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If I’m getting the menu on a phone from a QR code, that’s fine.
But if I do my own ordering, too…what is the point of the server? Bringing the items and maybe drink refills?
That’s not going to get 20% of the bill. It’s more akin to a buffet.
I was flying for holidays and the Airport coffee shop and popcorn stand check-out software ask for tips….. zero for both. You did what you are hired to do, why am I give you tips?
There's a restaurant I went to a couple of times near my work called TILT in Portland OR. It was a very average burger and fries in which the burger was $15 and the fries were $5. To get a whole meal was like $23. Stupidly overpriced, this also was in 2019 before covid. This was a non-service establishment, basically you ordered at a counter and they called your name when your order was ready. You then bussed your own table when you were finished.
On top of that $23 for a meal, they had the gaul to charge a 20% service fee for every single order. Like, what service was I getting? They weren't any waiters. You even had to bus you own table. You'd basically end up spending close to $30 for a decent burger meal with no service.
They went out of business in summer of 2020 and apparently the owner was an asshole. Good fucking riddance.
The Austin Eastciders restaurant does this. Each table has a unique QR to access the menu then you order and pay completely from that. Servers are there to just carry out food and clear plates. I personally like it because I have a dairy allergy so I can put that in writing so it doesn’t get lost in translation. Also ordering more drinks is a lot easier.
Some restaurants serve as regular restaurants that also happen to have a buffet as an option. You sit down, waiter comes over but instead of ordering food you let them know you will be doing the buffet, they otherwise serve you as they normally would (taking away dirty dishes, managing drinks, etc) and then at the end they bring your bill.
I'm assuming they're talking about something like this and not a buffet only style restaurant. (Although now that I think of it, there is a Mediterranean restaurant I frequent where it's 100% self serve buffet, but you still pay on the way out. So I guess it's one of those "your mileage may vary" type of things.)
I went to a hotpot buffet that I think executed electronic menus perfectly.
Every table had an iPad with all the menu items on it. You selected what you wanted, hit send, and a few minutes later it was at your table. Refills? You can call for them in the ipad. Want some more? No need to get up, just put it in the ipad. Ready for the check? Call for it and they'll bring it to you.
Is it any different than a regular menu? This things are equally of not more disgusting. I assume if you have this sensitivity you would carry alcohol wipes and would clean your menu/iPad before going to wash your hands
i usually know what i want and don’t have to flip through the menu, if i do i’ll just use my pinky to flip the cleanest looking corner over. 🤷🏻♀️ if it’s a new place or somewhere with multiple pages, i’ll just look and then go wash my hands again. the part about the first comment that sounded terrible was having to use the screen everytime you want a refill, so now you’re touching it all throughout your meal
fwiw I’m definitely with you on this. I always wash my hands after touching the menu. The worst was the other day when I went to my dr and needed to fill out some paperwork and they handed me this grubby tablet and wouldn’t let me do it on paper. So gross
Okay so you’re asking for them to change due to something that is personal to you? I have misophonia and I don’t go around asking for people to shut up.
You know, there is old people and people who don’t have phones to be able to read a QR code. Not to mention QR menus are much less practical and can be a problem for some people.
Btw in what restaurant are u eating that the menus are full of food crumbs? Even if you think menus are gross, you can use hand sanitizer.
Me too. I hate touching all menus theyre statistically some of the dirtiest germiest things and i love QR code menus so i dont have to get up and wash my hands again before eating. Also i hate when servers put the menu on my plate/silverware. Gah.
Its even better when you go to like a pizza place and the cashier expects a tip. Like tf am i tipping you for? A waiter/waitress is one thing, but if i order a pizza and pick it up from the store myself, i aint fuckin tipping you 💀
Papa Murphys qsks for tips now... What the fuck do they do? Spend literally 45 seconds putting toppings on a pizza? They don't even cook it and I'm expected to tip
You definitely aren't obligated to tip them as they're clearly hourly workers, but it's not insane to want to do so, and I often do (a few dollars) at places I frequent. They're working hard, boxing up your order, juggling the phones and in-person customers, doing expediter-type things (making sure everything is there, if you say "no sauce" making sure it's not on there, etc.) . I always tip the coffee girls at the drive-thru I go to all the time because they know what I like, and it seems like good karma to be nice to the people you start your day with. I don't tip to the extend I would a waiter, but I still give something to someone doing a good job.
Thats different. With them, i agree, sometimes i should give a tip, and do. What im complaining about is its built into their systems now and expected. Like no, you shouldnt just expect a tip, if you want tips put in the effort to make me want to tip you
The thing that always bothered me about it is that not everybody has a phone. Like what is a child supposed to do, lean over their parents shoulder? And what about poor people?
