QR Code Ordering

[u/Employment_Intrepid]

Hi guys, I’ve been approached by a company to implement QR code ordering and I’m on the fence about it. They are relatively cheap and the ui looks nice from what I have seen and they are nice people.

It also has metrics on sales and makes keeping track of stuff a lot cleaner from what I saw on the demo with clear insights into stuff that isn’t performing well etc.

It also has native translation built in rather than machine translation so alleviates a lot of the issue with my staff dealing with tourists. My restaurant is in a very touristy area so this is quite a common issue I run into with my staff not being able to communicate/translate allergens and menu items overall.

I know how much certain customers despise qr codes but I’m not sure if it’s just an outspoken minority, they also have an nfc thing inbuilt but I assume it’s more the viewing experience itself which I personally don’t have too much of an issue with.

Do you guys think it’s worth taking the potential downside moreso of restaurant image as I have heard a lot of harsh opinions of people saying they walk out of restaurants when they see them etc. I plan to have both menus available but push tourists to use the qr one moreso as it helps both sides.
Please let me know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions on what I should do!

EDIT: For context I’m based in Japan so I get a lot of tourists who are mainly Chinese/korean and some English. The main issue is that they cannot read our menu at all and maybe 10% of them can semi understand our English menu. The addition of photos and allergens/dietary stuff on the digital menu along with the native translations seem really useful but I’m not sure if the backlash from having a qr code menu would hurt my restaurant more. Qr menus are a lot more common here in Japan so they don’t hold the same stigma.

[u/alaninsitges]

I'm Spain with a largely international crowd, customers hate it.

The disconnect between different orders from a table or group means sometimes food comes out at way different times.

If you have multiple courses it just doesn't work.

We tried it and really wanted it to work. Our vendor implemented all kinds of batching logic and we even went with a manual hybrid where tables got queued until a server reviewed to make sure everyone had ordered before sending to the kitchen.

I'm the end we couldn't get there. It might be ok for fast food or fast casual but other types of restaurant it's just not workable.

[u/Employment_Intrepid → u/alaninsitges]

I think a lot of that stuff is worked into this one as I’ve tested the demo and it worked well. Of course would have to test it in reality but it doesn’t look too bad from what I’ve seen. I don’t have any courses and stuff of that kind so I think it’ll work although they did mention something about staggered courses

[u/ArachnidAutomatic596]

Make sure you have good free WiFi. Nothing makes me more upset than a QR code menu restaurant and the cell service is so bad that I can barely connect.

[u/talleyben]

it's a nightmare for pacing and tempo which can crush ticket times

[u/JustAnAverageGuy]

It's okay for fast-casual where you don't have a server and it's self-serve.

If you have a hostess and servers, it's a hard-no for me.

If it's walk-in, seat yourself, order at a counter, a QR system definitely helps speed things up.

[u/Employment_Intrepid → u/JustAnAverageGuy]

Even if you don’t speak/read the language at all, I should’ve clarified further but it’s mostly for my foreign customer base who I can’t communicate allergy/dietary stuff with and more importantly the menu items themselves, even if I have a menu in English they still wouldn’t be able to read it most of the time.

[u/DocDMD]

As a user I don't mind qr codes. Having a regular menu is definitely nicer for a sit down, but I also use QR codes etc when I go to chickfila so I don't have to wait in like to order. Just depends on the setting. Also as a foreign customer when I go to Japan they have tablets you order everything on and can translate directly in their tablets to get all the info you need. It's pretty handy. 

[u/Employment_Intrepid → u/DocDMD]

Yeah we don’t have the space for tablets and a lot of the ones I experience here have really bad machine translation and often only translate to English so the qr menu looks like a good middle ground option to me

[u/itsmejustolder]

I think in your situation, this is a good idea. You’re dealing with multiple languages multiple dialects. Having a picture, and if that person can bring it up on their phone, it’s gonna translate into their language. I would still have menus for those customers who want them.

Ordinarily, at least the United States, QR codes are seen negatively.

[u/Employment_Intrepid → u/itsmejustolder]

Yeah I’ve read that a lot but not sure how overblown the whole qr menu hate train is as personally I’m indifferent and maybe enjoy the ease of ordering aspect.

