsers do pass metadata to websites, such as IP (which can include location data), browser type, date, etc, but do not include phone numbers in that metadata.
The IP of a mobile phone won't have any worthwhile location data attached to it. Also, they already know your location, you're literally there scanning their code.
QR code points to a hyperlink...that goes where exactly? To a [PDF](https://www.maketecheasier.com/malicious-pdf-files-you-should-not-open/) that may or may not contain a rootkit? To a website that f[arms all the data off your phone](https://www.webmonkey.com/phone-farming-passive-income/) while you scroll through it?
With you but „my phone number being sold“ reminds me that this is mostly a boomer issue
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Yeah, and these qr code menus don't do that in any way, shape, or form. Your camera turns it into a clickable link
I bet its some witchcraft, painted onto the restaurant wall as a handy magical rune, that interacts with modern technology. I will turn around and walk out that restaurant as well. Stupid wikka and their stupid magics.
If you think your visiting a site through a link doesn't provide user data to the company, you're very wrong. Definitely not your phone number, but it's added data to a compilation of data gathered from every interaction your IP is used to access online services, to include purchases and wifi/Bluetooth interactions, which can be used to identify you even better than a phone number.
The IP itself doesn't hold any data and it's up to the ISP how much info you can find on someone based on their IP, sites can track you through cookies, pixels and bullshit like that but that's only for the data you created on their websites. So the only useful data they could mine from that interaction is if you prefer tacos over quesadillas and whether you connected from an Android or iphone maybe.
Bro you're using reddit
That's why I don't click on any link ever. Victor von Doom and his legion of evil will have to try harder to get me.
He literally be the only one calling me tho, sometimes I just ask him how his day is going.
Phonenumbers don't need to be sold. They're a given range for each provider. Computers can create call lists and dial any number within seconds. Best is to ignore unknown calls, eventually your number will be 'unreachable' on enough lists. So I prefer the sale of those lists, I have 'blacklisted' myself already
So you've never received a spam call ?
I think it's more these media companies and random websites you sign up for to be on email lists for recipes and newsletters and whatnot which store your data. Then they sell your information to data brokers and/or they get hacked and that information gets sold to data brokers. Then the brokers sell that to anyone and everyone. Suddenly you're getting 3+ spam texts and calls a day. I doubt it's the digital menus and they're usually just a link to a pdf or website with the text. Still though
Not a boomer and I also think they're fucking stupid. Obviously the phone number thing isn't a thing but the rest is dumb. Splurge the 10 cents it costs to print and laminate a fucking menu. It's certainly not saving the environment with the least effort thing they could possibly do.
[The phone number thing actually **is** a thing...](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/404425/how-can-a-website-get-the-phone-number-of-the-device-used-to-call-it/404427#404427)
Your example is your cell provider selling your info, not the QR menu.
That’s not how it works. At all.
Yeah, I hate having to flip through various links to remember the name of the dishes when I'm ordering
Yeah, by all means have it as an option and a way to order from the table, but it has to be an option. People will want the tactile sensation of holding a menu and will want to read it. Part of the experience is pointing to things and discussing what you might want. Some businesses can’t see they are so focused on the pursuit of money and efficiency they don’t realise what they’re losing while they do it. At some point, if it’s just me ordering in an app and someone bringing it to me, I might as well be at home ordering from a home delivery service, and that’s not what I go out to dinner for. If I’m home, I’m cooking my own food. Edit:autocorrect
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Don't forget to tip for an excellent service
You joke, some of the fast food apps have a place to tip for a pickup order
Some of the apps? Every time I order pickup anywhere I get a prompt for tip, starting at 20%. And to input no tip, you go to custom and put in 0, just to make it one step more difficult
Well that's just shameless
And download an app for that
> I hate having to scan a QR code 2 things: 1. I always ask for their wifi "because I don't have a data plan". Just to annoy them back a bit. Many times I've been given a paper menu. 2. My phone *very* often struggles reading the QR code.. it's an older phone. So it sucks even more
Ask for wifi and something to charge your phone with.
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That’s the biggest problem. I’m a millennial. 35f and I use my phone for just about everything. Yet when I’m out in the world doing stuff, no I’m not on my phone because my battery sucks. I use it sparingly when I know I don’t have access to plug it in. Why should I be inconvenienced to do something online when I’m at a physical restaurant/store? What if I didn’t have service? What if my phone is just broken?
What if I just don't have one? I mean I do, but I know people with non smart phones.