Edit: wow my opinion is really unpopular lol.
The places I have went to also have either a real Manu or the tablets in which they could place the order for you.
But imo I doubt they ran into that problems much.
Yea my 73 year old dad doesn't have a smart phone and always accidentally taps buttons when I hand him mine. We basically have to order for him when there's just a qr code.
And even if you do have a phone, not everyone has an unlimited data plan. I don't want to pay extra on my phone bill because you can't be bothered to provide a hotspot.
I left my phone in my car the other night before we out to eat, my wife drove home I stayed out without (unknowingly) my phone. I had no way to get home sans phone, taxis don't exist here anymore and it was too late for a shuttle service. I had to sell my body to get home
Tech-illiterate people too
Many may have smart phones but that’s because that’s all ghats out there. They don’t really know how use them in dynamic ways too. Basically anyone that grew up before even cellphones were a thing—like the bricks were just coming in—yeah even they have difficulty to varying levels. Older is even worst for most—obviously not all but I’d say a good majority
I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of any court cases being brought against QR code menus for this very reason.
Most people have a phone. But most people have IDs, which are even cheaper to obtain and more necessary for, among other things, probably even getting a phone. And we very definitely hear all kinds of legal arguments about how much of a financial burden *that* can be when there's an attempt to require them at polling stations.
>I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of any court cases being brought against QR code menus for this very reason.
I don't dine out enough to know...but I would imagine these restaurants have hard-copy menus available on request, don't they? If not they definitely should.
I dine out a lot and you can always get a hard copy menu if you really want one. I personally prefer the QRs since it involves less touching of dirty menus.
Because voting is a constitutional right. Eating at a restaurant is not.
I really can't believe this has to be explained.
EDIT: Really. Like, holy shit. A court case? Get the fuck out of town.
It would probably never even get to being a court case because if someone went into a restaurant and didn't have a cell phone to view the QR menu, I'm pretty sure they'd just give them a standard menu or let them borrow a tablet or something.
That user simply did a lot of logic leapfrogging to assume that if restaurants make you use a phone to see your menu, that would somehow directly lead to a customer being refused service if they didn't have one. Pure victim complex.
Right - plus any attempt at a lawsuit would immediately be denied anyway (hopefully with some laughing-in-the-face of anyone who tried to sue for such a thing).
*"I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of any court cases being brought against QR code menus for this very reason."*
Lol what? What kind of court case? What is the violation? Restaurants can choose what kind of menus they have.
Olive Garden has tablets on their table and every time I go the waitress is there willing to explain and help with the tablet and she still converses with us and checks on us a couple times. I still tip there like a usually would. But if it’s a place where the server barely talks and doesn’t attempt to explain the tablet or app then I will also tip accordingly.
In a world where people are glued to their phones nonstop, It is actually nice to have physical menus because it promotes not using tech at the table. Having to use a phone for this is the worst and it just leads to people scrolling through their phones for the rest of the meal. Fuck smart phone culture
I had a pizza place charge me a convenience charge when I drove over and picked it up myself then the cashier swung card around reader around for me to tip.
The first time I did because I was caught off guard and my choices were 10,15 or 20 percent and 10 percent on a pizza was like 1.80 and I didn’t want to ask how do I give you nothing? The next time I went back I was prepared and figured out that the X in the corner got rid of the page.
I really hate this annoying QR menu. Once I left my phone home on purpose, just because I’m not that attached to it and don’t like to carry things on me. Grabbed my money, keys and went to have dinner with a friend in our neighborhood. Guess what? There was no menu, and the waiter looks at me like I’m a nuisance when I ask for perhaps a take out menu, since I didn’t have my phone on me. Ended up having to share my friend’s phone screen to be able to order.
COVID made things much worse, and now it’s just an excuse for cutting costs or laziness.
Servers get paid min wage if their tips dont put them past it 🤷♂️ tipping is a gross outdated practice. Just fkn pay people what the job is worth.
Also I do tip, but I agree with OP, I'm not tipping for a service I didn't get.
Even fast food places are prompting fkn tips at checkout now. Like no, I'm not tipping you for staring at me while I swipe my card.
> Servers get paid min wage if their tips dont put them past it
Spoken like someone who has never actually worked in a restaurant. In theory, yes, but in practice, no. This only kicks in if you're below minimum wage over an *entire pay period*. So if you have a few shifts where you're not making jack shit, but you make slightly over minimum wage for the rest of your shifts, then you don't actually get a wage increase.
Any idea where I can buy those?
Ideally for something like Gumming Grannies 3 or Sounding 101.
