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Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

(slate.com)
527 points lxm | 12 comments | 29 Jun 21 03:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.933s | source | bottom
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Karrot_Kream ◴[29 Jun 21 04:35 UTC] No.27671804[source]▶
I gotta say, I disagree with this piece. I, for one, love QR code menus. I can pinch zoom rather than squint at a menu with small/unreadable fonts in dim lighting. I don't need to badger the already exhausted wait staff on a busy night when they forget to drop us a menu or two. When orders are taken online, rather than awkwardly force a friend to not go to the bathroom (or take their kid to the bathroom) until a server can take their order, they can just order and then go. I do think restaurants should handle payment themselves and have the option for paper menus or menus posted on a wall if needed, but otherwise I'm a fan.
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monkeynotes ◴[29 Jun 21 12:44 UTC] No.27675012[source]▶
Wait, restaurants are making you order from an app too?? So now you don't really need your 'exhausted wait staff' so much. Hire less wait staff as a portion are now are underutilized. Now some wait staff have no jobs, and the remainder work the same exhausting shifts. The reason these wait staff get tips is because they work so hard, with less service comes less tips. Now you have a whole industry of overworked AND underpaid staff.

Any efficiencies you are seeing will be refactored and stretched out as any business cannot afford to carry fat if they want maximum profit and competitive edge (price).

This whole inconvenience of a friend going to the bathroom is an incredibly weak argument for foregoing the tradition and ceremony of interacting with a person who will provide you with a meal. If you want to live in a McWorld where every step of your dining experience is as sterile, efficient, and touch free as possible then I am sad for you. That's not what a meal with friends and family means to me, it's not just about eating for sustenance.

Why do you draw the line at taking payment?

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astura ◴[29 Jun 21 13:03 UTC] No.27675202[source]▶
>The reason these wait staff get tips is because they work so hard

The reason they get tips is because they are waitstaff, it has zero to do with how hard they work, it's simply custom to tip waitstaff, even lazy waitstaff.

Most employees work just as hard without getting tips (like the people who are actually cooking the food).

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1. grumple ◴[29 Jun 21 13:40 UTC] No.27675617[source]▶
Perhaps you are unaware, but in the US, tipped waitstaff only make $2.83/hr in most places (tipped minimum wage). These people need tips in order to make any money. Nobody is working hard for 2.83/hr.

This is changing since now people are refusing to work those jobs. And yes, the entire industry is dumb and corrupt for having this practice in the first place, but it is what it is.

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2. dragonwriter ◴[29 Jun 21 13:51 UTC] No.27675761[source]▶
> Perhaps you are unaware, but in the US, tipped waitstaff only make $2.83/hr in most places (tipped minimum wage).

Perhaps you are unaware, but:

(1) US federal tipped minimum cash wage is $2.13, not $2.83, but also

(2) Most US states and territories have a tipped minimum wage above the federal tipped minimum (and also, though by a smaller margin, most have a tipped minimum above $2.83, which is PA’s tipped minimum.)

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped

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3. grumple ◴[29 Jun 21 14:32 UTC] No.27676309[source]▶
Sorry, you're right, a quick google search revealed my state's wage, not the fed (forgot to check the difference, which is so negligible that it's insulting).

This does not change my point in the slightest, which is that wait staff need tips to survive because the tipped minimum wage is unlivable basically everywhere.

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4. dragonwriter ◴[29 Jun 21 14:38 UTC] No.27676421{3}[source]▶
> This does not change my point in the slightest, which is that wait staff need tips to survive because the tipped minimum wage is unlivable basically everywhere.

Its the same as the general minimum in several places, and at or above the federal general (not just tipped) minimum even more, so if its unlivable “basically everywhere” that's more than just a tipped minimum problem.

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5. matz1 ◴[29 Jun 21 15:30 UTC] No.27677293[source]▶
Maybe you are not aware, if the tip is not enough to match the non tipped minimum wage then the employer has to make up the difference.
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6. grumple ◴[29 Jun 21 20:07 UTC] No.27681057{4}[source]▶
It's the same as the general minimum in only 7 states.

Yes, the general minimum wage is a problem too. But in 43 states the tipped minimum is a greater problem.

7. grumple ◴[29 Jun 21 20:12 UTC] No.27681110[source]▶
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 get up to the general minimum wage via tips (which is a paltry wage), the business still pays you peanuts.
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8. matz1 ◴[29 Jun 21 20:36 UTC] No.27681396{3}[source]▶
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.

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9. grumple ◴[02 Jul 21 13:32 UTC] No.27711273{4}[source]▶
> 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.

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10. matz1 ◴[02 Jul 21 16:17 UTC] No.27713456{5}[source]▶
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.

11. dragonwriter ◴[02 Jul 21 16:23 UTC] No.27713550{4}[source]▶
> general minimum wage is peanuts, yes. but tipped waitstaff only make $2.83/hr is not true.

True, tipped minimum is $2.13/hr.

> If the employer did not make up the difference then they risk being fined/shutdown.

Employers make up reported shortfalls in tipped jobs, but they also often treat shortfalls as a negative performance indicator, justifying termination. In jobs where there are cash tips (not everything through a payment system), this incentivizes enployees to assure that there are no shortfalls.

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12. matz1 ◴[02 Jul 21 18:05 UTC] No.27714733{5}[source]▶
>True, tipped minimum is $2.13/hr

Tipped minimum is 2.13/hr is true but tipped waitstaff only make 2.13/hour is not true.