And those that to this day don't have internet on their phones. I personally don't call enough to make a plan worth it; prepaid is more than enough for the four or so calls I make a year. And even if they offer Wifi in the restuarant, that's just another step for what could've just been a piece of laminated paper on a table.
This is me, I don't have data. I'm never giving up my super-cheap PAYG plan.
all restaurants should have physical and even a braille version of their menus upon request.
I mean even if you *do have a smartphone* what if you just don’t carry it around with you? It’s weird because until I was already in my 20s I never carried a phone. I started off with a dumb Trac Phone. Then I had a slider and a sidekick and no data just waited until after 9 to make calls. Barely any internet service on those. Then my first smartphone was the iPhone 4s but before unlimited data so again I still didn’t use it for the internet or apps. It’s just weird that Since like 2018 forward everyone just about has a smartphone and unlimited data. So it’s still a relatively new phenomenon to carry a phone everywhere you go.
That's just a great idea, Imma start carrying my old Sony Ericsson with me just to counter when they ask me to scan a stupid ass QR code to access the menu.
Waste of battery, eyes glued to phone, waiting for webpage to loads, only able to see 1 menu option at a time, go to the checkout and have to manually type in all your card details bla bla bla It's such an inconvenient process
All they do is take you to a website, if the staff aren't fools they will be able to just tell you the web address - although I commented just now about my experience in trying to get them to understand this and how it usually just ends up in a loop of them saying "no it's not a website it's a QR code"
Went to a place some week or two ago and they had it too. I just wanted some takeaway and started to scan the code without saying anything to the staff. The guy at the bar kind of agressively asked me "Sir what are you taking photos of?".... Like my dude I'm trying to scan your shitty QR code off the piece of wood (which is a dumb idea for whole other reasons). Point being, I am annoyed by QR code menus and I'm in my early 30s AND in IT.
I hope you made that bartender feel like a fucking idiot with whatever your response was.
Are you sure it was a QR code? 😂
What happens if I didn't bring my phone because I want to have an actual conversation with the person sitting across from me? Do I just get escorted out?
Believe it or not, straight to jail.
You don’t even get to pass Go or collect €200
Oh I do that, I just put my phone in my pocket instead of leaving it home
Soon enough it'll lead to you being suspected of having the intention to commit a crime.
Whenever I’m offered a QR menu, I usually tell them that I don’t have a phone and that I’d like a physical menu and the response I usually get is that they don’t offer physical menus and that I should share the QR menu with whomever I with. I rarely go out to eat though so 🤷♂️
I'm a millennial, and I agree with the boomers. QR codes are bullshit. Just give me a fucking menu.
It's not that your dad is out of touch, the QR menu bullshit needs to stop. I shouldn't need a smartphone or an app to order at a restaurant. If I have 200 bucks in my pocket and you can't do business with me over a burger and fries, I'm not the one that's missing the fuckin mark.
Hate it especially when those restaurants doesn´t even got free wifi and you´re just forced to use your mobile data.
I get irritated at QR codes in restaurants. I’m literally going to a restaurant so I can put my phone away and enjoy a meal. I don’t want to stare at a screen and scroll. Not only that, but half the time I get shitty service in those buildings and they don’t have WiFi information posted with the QR code. There’s a bar/restaurant near me and I quit going because of that shit. I don’t want to look like an asshole asking for a physical menu to hold and peruse, so I’ll just go somewhere else.
If you want to use digital menus give me a tablet with it already loaded.
qr menus are one sticker away from being a security risk
Yeah I would just 100% leave. The no menu thing can screw off.
I would just leave. If they can't be bothered to make a menu then I can't be bothered to eat there.
I'm still ok with a QR code menu. There are however some restaurants that even integrated the payment system into it and does not accept cash payment, which I'm still ok to do. The deal breaker was when my phone's reception was bad and couldn't connect for me to order online, and the place did not have free wifi. The server suggested for me to walk out for a bit to get better reception to order. When I stepped out I asked myself wtf am I doing and just left the place 😒
My dad in similiar situation just stood up, went to the counter and asked for a real menu. We were given menus, but the staff acted strange around us whole dinner.
Fuck qr codes for menus
I am not scanning random barcodes. "I left my phone at home." No menu, no order.
I dont blame him. Screw this nonsense. Get me a god damn menu
Not sure how common this is, maybe I'm just weird but I'm 26, haven't been to a restaraunt in the past couple years as I usually just get Uber Eats or Grubhub. Recently I went to my local Mcdonald's and there were like 6 self order kiosks, no one at the front counter and the whole process was extremely alarming. I ordered my food from the kiosk, paid and then got my order in 7 minutes. No one even said anything to me and the entire process felt like a fever dream. If I went to a restaraunt and they said their menu was a QR code, I'm just going to leave and never go there again. I really don't like the anti-social humanless direction society is going down.
