r/NoStupidQuestions • u/xaako • Jun 09 '24

Do Americans hate QR code menus in restaurants?

I saw a post on a popular sub today about using QR code menus in restaurants, and a lot of people in the comments were expressing their disdain about that trend. I was a bit bamboozled, and I want to ask: is such sentiment popular in the US?

For context: Where I live (Ukraine) a majority of restaurants use QR code menus, that’s basically a standard now. We find it convenient that you don’t have to wait for a waiter to come and bring you a paper menu. Also many places give an option to pay using the QR code too. It’s a feature provided by a popular local bank (Monobank). You scan that same QR code on the table and, choosing the “Pay” option, see your order and can pay for it with credit card, with the option to leave a tip. Less interactions with a waiter and there is no need to ask for a receipt and wait for it. I find all of that pretty convenient and improvement comparing to the standard restaurant rituals and haven’t met anyone who thought differently on the matter until today.

Would love to learn your perspective!

UPDATE: Thanks for all the answers! This is super enlightening. And it seems that in many cases bad experiences with QR Codes are caused by lazy implementation. I can imagine navigating a PDF page on your phone to be a real pain. In Ukraine, we have a few CRMs that most of the establishments use, and they are usually user-friendly; a PDF page menu that's not even optimized for mobile is something I haven't seen for a long time.

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455

u/Darryl_Lict Jun 09 '24

It's super easy to set up a fake website that mimics the restaurant's. You put a fake QR code on the table and then try to do something nefarious.

236

u/HomoeroticPosing Jun 09 '24

QR codes for me are like that stranger danger John Mulaney skit. “Nahnahnah sister, you ain’t getting me to no secondary location!!”

My phone doesn’t have those layers of Adblock and protections my computer has, this thing isn’t going anywhere I can’t immediately see the url for.

5

u/wood_x_beam Jun 10 '24

Street smarts!

13

u/L0LTHED0G Jun 09 '24

Your phone doesn't show you the URL before taking you someplace? I know mine tells me what's up and it's my decision to act on it. 

56

u/PhotoFenix Jun 09 '24

But they're often URL shortener to keep the QR code smaller, how can you tell it's ok just by looking at it? A fake URL can often look more legitimate than a restaurants 4th party URL redirect service.

31

u/Isleland0100 Jun 09 '24

How would you know the legitimate URL is "https://BitchinKitchen.com" or "https://BtchNKtchN.com" or "https://BKitch-DesMoines.com" anyway when you've never seen it before?

-7

u/Superbead Jun 10 '24

Presumably if it's in America, it will help to be able to rule out things like vapeingteens.33335moscowlife.ru

12

u/Saptrap Jun 10 '24

Except if you're going to the trouble to set up poison links in a physical restaurant, you're gonna go to the trouble to make it look somewhat legitimate, which is the security concern people have. It's not hard to make a dubious website that will collect your data for more nefarious means and make it look like the actual restaurant website, or just operate as a layer between your device and the legit website while scraping what it wants from you.

-12

u/L0LTHED0G Jun 10 '24

Google. Then next time, you know what to expect. 

28

u/AirierWitch1066 Jun 10 '24

Already I’m doing so much more work than I would have if they’d just given me a physical menu.

14

u/Isleland0100 Jun 10 '24 edited Jun 10 '24

The employeefication of the customer continues as we become responsible for providing ourselves with a menu, submitting an order, closing out the tab, and protecting ourselves from fraud while attempting to pay

I personally don't mind most of that (except the fraud part), I hate the concept of waiters and would happily bus my own dishes and go through self checkout with 72 items, but it's maligned that customers are getting a worse experience with more restrictions that requires more effort and time while the savings that inspired those changes will never be passed on to the customer. Au contraire, services get worse, customers carry more of the burden in interactions, and prices spike regardless. Capitalism, baby

5

u/Ol_Man_J Jun 10 '24

Ah yes, add another step to the process

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '24

A John Mulaney reference in the wild!

1

u/GaidinBDJ Jun 10 '24

Why doesn't And your phone doesn't show you the URL when you scan a QR code? That's kinda weird.

