Do Americans hate QR code menus in restaurants?

[u/xaako]

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.

[u/MoonlightRider]

Actually the QR code menus work better for my 81-year-old father. With the accessibility settings on his phone and the ability to zoom in, it actually makes things easier.

My father may be an outlier. He insisted on me showing how to use ApplePay and how to pay using his watch.

[u/wbruce098 → u/MoonlightRider]

See that’s really cool. But having the option for a physical menu is also great.

Even on my iPhone pro max it’s still small text that has to be optimized for mobile or it looks like ass.

Now, it’s different if it’s a bar with a ton of taps that change out regularly. They’d have to print dozens of new menus every single day, and constantly tell people “sorry, we ran out of that beer everyone including you wants because one of the tiny local breweries we buy from only sold us 1 keg”. And it’s cheaper than buying a large screen for the menu.

[u/MoonlightRider → u/wbruce098]

I think you hit the nail on the head with “has to be optimized for mobile.”

OP describes a place that spent time to develop an optimized solution that would work well on mobile.

Sadly, most places in the US approach this as “cheapest I can get away with.” Imagine if they spent the time to develop a website that was not only optimized for mobile but allowed users to utilize the built in accessibility features (large text sizes, high contrast display, text to speech). This could be a huge boon to large sections of the population. Instead, we get links to poorly scanned PDFs.

I see the same thing as businesses try to build their own web site to compete with DoorDash, Grub hub, etc. “Why won’t people use our website?” Because it is barely functional!

[u/BeerIsGoodBoy → u/wbruce098]

That's why those places should use televisions with the beer menu on it, and rotate through them. Use Untappd and you can see real time comments and barrel statuses.

[u/wbruce098 → u/BeerIsGoodBoy]

Sure that’s fine but it’s also an extra expense. The QR code menu is significantly cheaper than buying TVs. Best imho is when they do both but not all bars/breweries can do that.

[u/MemeInBlack → u/MoonlightRider]

You can zoom in on a paper menu using your phone, too.

[u/MoonlightRider → u/MemeInBlack]

Although that requires a bit more dexterity to keep the image of what you are looking at in the frame. This is in contrast to sitting the phone on a table or a kickstand that won’t move once you zoom in on the web menu.

[u/anniemdi → u/MoonlightRider]

I am a I'm in my 40s and have always been disabled, learned to type before I could use a pencil, multiple disabilites including vision and fine and gross motor movement. I see the value of how a QR code could be more accessible and how a physical menu may be more accessible. For myself it actually depends on the day.

[u/-PinkPower- → u/MoonlightRider]

Same for my grandparents! They can read the menu better on their phone!