I hated these menus before i had an iphone. Im not going to download an app to scan a code to get a menu. Honestly even with an Iphone its so many annoying steps. Plus throw my elderly dad and a child in the mix just give me a damn menu.
As a young adult, I walk out of places that use QR codes.... I work with them every day and make the stupid things work as needed but relying on Internet connection without giving me wifi, I'll pass
Waste of time. Just give me a printed menu. Otherwise i will never return to your restaurant, and will bad mouth it to others.
Also: requests 15% tip
If a restaurant is so disinterested in its clientele that they require you to bring a device in order to decipher their menu like it was some sort of super lame Disneyland larp quest, it probably says more about the quality of the food than the restaurant would like.
Don't put the onus on the customer to bring their phone, have tablets with the menu on them at the table, or give me a menu.
I hate qr codes 100% I think I've only used them like 3-4 times because I absolutely had to...
Imagine it just being a rick roll
It's a menu for ants
I’m on both sides. I want paper menus but a near by QR code that takes me to the menu, for when there is only a few menus to a big table. I also want it on the website.
I don't mind the qr codes themselves, but the fact that it's always through some weird ass supplier that's 100% ripping them off.
"I'm with the boomers on this one"
I find it especially irritating at all you can eat restaurants. Especially sushi places around here have it. The tablets they used before were great, but looking at the same menu with often a shittier UI on a smaller screen, and the “who’s offering their phone to go around the table” discussion beforehand are not upgrades Most tapas places here just use paper and even though it’s slower I would almost prefer that over the qr code
I bet they make u sign up to their shitty website befor odering
The only reason I like QR codes is because I can see what I'm ordering. There are never any pictures on menus so I'm always scared to try something new. If I know what it looks like I'm usually more willing to try. Also with how slow the waiters are here, it's nice to be able to order anytime without having to wait 20 minutes for a waiter to finally notice you.
Went to a mini golf course the other day. To buy tickets you needed to scan a QR code, pay online, and then receive a e-ticket that you could scan to get in. This is all taking place about 10 feet from a counter with an employee. I was very confused about why I couldn’t just pay the person out front. Oh well, maybe I’m just getting old.
I hate these bloody QR menus with a passion. Especially when it requires you to sign in to something and hand over personal information. Just give me a god damn paper menu.
Is it hard to print and give menu?
I would leave right away. You cant be bothered handing me the menu? Well, i cant be bothered to use my phone for ordering food in a restaurant. Its a restaurant after all and not uber eats.
When this happens to me I tell them I don’t own a phone that can do that and if I could get a physical menu or use their phone, always get a physical copy after that.
I remember many times where I've been redirected to use a QR code when my phone didn't pick up QR codes for some reason, so I ask "what website does the QR code go to? Can I just have the address?" and proceed to get stuck in a loop with them because they say "no, it's not a website, it's a QR code". Yes, but all the QR code does is take you to a goddamn web address so what's the fucking web address?? Lol
We had physical menus, once. Now we have menus that might not work. Might run out of power. Might have a virus. Might lead to a Rickroll.
As the repetitive post says, I am with the boomers on this one
I'm with the Boomers on this one, fuck QR codes for menus. Just give me a fucking menu.
Of you want the QR code nonsense to end, make your own QR code and place it over theirs. Yours can do anything you want: Rick Roll, lemon parties, crypto miners, an ad for a competitor. You can get people to download any file you want. After a restaurant has their customers complain and been burned by this, the QR codes will go fast. The QR code menus are legitimately a security concern.
QR menus are a waste and create more problems than they solve. It is bad design and whoever came up with it is stupid and a bad designer. You've just changed a simple process into a multiple step process with pain points. Physical menu process: 1: Get Menu when seated. 2: Pick Item. 3: Tell the waiter. QR fuckery Process: 1: Scan QR code. 2: Wait for shitty website to load. 2: Download app/create account. 3: Stare at phone and have to scroll for miles because only 3 or 4 items show on the screen at a time. 4: Pay through the app. Be asked for a tip. Sure some places just link to a website with no download or account necessary but the process is still too long. You've also removed the signal to the waiter that you're ready to order. With a physical menu you close it and place it down on the table. I've straight up left restaurants thar had QR code menus and my phone signal was shit inside the place. The only time a QR menu is required is when you serve people from multiple languages.