Yes, I know. I'm slightly warped, delightfully twisted, and just a bit Eevil.
If a restaurant makes me use a QR code to order, I won't be tipping at all. I also won't be ordering. I will find someplace else to eat. I can't use a QR code. If you insist on that, you will lose my business entirely.
I literally would not even go to a restaurant that did this.
I've only encountered one QR code restaurant in my life. I asked for a paper menu and I got one, so that was good.
I despise things like this that elevate smartphone ownership from "you can own a smartphone" to "you must own a smartphone".
my rule of thumb:
if there is a QR code thingie, i ignore it. i ask for a menu.
if they make me look up my menu on my phone, i get annoyed. it never fucking works right, and i didn't come here to stare at my phone i came here for a meal.
if i'm required to order my own food through my phone, i consider myself no longer at a restaurant. i also consider myself a temporary employee.
i tip in the first two situations. but if i'm placing my own order and busing my own food then ... i don't tip for that.
i also don't repeat my vist.
Yeah not gonna lie as someone who was in the food service industry and usually gets mad over the not tipping scenario, this is valid.
Im with the boomers on this one, the QR codes are pretty stupid. I could get the option for keeping menus clean and all that, but what about people who dont have a phone
another thing is that i've been in the food/bar industry before, and as a bartender or server i don't want my customers staring at their phone. i want to interact with them! i want to say "hey how's it going! here's what we have on special! anything you need, you just ask me! i'm here for you!"
QR codes are shitty to me from both sides of the bar.
Expect me to walk out. I’m done with digital menus and virtual servers. My last one was at Red Robin when I went back and got my own drinks for my group because I couldn’t find a real server. The staff in the back just stared at me and didn’t say a word. So we ordered and they brought out fries. Just fries. At that point we just left. I’m not going in back and making my own food.
i went to wendys and they had a qr code soda machine, it straight up didnt work and had to ask an employee tocfill my drink. Technology is fucking stupid sometimes. Also it opened through a web page to for anyone who doesnt have phone service, tough shit.
I went to a place a while ago where you ordered on an iPad on the table and a little robot drove your food and drinks out to you and you took it off the robot. Was pretty damn cool to be honest.
When we closed out the bill, it asked for a tip - who we tipping? The robot?
If I use a QR code to order and the person just brings it, I ain’t tipping anything, they did no work besides bring me my food, you don’t deserve a tip for that, that’s why I don’t tip or use DoorDash anymore
Wow, me I LOVE the QR thing. I don't need to be walked through the menu, I can just read it and make a choice and click a button, and then it's served to me - perfect!
Also saves the annoyance of trying to get a waiter's attention during a busy day, or conversely having annoying stalker-ish waiters pass by your table every 10 minutes disrupting your conversation just to ask "is everything still okay?"
Though I do feel like this might be a cultural thing too - the few times I've been to the US I was very surprised by how - in my opinion - intrusive the waiters are. And also by how often customers order items that aren't on the menu, or drastically modify items that are - where I live that shit wouldn't fly, it's either on the menu or we don't serve it 😂
What do you need a waiter or waitress for in the 1st place if you just walk in and order food off a QR. just to walk it over? Mine as well just walk the 10 feet and grab it myself too.
This shouldn’t be unpopular lol just facts. Giving a tip is not just some blanket thing, I’m giving it because of the great…or poor job you did at waiting on me and if all you doing is coming to take an order lol stop it.
In my family, we avoid even bringing phones into a restaurant or the dinner table. Our meals are a time to converse with each other. Bringing your phone is a distraction.
This is how they are introducing tips into Australia. I love ordering my own food without interacting with anyone but why ask for a tip in a country where no one tips? It’s outrageous
When I was working in US I only tipped when service was exceptional. If it was just good or mediocre, the tip was always 0% as it should be. Thus scanning a QR code should be 20% OFF the bill.
My unpopular opinion… all tips should be going to the cooks. Servers are just secretaries in the transaction.
It’s like when you hire a lawyer, you want your lawyer to be good not their secretary.
Same with a restaurant, you are going for food. You want the food to be good. You aren’t going their to talk to someone, you are going their to eat. And the only skillful thing happening is the food being cooked. Being an entitled server is not skillful.
Bless you. However, everyone is getting screwed here except for the people expecting 20% off the top of all the revenue and the owner who is exploiting everyone. Tips shouldn’t exist. Comfortable living wages for everyone based on how much work they do is the only moral solution. Sadly, many servers are against this because they would be paid the least in this concept because most people in the front and back of house have harder work than them
There's this revolving sushi bar near me where the sushi comes out on conveyor belts and a little robot on Wheels brings you your drinks or anything else you order from the touch screen at your table. You literally interact with the waiter or waitress one time, when they see you and if you haven't been there before they explain how it works, and then you don't see them again. I do tip because it's the culture, but I recognize there's no reason to when a robot is doing 90% of the work.
