If I wanted to push a button and get food, I'd eat out of a vending machine or order with DoorDash. One of the reasons I go into a restaurant or some other meatspace "event" is to escape technology for a tiny bit of time and enjoy life. I want to sit down in a comfortable place, enjoy a conversation with my family, or bask in the ambience of the restaurant. I want to have a pleasant, human interaction with a human server. With these digital-only menus, now I'm yet again pulling out my smartphone and scrolling-scrolling-scrolling. Sorry, due to work I've got screens blasting at me for hours every day. I'm not going to go out in the evening to look at another screen.
What you presumably mean by "QR Code Menu" is a QR code pointing to a website where the content is optimized for screens and perhaps interactive, allowing you to order from your table without involving wait staff and thus streamlining the entire ordering process for you and the restaurant.
Also I have friends and relatives who have never owned a smartphone, some who would be essentially unable to do so.
That said, another benefit is more scope for accessibility. I would bet that most restaurant sites are terrible for accessibility, but implementing screen reader or large font support would apply everywhere, whereas I’d also bet that most restaurant never have braille or large print menus.
This is my concern as well. When someone is at a table with people, put the damn phone away and actually be present for those around you.
QR code menus make "phones out" the default state of a table. So of course people will get distracted and split their attention between notifications and those around them.
You can turn on do not disturb until you leave the current location on iOS. I do that a lot. You have all of the tools you need. It's like someone complaining that the sun is to bright when they have their cap turned backwards and their shades on top of their head.
It's more like you're saying that it shouldn't be a problem to require someone to stare directly into the sun because they should have brought eclipse glasses and be fine with using them
It amazes me how many people are railing against technology while posting on HN...
I’m sure people complained about those horseless carriages years after cars became mainstream
But in the real world, smart phone penetration is 95%, including 94$ of the homeless (I posted a citation earlier)
> why do you think that so many people here are proposing that the choices you suggest are toxic?
People also think that alcohol sales shouldn't happen on Sunday, and all other crazy stuff. I'm simply suggesting that if your choices are out of the society's norms, it's not society's responsibility to make affordances for you.
- this is not entirely about the homeless
- this is not entirely about the elderly
it is about companies using technology badly - something you either support or can't recognise.
> it is about companies using technology badly - something you either support or can't recognise.
Would you believe that my wife and I refuse to use American Airlines partially because the app and the website is so bad? I stay away from a lot of services, software and hardware because of a bad user experiences.
It's like complaining that the sun is too bright after deciding to stay indoors and consequently not bringing a hat, but then being forced to go outside.
> It's like complaining that the sun is too bright after deciding to stay indoors and consequently not bringing a hat, but then being forced to go outside.
You really didn't know that in 2023 you might have to use a QR code to see a menu? That's like going to Seattle and being surprised that it started raining.
I prefer it when venues like restaurants design for all and don't expect knowledge of local customs.
> Once again it seems like you want me to inconvenience myself because you don't want to make the effort.
This is not the conclusion most would draw from this. If anything it seems fairly well understood that QR menus are mostly beneficial for restaurants not diners.
I have no issue with it being default, but since covid ended, the places that still use qr menus seem not to have paper menus on hand.
It’s not the end of the world but it makes your restaurant feel cheap.
Still 100 times better than places that make you order on your phone.
- Lots of restaurants have no WiFi and may also have poor cell reception for certain networks. This either makes the menu slow to access or impossible to access.
- I shouldn’t have to pass my phone around the table to people who can’t access the online menu. That slows everything down and most people don’t want others on their phones anyway.
- When they throw in payment with their online menu there are inevitably issues. I’ve had this fail numerous times (money taken, order didn’t go through).
- Lots of restaurants have PDF menus designed for a computer screen. They’re awful to browse on a phone.
The future is going to be hysterical as the US ages out.
So I see part of the drink menu horizontally and vertically. Another example: Non-alcoholic is on the "back" of the menu but wine is on the "front".
And now the restaurant needs to hire a UX designer.
Surveillance. For those of us who still care, that is.
- Restaurants can experiment with more food options and more frequent updates to their menu
- Real time info on what's in stock
- Cuts out the cost of having to constantly reprint the menu
- Easier for customers to find the menu online when searching for restaurants (huge issue pre-COVID)
What are the actual downsides? Sure, there may be a tiny fraction of people without a smartphone, but they're likely accompanied by someone who does have one. Despite that, restaurants would likely keep a few physical menus on-hand.