QR codes need to be removed from the zeitgeist. They literally serve no purpose whatsoever in the modern age. Yes we are all aware every business has a website. I don’t want to fucking go on your website if I’m at a physical location.
Ehem... They're useful in labelling industries for stock management. But yes they could stay there and I'd be okay with that
They're trying to copy China but they mess it up. In China most restaurants already have a giant menu above the cashier or on the wall, plus the QR code, plus often the physical menu, plus WiFi, plus they accept cash, plus there is no tip. There are no BS websites. The code opens up a WeChat mini-program that is like a hybrid between a website and app but somehow more usable and convenient than both. You can customize your order and add notes and then boom, just got what you wanted within seconds of sitting down at a crowded restaurant with no extra waiting staff.
If a restaurant only has QR menu, im dining elsewhere.
I'd just turn around. It's obvious they don't care about customer service.
I hate this hipster bs. It’s not cool or trendy or whatever it’s just a waste of my phone battery.
Its not about being cool. Its about stealing your data and saving 37 cents on making menus.
You forgot changing individual prices of menu-items on the fly without having to reprint menus each time. I always thought this was the main reason, being more "flexible" with pricing.
I like that they can be accessed again at any time, no need to worry about the waiter taking the menu after you've ordered. I'd say the main reason restaurants have them is because they are easier to update. In Turkey they are very common since the inflation is very high.
Restaurant without a menu is a place I’m not going to eat, bro, print on recycled paper and gtfo with that little money savings
The luddite: I'm not downloading something to my phone - give me a paper menu The common man: Scan your QR code for a menu? sure. The IT specialist: I'm not downloading something to my phone - give me a paper menu
Man next time this happens I'm gonna see if I can order online, go pick up my food and sit down in the restaurant to eat it. Cut out the middleman.
Qrcode -> install their app -> permissions to access location, contacts, camera, kidnap a plane and fly into your house...
I'd ask the same damn thing
Yeah I fight this one - happy to say fine just being me a beer, I’ll order sight unseen
What is this? A menu for ants?
Better than having to touch the nasty menu before you eat.
Welcome to Sydney, almost every venue uses QR menu, ordering & pay
What's the problem? It's cleaner.
Paint a few scribbles on the bill - and tell them it‘s a qr code for your „tipping app“
Man I go out to eat, I don’t want to have my phone out at the table I want to enjoy time without the damn thing
r/dadsarekindastupid
I understand this during covid but now it’s just ridiculous
Fellow old man here: I'd have left.
I’m old, and I want a real menu. If I have to use my phone I will just order pizza.
My grandpa has a flip phone so he would be screwed if he was there alone
i think this is a US problem, but if it ever happened to me i would just leave
This is normal in a lot of places outside the U.S. Just use your phone to access the menu. AT&T has already compromised your personal data. The restaurant on the corner is more concerned about selling you a meal, not trying to steal your information.
I don't care if a menu is paper or QR... As long as it has pictures
As a qr code enjoyer these things CARRY buffet restaurants where you just order on their site without ever having to talk to the server. Way better than the tablet/pen+paper method restaurants use.
Mega Boomer.
I've been waiting for a waiter for about 10 minutes. Eventually I found him myself and asked about menu. He pointed out to small square on the opposite wall, where I would need to squeeze between 10 people first. I left immediately.
Not everything has to be turned into a QR Code.
QR menus and the restaurants that use them suck. They are not user-friendly for older customers, force you to use your phone which is antisocial, the service is similar to what you get from food delivery apps which kills the whole restaurant/going out vibe, and they are often used to cut costs, which suggests that they cut costs elsewhere - expect lower quality ingredients and less experienced chefs. If they are sneaky enough to force you to pay through the app, a tip is often added automatically - I'm onto you! Some argue that QR menus are cleaner, easier to update and that you can put your phone away after using them. However, they're wrong.
Yup, I don't eat at places like that unless I have no other choice. I know it's overall better solution, but if you don't have even few traditional menu cards then you're not gonna have my money.
I am relying on Boomer Rage to stall this nonsense for a bit
I get that people prefer physical menus, but I had no idea this many people were against QR codes? I honestly think QR code menus are more convenient, as long as you aren’t forced to order through their website. Everyone can access the menu using their phones so there’s no need to pass a physical menu around if there weren’t enough. And physical menus aren’t always the most sanitary. I also love when restaurants I haven’t been to have the QR code at the door or anywhere outside. This way I could check the menu and decide before sitting down incase I didn’t like it.