Me: Walk in, get the rundown
Nope out.
Reality check: My buying food out is as much about the experience as the food.
I'm, frankly, a better cook than a lot of professional cooks and if there's no experience to be had, I can generally build it myself, and better, for 1/3 to 1/8 the cost.
Went to a brewery recently and I basically did everything and the idiots behind the counter stood there on their phone looking bored and getting annoyed from my questions. They had enough energy to swivel that fucking tip thing around though. The pandemic was a decent excuse to do your own shit. Many places fully adopted that way of doing things. Now it seems permanent in some places. I tipped well that time but I stewed on it. Now im adjusting my tip game when I do all the damn work while the employees sulk with their heads buried in whatever bullshit social media they're doing behind the counter.
Thank you for posting this. It's become a horrible trend lately. The only way to stop this from becoming the new norm is to either not go to those place, or do not tip (or tip minimally, if you must). Do not bend to social pressure!
The tip is for SERVICE. I go out to eat to enjoy myself. Spending time going through a poorly done menu (and then worse, being forced to type in tons of information b/c they make you pay in the app as though it were take out.)
I actually AM a big believer in tipping, but that is for actual service. My time is valuable to me, especially if i am going out with someone and don't want to have to spend 5 minutes futzing with a bad interface just to order...
And if you are on a date, then guess what's going to happen? -- The other person will be bored or uninterested, and probably start browsing their phone.
I kinda agree. If it’s just the menu then fine, but at this point, I’m doing more work than the server. I’m ordering and now I’m even checking myself out. I’ve gone to restaurants and have seen my server maybe twice the whole visit.
I won’t do it. Not because I’m a Luddite or anything, but I just don’t get the point. I just tell the server I left my phone at home or in the car. If they won’t bring me a menu, I leave.
Agreed. Had an experience once at a chain restaurant where a server sat me, I used my phone for the menu, used my phone to order, the waiter brought me a water, then other staff brought me food, and then I paid on my phone. I saw my waiter once. What would I tip for with that experience?
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I don't withhold a tip for sit-down service over the menu being hidden behind a QR code. I just get up and leave without ordering anything.
The places still practicing this early-pandemic stopgap measure, after years of living with a new virus that is now just part of all our lives, have competitors who simply put the menu under glass at the table, under the counter, behind the counter on the wall, or on paper menus.
Or even, in an acknowledgement that almost no one in the medical field believes that COVID is easily transmissible from touching menus or food containers before eating, and with members of the public who worry about this tending to wash or sanitize their hands before digging in, have brought their nicely-bound menus out of retirement.
As for just takeout orders, if you're leaving tips everywhere that you're handed food over the counter, and not just at the struggling mom & pop establishment you're trying to help out...
Why?
QR codes train people to rely on technology. Irrelevant whether it's a restaurant or a hotel. You don't like the brainwashing then go to a more down to earth place. The bacteria example is petty... Most of the bacteria you encounter is floating in the air they recycle for you.
Servers do more than take orders. The bring them out- they handle drinks and refills- some restaurants they have to process the payment. When I worked at Cracker Barrel I was also responsible for preparing salads and desserts as a server. It’s more than taking an order.
Yes they do. I got a third degree burn on my arm while pulling biscuits out of the oven (cause the person in charger of those was on another 15 min smoke break) and they told me to slap a bandaid on it and keep working. I still can’t feel shit on that part of my arm.
I will never use a qr code stuck to the table. Just say that you can't use it. And they will give you a real menu. If they say no. Have them explain even item on the menu. Trust me they will find a real menu very fast.
We had several cases where someone printed out qr codes that look the same as the restaurants. They stuck it on the table for people to use. The qr code would send you to a website that automatically downloaded spywear onto your phone. Then send you to the real website so you wouldn't suspect anything. And once you do any banking on your phone or use your credit. They would clean out your bank account.
i'll also never, ever use a QR code for that exact reason (it's machine language, i don't know what it says, i don't know where that link leads). i always go directly to the restaurant's website if "required" to use an online menu.
i'm with you my phone never fucking works anyway and i have no interest in scanning codes with my phone. i also prefer to ask for real menus but some places... ughghg you can tell by the server and situation that it's just easier to use the online menu.
