That's what we have been doing for a long time now. Went to a restaurant and they said QR code, and I pulled out a cell phone and said, where is the menu?
They gave me a paper one wrapped in plastic. Hilarious.
There's a little hole in the wall in Glenview IL I go to, they only take cash. I get a kick out of some people's reaction when they can't use their plastic.
Just a little insight … Small restaurant owner here…. We haven’t abandoned our paper menus and don’t use QR codes…
However, with the constant and I mean CONSTANT (weekly) food cost changes), pricing needs to be adjusted often. New menu creation (even by professionals) take a month to proof and print, potentially leading to loss of revenue.
It’s not about “health” anymore It’s about the bottom line
When cheese costs rise over $40 in 4 days .. and that’s just one example of many that occur weekly, adjustments must be made to stay in business
Another example… my trash/recycling pick up will rise 15-20% on 4/1. Very hard to build in these costs and NOT charge pricing that scares customers away.
Support you mom n pop pubs… we’ve been through a lot these last few years. Cheers! 🍻
We put our menu items that don't have food costs that swing wildly on a printed menu, and our heavy protein/higher costs/swinging costs dishes on a "features" board. That way, when I do the order and get the invoice, I can adjust those prices accordingly. I do have one loss leader on the printed menu, but it's too late to do anything about it now, so I eat the 45% cost.
We recently switched waste pickup to a company who decided to undercut the others in town, and now they're all adjusting their prices down and calling us daily to come back kek
One Chinese restaurant we used to go to, took a cut of the gratuity when we paid by credit card. So I switched to paying cash or leaving cash tips. Several waitresses told us of the restaurant doing this. Wait staff make so little as is, so it is outrageous that the owners do this.
From what I can tell, a lot of foreign run restaurants in the U.S. seem to try to play this game, and then make up to minimum wage (as required by law). What this inevitably means is less cash for the wait staff with hustle and awareness while the really trashy wait staff that do nothing and have zero awareness end up making the same amount for less work.
When I do restaurants, I (try to) tip well. If I'm alone and a waitress (or even waiter) wants to drop in for a quick chat, see if I need anything, etc. that's a plus. Obviously if we're engrossed in conversation, I don't want to be interrupted mid-conversation, so wait staff who hang back and either wait for a break in conversation or come back to us also get thanks. Paying attention to drink levels, letting us know there's a delay in our food, etc. all are welcome stuff that increases the tip level.
I get not everyone is actually judging their waiters/waitresses, but you can definitely tell the difference between average and bad, and average and good even if you aren't looking.
So the good ones can make a ton from tips..and by making it mandatory you're just robbing that potential anyway.
I put a blocker on certain apps to only use during certain times of day. If my blocker is active, I literally have no way to access the menus. Usually in this scenario, they have an old ipad they give me to order from.
That's to protect the employees from the unwashed public. After I touched the cans twice already. Once to put them in the cart, and once to put them on the conveyor.
TOTALLY AGREE...AND the excuses they use for this is: 1) our menu is on-line, 2) to track you via your credit/atm card...AND this is to MOVE EVERYONE INTO THE DIGITAL CURRENCY spin cycle...
You use QR code or some other nonsense...will cook my meals at home...besides they are better...
All the restaurant manager of you can borrow his or her phone to check the menu. If they say no because of privacy, give them a Cheshire-cat grin and disappear.
Most cameras will detect the QR code so all you need to do is aim your camera at. I was taught that by my Gen Z when during the scamdemic restaurants did QR code on the table or disposable menu (we'd share one disposable menu but she wanted to teach techphobe mom about QR codes)
Plenty of QR codes just take you to a weblink with a table number associated with it. You already have your phone in your pocket, 'they' already know you're at that exact location.
VPN, or even a privacy focused browser like Brave on your phone will limit the weblink's ability to associate your device with the specific request.
This isn't a big deal, the Trojan horse is already in your pocket, regardless of whether or not you scan a code.
Restaurants aren't in league with the government, they're just taking advantage of technology for efficiency and to reduce printing costs.
Data privacy is already way more out of control than the average person could even begin to imagine. This just shows a fundamental lack of knowledge regarding the technology we all carry and use.
Wife and I are already on board for this. We walked out of the only restaurant we encountered with qr menu and never went back. There's no way I'm using my phone data to order food, physically in the restaurant. Get bent!
This is dumb. We have far worse shit to worry about.