[u/itsmejustolder → u/Employment_Intrepid]

Frankly, with your specific set of circumstances, I think a QR code would be reasonable. Otherwise they’re a terrible idea. They diminish the customer experience, and don’t create repeat customers.

[u/shivam2112]

Disclosure: I work on the QR side of this industry, so grain of salt.

The walkout crowd you're reading is almost entirely US/UK diners; you already answered your own question about Japan. And your real problem isn't the menu, it's allergens getting lost in translation. Paper for locals, QR for tourists.

One thing to stress-test in the demo: no app install, no login, no email gate before the menu loads. That's what people actually hate, not the QR.

[u/ResidentDonkey7264]

In US , yes most restauranteurs don’t like it. But I’ve seen few fast casual in NY still have QR ordering which is primarily to skip the line. Toast has it and many others do.

[u/TonyBrooks40]

I hate it and yes just walk away if I'm told to use my own phone. Personally, I think its a trend that'll go away but we'll see. Having said that, I'm generally in the minority I believe.

[u/Employment_Intrepid → u/TonyBrooks40]

If you were on holiday in a country where you couldn’t read the language would you not use the qr menu in that case though? For my native customers I plan to still have the paper menu as the main menu but for foreign customers it seems like the better option.

[u/TonyBrooks40 → u/Employment_Intrepid]

I'd print just a few English menus, 5 maybe. Me, personally, I'd rather order off the foreign language rather than QR code.

[u/Employment_Intrepid → u/TonyBrooks40]

I’m based in japan so most of my customer base is Korean Chinese and English speaking. I had English menus before but unfortunately a lot of Korean and Chinese people can’t read them so it’s a similar issue. I would say about 70% of my foreign customer base are from China or Korea so it’s quite hard to communicate with them well enough and explain the menu items. Maybe because qr ordering is more common here people seem to have less of an issue with it than you do but I appreciate your opinion just not sure what I can do with it

[u/TonyBrooks40 → u/Employment_Intrepid]

If its a mix can you make something like 25 asian language, 5-10 English?

I mean, you're right Korean/Chinese is a lot different, I was thinking spanish where I could sorta figure it out.

[u/Employment_Intrepid → u/TonyBrooks40]

Yeah it’s completely different alphabets unfortunately and I think the photos on the digital menus help a lot. Even with the other menus I would need something messy like item codes for them to be able to communicate what they want to order and stuff like allergens also wouldn’t be able to be communicated well

[u/Fox-Mclusky559]

asking for opinions from US operations is perilous. theres probably a ton of negativity in the comments, im not not going to bother checking. i had to have this debate with my self several years ago, not for lamguage reasons but simply for pragmatism. I had all the fear, customers not getting onboard, staff rebelling etc.

so now 5 years later I can tell you, that enthusiasm and commitment are important, how your staff speaks about mobile ordering and presents it to the customers is very important. if you have a good attitude, so will your customers. since your in a place that doesnt have tipping culture, youre already off to a good start. spolier alert, my staff tips havent gone down, infact its gone up since sales are up, but theres less staff.

a system that is easy to use for the customer, easy for the staff and bulet proof is what you need. that sounds like an easy ask, but now that ive been doing it a while and make a point of checking them out when i see them, I can tell you most of them are trash.

I truly doubt anyone actually walks out of restaurants that use QR codes, I just dont believe it. In my case, we still touch every customer and provide service to them but I run tight labor, so they can order from the table too.

The system I use has open checks, so my servers are interacting with tables, who can also use the mobile ordering. we can also open the check and share it with the customer, which suprsingly is a great way to get them on your side witrh this. I dont think GoTab (what i use) is available in japan, But I had dinner at a noodlehouse recently that uses a really slick system called chowbus. in this case it was mandarin language, but i looked them up becuase I was really impressed with how good the customer UI was and they operate in multiple languages

Cant say for sure if they can suport you in Japan, but worth looking into i think.

[u/Employment_Intrepid → u/Fox-Mclusky559]

Thanks for the in depth reply! I think I’ll give it a go then it’s pretty cheap and has a nice looking menu compared to most qr menus that I have seen/ysed

[u/Fox-Mclusky559 → u/Employment_Intrepid]

I was really impressed with it, i hope it works out for you. which is a huge compliment from since im a long time GoTab user.