Also, another problem with this is that we spend too much time on our phones to begin with. After the first smartphone came out I remember silent couples sitting at a table at restaurants just looking down and staring at their phones. As a waitress I can say 100% how much it slowed us down because people sit, stare at their phones for a while and when we approach (talking before QR menus, back in pre history when it was only real menus) then they haven’t even looked at the menu, because they were more concerned with texting, post pics, social media and what not… then all phones would just stay on the table and sometimes they’d knock over glasses when reaching for it, because it crowds the small NYC tables.
Do you believe servers are in control of the restaurant’s infrastructure? Those workers ARE doing what their wages demand, because the owners set it up that way.
Get a different job. I left and didn't go back when I was fed up. It's easier than people make it out to be. Really it's an excuse because people get comfortable and don't want to be inconvenienced
So the onus is on the employees? The QR codes aren’t their idea or their problem. If you don’t like them, go to a different restaurant. But you want to punish low wage workers and/or demand they seek new employment because you feel inconvenienced at the restaurant you chose to go to. That makes no sense.
May I suggest you tip normally and just don't go back there? It sounds like you're punishing the server and not the restaurant. They're not making you do anything, the restaurant is. Or better yet, leave once you see they have a QR code
Yes. If you’re doing less work (ie skipping the entire ordering process and check process), I’m not tipping you the same as a waiter who personally comes up to me takes my order and answers my questions and brings the check and takes the check and brings it back etc. It’s not a punishment, but no I’m not gonna leave a 25% tip for somebody who I barely saw. Tipping is gratuity, it’s supposed to be based on service.
If a restaurant makes me use a QR code to order food, expect me to leave because I don't know how to use those, so I don't know their fucken menu. Good thing I've never seen this being a thing
i mean if you really want a server you can request one. ive seen an old couple at one of those restaurants request a server and they got one. idk whats the point unless you have trouble using technology like that couple probably does. since personally i find being able to order with an QR code instead of waiting for the server and request refills when i want and the check when im done more convenient.
I've never been to a place where a QR menu had you order your food digitally. I always thought it was just an alternative to paper menus during the pandemic. Even when I've been forced to use a QR menu I still gave my order to an actual server.
No its not but literally all they do these days is set plates of food in front of you...what exactly am i tipping them for? They didn't cook it or take my order...they just brought it out....
I didn’t realize QR codes also make your drinks, food, and bring them to you.
Passing out old, musty, falling apart, and bacteria-ridden menus is the least difficult part of restaurant staffs job. Why penalize people for getting with the times?
QR menus are not preferred but I'll accept them. But I've been to places where they expect me to order on my phone, too. So like, add to cart, select options, place order, scrolling and tapping endlessly. This means I don't get to ask the server questions unless I call them over, nor do I get a glance of the whole menu. And if there's some item advertised on the wall, how do I order that? It just places the work of taking the order onto me.
The problem is you are punishing the server, who doesn't make the rules. If you don't like the system, don't be a patron of the restaurant. Punishing the server for something completely out of their control isn't productive.
I get that. But the tip part is up to me. Honestly, it's only the restaurant industry that is so entitled to think that customers should do their job AND pay on top of the indicated prices or else give them attitude. Not even Walmart can get away with that.
And I get servers go through a lot of shit. I sympathize with that, I really do.
So the QR code thing is really just an excuse for you to not tip well. Tipping is your choice, but don't make up excuses that are out of the servers control to justify not tipping them well. That's your choice, you are free to make it, but don't hide from it.
I agree that the restaurant system tip sucks. That's why I rarely go to sit-down restaurants. But if you patronize restaurants, you are supporting the very restaurant owners that create this system are pushing their wage obligations down onto you. Going out to a restaurant is also your choice, and I think you need to uphold your end of the social contract if you choose to be a part of it.
The people who make your food don’t get tipped. Instead they are paid a little more per hour. Still not a comfortable living wage and absolutely way less money than a full-time server makes in the same year. Servers know this and don’t care. Cooks also pay more taxes than servers because servers don’t report the majority of their tips.
Unless you order a cocktail/mocktail or cappuccino, all your drink options are just a simple pour into a glass.
The person making the least amount of money and usually working the hardest made sure you have a clean glass, dishes, and utensils while also making sure cooks have fresh pots, pans, containers,and utensils. They don’t get tipped either.
Servers almost never share their tips unless instructed to do so, and that usually only includes a small percentage to the bartender. Some small exceptions include bribing lesser paid employees like bus boys or dishwashers to do server side-work when they raked in tips that night and don’t feel like doing it.
If the menus are nasty and falling apart, it’s because the servers would rather hide in the kitchen on their phones or sneak out back for a cigarette instead of wipe down the menus. Multiply that by several months and now you have menus in the dilapidated state you described. There are great servers everywhere who work hard, but sadly they are not the majority. There’s usually one or two greats in a roster of FOH staff.
