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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

(slate.com)
527 points lxm | 4 comments | 29 Jun 21 03:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.826s | source
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sksksk ◴[29 Jun 21 08:51 UTC] No.27673432[source]▶
When they work well, they're really good, but when they work badly, they're _really_ bad.

The other week, I went for dinner at a place that had a online ordering system. My experience was as follows...

Arrive at the table, scan the QR code

No phone signal in the restaurant, so I need to connect to the wifi.

Connect to the wifi, get a captive portal

Need to put my phone number in to connect to the wifi; there is no signal, so I need to go outside, to receieve the confirmation code.

Connected to the wifi, scan the code again, choose my food.

Go to pay, need to register an account

Put my email address in, I already have an account on this food ordering service!?

Do a password reset

Put in my credit card details (why not use apple pay?).

This whole time, we're sat at a table, in theory to meet friends, but we've spent the first 15 minutes all glued to our phones!

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HelloNurse ◴[29 Jun 21 09:00 UTC] No.27673485[source]▶
Assuming there was another restaurant nearby, I'd have simplified the process to "go outside". If a restaurant is too cheap to print a menu, why should I consider it good enough for me?
replies(1): >>27673590 #
topicseed ◴[29 Jun 21 09:19 UTC] No.27673590[source]▶
With covid, many restaurants removed paper menus to avoid transmission. I hate QR codes so that was a move I was not in favour of.....
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umanwizard ◴[29 Jun 21 11:51 UTC] No.27674555[source]▶
That’s indeed why they did it, which is silly because there’s zero evidence that paper restaurant menus are a significant risk of covid transmission. It’s pure hygiene theater.
replies(2): >>27674943 #>>27675936 #
1. e-clinton ◴[29 Jun 21 12:36 UTC] No.27674943[source]▶
Hygiene theater? That’s just hygiene. You don’t HAVE to bathe everyday, nothing will happen if you don’t. But doing so is just hygiene.
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2. umanwizard ◴[29 Jun 21 12:38 UTC] No.27674969[source]▶
If you don’t bathe every day, and you have a body that produces a lot of sweat, you will look and smell disgusting to other people. That’s hardly “nothing”.
3. CWuestefeld ◴[29 Jun 21 13:44 UTC] No.27675666[source]▶
A year ago it was generally believed that fomites passed by contact was or could be a significant path for spread of the covid-19 virus. This turns out not to be the case - but that hasn't stopped a huge number of organizations from demanding high levels of surface cleansing.

If you're just unusually fastidious, I guess that's your right. But when you're claiming (or at least implying) that everyone must conform to those same levels to avoid covid-19 transmission - which is what we're still seeing quite a bit of - then that's hygiene theater.

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4. bellyfullofbac ◴[30 Jun 21 13:53 UTC] No.27688518[source]▶
Yeah, the CDC has acknowledged the surface thing [1], but sadly people are still operating on last year's knowledge and stil think disinfection is super important. Meanwhile despite new knowledge that Covid spreads in the air (not just through visible spit)[2], things like good ventilation (e.g. keeping windows open) hasn't really been pushed to people's heads. Maybe it's the failure of media?

[1] https://nypost.com/2021/04/05/low-risk-of-catching-covid-fro...

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/opinion/coronavirus-airbo...