Cell phones are ubiquitous and menus cost a lot of money to print. The margins of a restaurant were thin before the stolen election. imagine how much that would help a small business owner. Walk a mile...
The margins of good restaurants aren't thin. Do not prop up a business that needs to save a penny on your visit - because if they can't make a menu, imagine what cheap crap they're serving to you, and imagine who they've got on the bargain basement payroll. Let bad businesses die.
If you find an establishment that suits your criteria…. Promote it! Tip well! Visit often! Share info on staff shortages with others who may be looking for work. Not only do we have an army to put businesses out, we also have the positive power of promotion and salvation for struggling locally owned small businesses. Make a positive contribution
At first this sounds upsetting, but then I remembered that I always wash my hands after handling one and before eating.
I can see how prices have changed so frequently the past two years, so for a small restaurant this can be a good thing.
As for the cash free restaurants, I will absolutely avoid those.
I was just at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and that was all cash free. As an auditor, I see this as a good control to prevent cash theft, but will still push back against it. I made a point of it as I tipped a buck to the concession worker when I got refills.
You're being tracked where you eat anyway unless you put your phone into a box where it can't transmit or receive signals the moment you leave your house.
Margins have always been small especially for small business owners.
Did you know that small business restaurants employ almost 1/3 of the entire work force in this country? Ya go ahead and boycott them so our fellow Americans, many of them patriots, can no longer feed their families. Great idea.
I'm sure they CAN make menus but they are an expense that can be mitigated. This is the sign of a competent businessman.
What is even the big deal using a cell phone? Some of you act like triple hair colored liberals that just want to hate everything.
Disagree. Menus get handled by a lot of people and get nasty quickly. The plastic coverings for them have to be wiped down after each use to keep them “clean” (still dirty). If the menu changes, reprints have to be made. I would rather have a virtual menu - it’s cleaner and easier to maintain
I don't want a virtual anything. We need to get back to basics. Have you ever noticed, when you go to your smartphone store with a problem? It's usually a big hassle, that takes 3 or 4 of these kids 45 minutes to solve. That's because you're not carrying a phone. You're carrying a surveillance device, masquerading as a phone. When we get to the other side of this, I predict, a lot of technology will be abandoned, voluntarily.
I was always a little freaked out when I would visit the cellphone store with an issue, and the first thing they would ask me for in front of everybody there was my SSN.
Have you paid attention to how EVERYTHING is now run by smartphone permissions in China? Every aspect of people's lives depend on being granted permission by their phone. Menus might be the first step here, but if that succeeds what's next... not being granted access to the restaurant or store because your social credit score that day won't give you a green light to enter? Not being able to order something on the menu with (beef, chicken, etc) because you've already consumed your allotment of that for the month? Before you call me a conspiracy nut, take a look at China, and how quickly this stuff was implemented there.
If they have GPS / location tracking turned on, they are already being tracked. Heck, Google sends me an email summary of "places I've visited" every month. They don't hide it.
Include those "cashless" restaurants too. There seems to be more and more of them.
I've been boycotting both QR only and cashless establishments for as long as they have existed.
Unfortunately, we rarely eat out. Ironic.
Stop paying with cards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WANT TO REALLY freak these lil' shits OUT...PAY WITH A $50.00 OR $100.00 bill(s)...watch them freak...
Have done this more than once and the restaurant soon gets the message!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😎😎😎😎😎
That's what we have been doing for a long time now. Went to a restaurant and they said QR code, and I pulled out a cell phone and said, where is the menu?
They gave me a paper one wrapped in plastic. Hilarious.
I think it's a printed paper laminated.
We put basic laser printer paper, in plastic sleeves...parchment? Too classy LOL
There's a little hole in the wall in Glenview IL I go to, they only take cash. I get a kick out of some people's reaction when they can't use their plastic.
Love those places. There are several cash only places up by the chain o lakes.
Its been there over 100 yrs great bar and food. Mieres tavern on Lake St Glenview IL
I just looked it up. Man, that place looks awesome. I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip.
Il buy u a DAB. Just ask the owner who's the conspiracy guy Lol
Haha, sounds good. When I go, I will ask. 👍
Just a little insight … Small restaurant owner here…. We haven’t abandoned our paper menus and don’t use QR codes… However, with the constant and I mean CONSTANT (weekly) food cost changes), pricing needs to be adjusted often. New menu creation (even by professionals) take a month to proof and print, potentially leading to loss of revenue.