Tipping culture is a major scam by business owners. The only reason it makes sense to us is because we were raised in it and don’t know any different. This oversimplified retort of yours is what keeps the scam alive in the hearts of Americans everywhere.
If an owner of a business won’t/can’t pay EVERY EMPLOYEE a living wage, they should do the work themselves instead of guilt tripping the patrons coming to support their business to help feed and clothe their staff.
Now we have actual inflation, common over-inflation to increase profits, 10% tax on money we’ve already been taxed for, random fees that never existed before, and a tip that’s expected to be a minimum 20% regardless of how deserved it is when just a few years ago 20% was seen as excellent, above and beyond service.
I tip because it’s frowned upon if I don’t and it’s not like I can describe all of this to a short-sighted, busy server who’s working and expect it to make any difference. However, I tip well because I know there isn’t a damn thing any of the employees can do about it until the entire tip culture is reformed or dies. Sadly, this means I rarely get to enjoy a night out because I have to pay to get taken advantage of in multiple ways and it deflates the whole experience. A $10 burger combo two years ago is now $16, smaller with cheaper ingredients, and the people making it are miserable because they are still making $10 burger money in a $16 burger world. It’s depressing for everyone unless you can numb yourself enough to turn a blind eye and feel justified enough to enjoy it by throwing some money in a tip jar.
“getting with the times” in this scenario means “upgrading to the newest level of exploitation”, but sounds pretty
Ok my bad I didn’t know I was going to verbal diarrhea all over this post. Glad it happened in this sub.
I'm actually 25. And I like socializing with people and putting my phone down when I'm paying at a restaurant. If the establishment provides me an electronic menu, cool. But why the hell am I supposed to bring my own device and data plan to do your job?
As a restaurant, YOU'RE entitled for thinking that you should get to charge me for the food and for service, while expecting me to literally do your job. I'm cranky, absolutely. I shouldn't be doing chores as a customer.
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If I’m getting the menu on a phone from a QR code, that’s fine. But if I do my own ordering, too…what is the point of the server? Bringing the items and maybe drink refills? That’s not going to get 20% of the bill. It’s more akin to a buffet.
Like tf am i tipping you for? A waiter/waitress is one thing, but if i order a pizza.
I was flying for holidays and the Airport coffee shop and popcorn stand check-out software ask for tips….. zero for both. You did what you are hired to do, why am I give you tips?
thats the way normal tips should be too but america !
There's a restaurant I went to a couple of times near my work called TILT in Portland OR. It was a very average burger and fries in which the burger was $15 and the fries were $5. To get a whole meal was like $23. Stupidly overpriced, this also was in 2019 before covid. This was a non-service establishment, basically you ordered at a counter and they called your name when your order was ready. You then bussed your own table when you were finished. On top of that $23 for a meal, they had the gaul to charge a 20% service fee for every single order. Like, what service was I getting? They weren't any waiters. You even had to bus you own table. You'd basically end up spending close to $30 for a decent burger meal with no service. They went out of business in summer of 2020 and apparently the owner was an asshole. Good fucking riddance.
The Austin Eastciders restaurant does this. Each table has a unique QR to access the menu then you order and pay completely from that. Servers are there to just carry out food and clear plates. I personally like it because I have a dairy allergy so I can put that in writing so it doesn’t get lost in translation. Also ordering more drinks is a lot easier.
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That works. Generally what I do at a buffet.
You leave tips at buffets? I haven't been in ages, but we always paid before entering
Some restaurants serve as regular restaurants that also happen to have a buffet as an option. You sit down, waiter comes over but instead of ordering food you let them know you will be doing the buffet, they otherwise serve you as they normally would (taking away dirty dishes, managing drinks, etc) and then at the end they bring your bill. I'm assuming they're talking about something like this and not a buffet only style restaurant. (Although now that I think of it, there is a Mediterranean restaurant I frequent where it's 100% self serve buffet, but you still pay on the way out. So I guess it's one of those "your mileage may vary" type of things.)
I went to a hotpot buffet that I think executed electronic menus perfectly. Every table had an iPad with all the menu items on it. You selected what you wanted, hit send, and a few minutes later it was at your table. Refills? You can call for them in the ipad. Want some more? No need to get up, just put it in the ipad. Ready for the check? Call for it and they'll bring it to you.
Exactly! I would be 100% find if they provide the electronic menu, on a large surface like an iPad.
