Restaurants Are Finally Replacing 'Tacky' QR Codes With Paper Menus
Throughout the pandemic, it made sense to swap out paper menus for a safer, health-friendly alternative, like QR codes. However, restaurants—and their customers—are ready to ditch the "tacky" technology.
According to The Wall Street Journal, and more specifically a survey conducted by Technomic, QR codes actually discourage patrons from dining at an establishment altogether. Just two years ago, the market research firm similarly reported that 88 percent of customers prefer paper menus at sit-down restaurants.
"In the restaurant industry, the QR code menu is seen as a little bit tacky," director of operations for Zuma, Teddie King, told The Journal. Meanwhile, software trainer Oz du Soleil added that "it's like self-checkout or putting your own IKEA stuff together." So, um, not a good idea.
Enough with the QR code menus, seriously
— B.J. Novak (@bjnovak) July 19, 2022
what do we, as a culture, have to do to kill QR code menus
— allison (@allisongeroi) May 31, 2022
One of the worst thing to come out of technology is QR code menus
— Adithi (@adithi_mallesh) July 20, 2022
The COO of New York's John Fraser Restaurants said that the QR codes "were starting to alienate people," while Japanese restaurant Nami Nori has similarly ditched the technology.
It's no secret that patrons hate the technology. In fact, there's an entire Reddit thread dedicated to bashing QR codes. Several adversaries called them "annoying" and a "pain."
"I don't mind the idea of a QR code menu, if it weren't the fact that every time I tried to use one there was no cell reception in the building," one person wrote. "I don't want to wait 45 seconds to just start reading the menu."
Another Reddit user pointed out the privacy issues associated with QR codes, writing, "They're so incredibly insecure. All it takes is someone to slap a different sticker over that and you've hacked every person who sits down at that table."
The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning of its own back in 2023 amid "growing abuse." They weren't wrong either. Check Point cybersecurity experts reported there was a 587 percent increase in QR phishing, according to The New York Post.
"They want you to scan the QR code and open the URL without thinking about it," the FTC said in its statement.
As restaurants have ditched the tech-driven menus, customers have rejoiced. "While I’m fine with QR code menus, they do come across as cheap and tacky," one person wrote on Twitter. "Society is healing," another added.
"Common sense prevails again," a third person said.
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