It’s not about “health” anymore It’s about the bottom line When cheese costs rise over $40 in 4 days .. and that’s just one example of many that occur weekly, adjustments must be made to stay in business Another example… my trash/recycling pick up will rise 15-20% on 4/1. Very hard to build in these costs and NOT charge pricing that scares customers away. Support you mom n pop pubs… we’ve been through a lot these last few years. Cheers! 🍻
Very good point👌
We put our menu items that don't have food costs that swing wildly on a printed menu, and our heavy protein/higher costs/swinging costs dishes on a "features" board. That way, when I do the order and get the invoice, I can adjust those prices accordingly. I do have one loss leader on the printed menu, but it's too late to do anything about it now, so I eat the 45% cost.
We recently switched waste pickup to a company who decided to undercut the others in town, and now they're all adjusting their prices down and calling us daily to come back kek
Then print your menus out on plain paper until shit calms down.
I do.
Thanks for the info.
I just hate when restaurants try to force gratuity and hide their prices on their digital menus.
Nothing scares me away more than not knowing what I'm paying for something I've already bought.
One Chinese restaurant we used to go to, took a cut of the gratuity when we paid by credit card. So I switched to paying cash or leaving cash tips. Several waitresses told us of the restaurant doing this. Wait staff make so little as is, so it is outrageous that the owners do this.
From what I can tell, a lot of foreign run restaurants in the U.S. seem to try to play this game, and then make up to minimum wage (as required by law). What this inevitably means is less cash for the wait staff with hustle and awareness while the really trashy wait staff that do nothing and have zero awareness end up making the same amount for less work.
When I do restaurants, I (try to) tip well. If I'm alone and a waitress (or even waiter) wants to drop in for a quick chat, see if I need anything, etc. that's a plus. Obviously if we're engrossed in conversation, I don't want to be interrupted mid-conversation, so wait staff who hang back and either wait for a break in conversation or come back to us also get thanks. Paying attention to drink levels, letting us know there's a delay in our food, etc. all are welcome stuff that increases the tip level.
I get not everyone is actually judging their waiters/waitresses, but you can definitely tell the difference between average and bad, and average and good even if you aren't looking.
So the good ones can make a ton from tips..and by making it mandatory you're just robbing that potential anyway.
Just tell them you don't have a phone
That's what I do :)
I tell them my phone is old and can't do qr codes. It might be true I haven't checked.
I put a blocker on certain apps to only use during certain times of day. If my blocker is active, I literally have no way to access the menus. Usually in this scenario, they have an old ipad they give me to order from.
If I seen this shit I'd walk. Wtf is wrong with a menu on the table
But... but... you'll get the coof if you touch a menu! That's why we had to take them away!
Is that like the plastic shields at check outs but they touch all my cans? Lol
That's to protect the employees from the unwashed public. After I touched the cans twice already. Once to put them in the cart, and once to put them on the conveyor.
i always ask for a menue....no menue... i walk out
TOTALLY AGREE...AND the excuses they use for this is: 1) our menu is on-line, 2) to track you via your credit/atm card...AND this is to MOVE EVERYONE INTO THE DIGITAL CURRENCY spin cycle...
You use QR code or some other nonsense...will cook my meals at home...besides they are better...
This morons can KMA in every sense of the word!!!
This is all such bullshit. The globos push the "smart"phones like nuts because they want to track EVERYTHING YOU DO.
All the restaurant manager of you can borrow his or her phone to check the menu. If they say no because of privacy, give them a Cheshire-cat grin and disappear.
Is there just an app that reads them or is it built in phones? I never scan them. I'd rather read and do things the old fashioned way, I suppose.
Most cameras will detect the QR code so all you need to do is aim your camera at. I was taught that by my Gen Z when during the scamdemic restaurants did QR code on the table or disposable menu (we'd share one disposable menu but she wanted to teach techphobe mom about QR codes)
No idea, not something I want to be involved with.
I carry a flip phone, so no codes for me.
Some flip phones will be able to detect QR codes, depending on age and brand I'd suspect.
just go to the restaurants web site and look at the menu.
Plenty of QR codes just take you to a weblink with a table number associated with it. You already have your phone in your pocket, 'they' already know you're at that exact location. VPN, or even a privacy focused browser like Brave on your phone will limit the weblink's ability to associate your device with the specific request. This isn't a big deal, the Trojan horse is already in your pocket, regardless of whether or not you scan a code.
Restaurants aren't in league with the government, they're just taking advantage of technology for efficiency and to reduce printing costs.