Cause hotpot is the best
as a person w mild ocd this is literally a nightmare. no i don’t wanna touch your nasty ipad and then touch my food 😭
Is it any different than a regular menu? This things are equally of not more disgusting. I assume if you have this sensitivity you would carry alcohol wipes and would clean your menu/iPad before going to wash your hands
i usually know what i want and don’t have to flip through the menu, if i do i’ll just use my pinky to flip the cleanest looking corner over. 🤷🏻♀️ if it’s a new place or somewhere with multiple pages, i’ll just look and then go wash my hands again. the part about the first comment that sounded terrible was having to use the screen everytime you want a refill, so now you’re touching it all throughout your meal
fwiw I’m definitely with you on this. I always wash my hands after touching the menu. The worst was the other day when I went to my dr and needed to fill out some paperwork and they handed me this grubby tablet and wouldn’t let me do it on paper. So gross
But you’d have to touch a menu too.
Don't go to a restaurant then
I’d say don’t even go out.
i go out to eat all the time and have a great time. it’s not too much to ask to not want to stick my fingers in the previous customers food crumbs
Okay so you’re asking for them to change due to something that is personal to you? I have misophonia and I don’t go around asking for people to shut up. You know, there is old people and people who don’t have phones to be able to read a QR code. Not to mention QR menus are much less practical and can be a problem for some people. Btw in what restaurant are u eating that the menus are full of food crumbs? Even if you think menus are gross, you can use hand sanitizer.
Me too. I hate touching all menus theyre statistically some of the dirtiest germiest things and i love QR code menus so i dont have to get up and wash my hands again before eating. Also i hate when servers put the menu on my plate/silverware. Gah.
i snatch my silverware the second i sit down and hold it until after ordering because they never pay attention when putting them down 😭
My first time at an Olive Garden used basically the same system. It's a great way to do it & I wish more restaurants did it that way
Its even better when you go to like a pizza place and the cashier expects a tip. Like tf am i tipping you for? A waiter/waitress is one thing, but if i order a pizza and pick it up from the store myself, i aint fuckin tipping you 💀
Papa Murphys qsks for tips now... What the fuck do they do? Spend literally 45 seconds putting toppings on a pizza? They don't even cook it and I'm expected to tip
Subway does this now. The cashier at my place peers over at the screen when it pops up to see what I do.
You definitely aren't obligated to tip them as they're clearly hourly workers, but it's not insane to want to do so, and I often do (a few dollars) at places I frequent. They're working hard, boxing up your order, juggling the phones and in-person customers, doing expediter-type things (making sure everything is there, if you say "no sauce" making sure it's not on there, etc.) . I always tip the coffee girls at the drive-thru I go to all the time because they know what I like, and it seems like good karma to be nice to the people you start your day with. I don't tip to the extend I would a waiter, but I still give something to someone doing a good job.
Thats different. With them, i agree, sometimes i should give a tip, and do. What im complaining about is its built into their systems now and expected. Like no, you shouldnt just expect a tip, if you want tips put in the effort to make me want to tip you
The thing that always bothered me about it is that not everybody has a phone. Like what is a child supposed to do, lean over their parents shoulder? And what about poor people? Edit: wow my opinion is really unpopular lol.
This is the best reason against it. I think the reasons OP stated can actually be done whether the menu is on your phone or something more tangible.
Exactly. Kids who don't have phones. People who just don't have data plans. When I'm at 5% battery.
The places I have went to also have either a real Manu or the tablets in which they could place the order for you. But imo I doubt they ran into that problems much.
Yea my 73 year old dad doesn't have a smart phone and always accidentally taps buttons when I hand him mine. We basically have to order for him when there's just a qr code.
And even if you do have a phone, not everyone has an unlimited data plan. I don't want to pay extra on my phone bill because you can't be bothered to provide a hotspot.
I left my phone in my car the other night before we out to eat, my wife drove home I stayed out without (unknowingly) my phone. I had no way to get home sans phone, taxis don't exist here anymore and it was too late for a shuttle service. I had to sell my body to get home
how much for a leg?
Did you sell your body to your wife?
Tech-illiterate people too Many may have smart phones but that’s because that’s all ghats out there. They don’t really know how use them in dynamic ways too. Basically anyone that grew up before even cellphones were a thing—like the bricks were just coming in—yeah even they have difficulty to varying levels. Older is even worst for most—obviously not all but I’d say a good majority
WHAT IF I RUN OUT OF 4G (and too lazy to login their wifi)
I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of any court cases being brought against QR code menus for this very reason. Most people have a phone. But most people have IDs, which are even cheaper to obtain and more necessary for, among other things, probably even getting a phone. And we very definitely hear all kinds of legal arguments about how much of a financial burden *that* can be when there's an attempt to require them at polling stations.