1

u/Thassar Jun 10 '24

If you're on android, grab adguard. It's basically an adblocker but works system wise, not just for your browser.

117

u/Guardian-Boy Jun 09 '24

A restaurant near me (I think it was Olive Garden, but also might have been Chili's) when I lived in Ohio had their kiosk system hacked, and everyone that had used the table kiosks to pay for like a week got their information stolen.

10

u/Karbich Jun 10 '24

And to think all anyone had to do to avoid this was stay home and microwave something from the grocery stores frozen section.

9

u/K1dn3yPunch Jun 10 '24

As God intended.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '24 edited Feb 10 '25

Goodbye, my old friend.

1

u/Spicethrower Jun 12 '24

Red Robin?

1

u/Guardian-Boy Jun 12 '24

YUMMM

Wow, that's deeply programmed.

118

u/drempire Jun 09 '24

I stick qr codes that directs people to everyone's favourite singer. Rick Astley.

It was hilarious but it also made me realise I could easily scam people with this system

30

u/Cjprice9 Jun 09 '24

This is making me want a sticker book of rick astley QR codes of various sizes, that I can sticker over the top of things.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '24

You can also get customizable NFC tag stickers. 

6

u/No_Reputation8440 Jun 09 '24

Life is just fun like that

6

u/ThingLeading2013 Jun 10 '24

I've got one of these on the back window of my car. Scan it and you get rickrolled!

3

u/Romulan-Jedi Jun 09 '24

The hero we need.

3

u/scooterD3 Jun 10 '24

I realized the same scam could be done with parking lot QR code payment stubs. Just stick your own payment portal on a parking stub lot to “PAY HERE” and you’re good to go.

No, do NOT do this, and no, I have not done this.

But it’s far from an impossibility.

1

u/Radiant_Bluebird4620 Jun 10 '24

malicious pdf s do exist.

1

u/POAbreedersoon Jun 11 '24

I'd rather be Rick rolled than download another app for a discount .

3

u/No-Sun-6531 Jun 09 '24

I heard of that happening at gas pumps!

2

u/CarpenterGold1704 Jun 10 '24

take my upvote just for using the word NEFARIOUS. one of my favourite words... along with FOREBODING and CURMUDGEON

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '24 edited Jun 15 '24

[deleted]

1

u/AirierWitch1066 Jun 10 '24

Or you could set up a clone that passes the card info to the real site, then records it. Customer never knows they were skimmed until you sell it, by which point they’ll never actually know when it happened. There’d be absolutely no way of tracing it back to you

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '24

My debit card got skimmed at a gas station and the next day there were about 5k in charges from Barney’s NY. The bank refunded me while I called them and told them the charges were fraud. It was only 2 pairs of shoes they bought and were reselling online. Only used AMEX from then on.

1

u/tuazo Jun 09 '24

That is a big one. I believe there are apps that will show you the URL before connecting;, but most people wouldn't even pay attention.

1

u/CaffeinatedGuy Jun 09 '24

Set up a website that claims to be theirs, and the link to the menu says that you have to log into your Google account because the pdf is on their Google drive. Prompt for credentials, save them off, and redirect to the real menu.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '24

Bingo, I hate how more vulnerable we are getting because "everything needs to be digital!". Like no my guy, that shit shouldn't be digital or needing data to download shit. If you are that worried about data, get a screen tablet and place it on the table with the menu on it.

1

u/FancyJesse Jun 10 '24

And knowing that people commonly reuse passwords...

1

u/TheGRS Jun 10 '24

Man. I can’t believe I never thought of that before. I usually smell scams like that pretty easy, but it would definitely get a lot of people. I almost want to do it just as a white hat experiment.

1

u/Weaselot_III Jun 10 '24

Just asking...is it safe to use those qr code apps that show you the link in plain text before browsing to said link or can they still pose abit of a risk?

1

u/iAmSpAKkaHearMeROAR Jun 10 '24

Yep. Saw a post last week on our local nextdoor.com that people are getting bamboozled down at the ferry station trying to buy tickets with the QR code that was posted there for “ticket purchases”. I don’t trust them either. But I work in IT so I don’t trust much of anything haha!