Data privacy is already way more out of control than the average person could even begin to imagine. This just shows a fundamental lack of knowledge regarding the technology we all carry and use.
Wife and I are already on board for this. We walked out of the only restaurant we encountered with qr menu and never went back. There's no way I'm using my phone data to order food, physically in the restaurant. Get bent!
This is dumb. We have far worse shit to worry about. Cell phones are ubiquitous and menus cost a lot of money to print. The margins of a restaurant were thin before the stolen election. imagine how much that would help a small business owner. Walk a mile...
The margins of good restaurants aren't thin. Do not prop up a business that needs to save a penny on your visit - because if they can't make a menu, imagine what cheap crap they're serving to you, and imagine who they've got on the bargain basement payroll. Let bad businesses die.
I agree. It’s not that big of a deal and nearly all of them have a paper menu by request.
Also.. don’t be a prick to the hostess, server or bar tender over it.
If you find an establishment that suits your criteria…. Promote it! Tip well! Visit often! Share info on staff shortages with others who may be looking for work. Not only do we have an army to put businesses out, we also have the positive power of promotion and salvation for struggling locally owned small businesses. Make a positive contribution
At first this sounds upsetting, but then I remembered that I always wash my hands after handling one and before eating. I can see how prices have changed so frequently the past two years, so for a small restaurant this can be a good thing. As for the cash free restaurants, I will absolutely avoid those. I was just at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and that was all cash free. As an auditor, I see this as a good control to prevent cash theft, but will still push back against it. I made a point of it as I tipped a buck to the concession worker when I got refills.
A smartphone shouldn't be a requirement to dining out.
You're being downvoted because most people don't like being tracked where they eat.
Me: Table for two, please.
Host: It'll be 35 minutes. Please give me your cell phone number.
Me: (Leaves restaurant)
I miss the days of the flashing hockey puck things.
You're being tracked where you eat anyway unless you put your phone into a box where it can't transmit or receive signals the moment you leave your house.
Cool. So why should I want to assist someone else in tracking me?
Margins have always been small especially for small business owners. Did you know that small business restaurants employ almost 1/3 of the entire work force in this country? Ya go ahead and boycott them so our fellow Americans, many of them patriots, can no longer feed their families. Great idea. I'm sure they CAN make menus but they are an expense that can be mitigated. This is the sign of a competent businessman. What is even the big deal using a cell phone? Some of you act like triple hair colored liberals that just want to hate everything.
I would but, hear me out, this one place, is really fucking delicious, and I'm not gonna stop eating there.
Just wondering why qr code menus are bad? I have only seen it a few times and didn't really think much about it.
Disagree. Menus get handled by a lot of people and get nasty quickly. The plastic coverings for them have to be wiped down after each use to keep them “clean” (still dirty). If the menu changes, reprints have to be made. I would rather have a virtual menu - it’s cleaner and easier to maintain
You're missing the point.
I don't want a virtual anything. We need to get back to basics. Have you ever noticed, when you go to your smartphone store with a problem? It's usually a big hassle, that takes 3 or 4 of these kids 45 minutes to solve. That's because you're not carrying a phone. You're carrying a surveillance device, masquerading as a phone. When we get to the other side of this, I predict, a lot of technology will be abandoned, voluntarily.
I was always a little freaked out when I would visit the cellphone store with an issue, and the first thing they would ask me for in front of everybody there was my SSN.
Freedom is scary.
I guess I'm out of the loop on this one. What is the correlation between QR code menus and anti-freedom?
Have you paid attention to how EVERYTHING is now run by smartphone permissions in China? Every aspect of people's lives depend on being granted permission by their phone. Menus might be the first step here, but if that succeeds what's next... not being granted access to the restaurant or store because your social credit score that day won't give you a green light to enter? Not being able to order something on the menu with (beef, chicken, etc) because you've already consumed your allotment of that for the month? Before you call me a conspiracy nut, take a look at China, and how quickly this stuff was implemented there.
I see your point. Thanks for the clarification.
This is a losing battle.
Just wait till AR becomes ubiquitous
1: Most people don't like being tracked when and where they eat.
2: You sound like your boosters are wearing off. Go ask Fauci for another shot.
If they have GPS / location tracking turned on, they are already being tracked. Heck, Google sends me an email summary of "places I've visited" every month. They don't hide it.
Exactly. So why should I want to assist someone else in tracking me?
As long as they offer both who cares.