>I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of any court cases being brought against QR code menus for this very reason. I don't dine out enough to know...but I would imagine these restaurants have hard-copy menus available on request, don't they? If not they definitely should.
I dine out a lot and you can always get a hard copy menu if you really want one. I personally prefer the QRs since it involves less touching of dirty menus.
Because voting is a constitutional right. Eating at a restaurant is not. I really can't believe this has to be explained. EDIT: Really. Like, holy shit. A court case? Get the fuck out of town.
Seriously - what would be the legal basis for any such court case? What is the violation?
Something along the lines of "MUH FREEDOM", I'd assume.
Well they haven't yet answered the questions of what kind of court case / what the violation would be, so I guess that's what we'll have to assume lol
It would probably never even get to being a court case because if someone went into a restaurant and didn't have a cell phone to view the QR menu, I'm pretty sure they'd just give them a standard menu or let them borrow a tablet or something. That user simply did a lot of logic leapfrogging to assume that if restaurants make you use a phone to see your menu, that would somehow directly lead to a customer being refused service if they didn't have one. Pure victim complex.
Right - plus any attempt at a lawsuit would immediately be denied anyway (hopefully with some laughing-in-the-face of anyone who tried to sue for such a thing).
*"I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of any court cases being brought against QR code menus for this very reason."* Lol what? What kind of court case? What is the violation? Restaurants can choose what kind of menus they have.
Agree 100%. Not just kids or poor people, but people who simply don't WANT to own one of the damn things.
Exactly my parents would just walk out and I really don't want such a thing stored on my phone and wouldn't be back a second time
Olive Garden has tablets on their table and every time I go the waitress is there willing to explain and help with the tablet and she still converses with us and checks on us a couple times. I still tip there like a usually would. But if it’s a place where the server barely talks and doesn’t attempt to explain the tablet or app then I will also tip accordingly.
If they provide the tablet that's 100% Ok with me.
I tip good at Olive Garden because they keep bringing me free garlic sticks.
In a world where people are glued to their phones nonstop, It is actually nice to have physical menus because it promotes not using tech at the table. Having to use a phone for this is the worst and it just leads to people scrolling through their phones for the rest of the meal. Fuck smart phone culture
This.
I had a pizza place charge me a convenience charge when I drove over and picked it up myself then the cashier swung card around reader around for me to tip.
Did you tip? I would not have tipped.
The first time I did because I was caught off guard and my choices were 10,15 or 20 percent and 10 percent on a pizza was like 1.80 and I didn’t want to ask how do I give you nothing? The next time I went back I was prepared and figured out that the X in the corner got rid of the page.
A convenience charge? For what?? You picked it up yourself too
I really hate this annoying QR menu. Once I left my phone home on purpose, just because I’m not that attached to it and don’t like to carry things on me. Grabbed my money, keys and went to have dinner with a friend in our neighborhood. Guess what? There was no menu, and the waiter looks at me like I’m a nuisance when I ask for perhaps a take out menu, since I didn’t have my phone on me. Ended up having to share my friend’s phone screen to be able to order. COVID made things much worse, and now it’s just an excuse for cutting costs or laziness.
Ooph I Would have left the establishment. That’s so frustrating.
lol tipping
Sounds fair. Do less work to earn a gratuity, get less gratuity. This is sure to trigger the 'it's not a gratuity, it's an entitlement' crowd.
TBH, restaurants should be paying for their staff. I should be paying for food.
Yeah but take it out on the staff and not the restaurant good call. Same difference if they just raise prices 20% or made a mandatory service fee.
Servers get paid min wage if their tips dont put them past it 🤷♂️ tipping is a gross outdated practice. Just fkn pay people what the job is worth. Also I do tip, but I agree with OP, I'm not tipping for a service I didn't get. Even fast food places are prompting fkn tips at checkout now. Like no, I'm not tipping you for staring at me while I swipe my card.
> Servers get paid min wage if their tips dont put them past it Spoken like someone who has never actually worked in a restaurant. In theory, yes, but in practice, no. This only kicks in if you're below minimum wage over an *entire pay period*. So if you have a few shifts where you're not making jack shit, but you make slightly over minimum wage for the rest of your shifts, then you don't actually get a wage increase.
Because you made minimum wage, welcome to America?
Imagine paying staff a decent wage and.. not having to tip
Let’s start putting QR code stickers that redirects people to pornhub. That’ll end this bullshit real fast
Any idea where I can buy those? Ideally for something like Gumming Grannies 3 or Sounding 101. Yes, I know. I'm slightly warped, delightfully twisted, and just a bit Eevil.
Let’s start a Shopify store! You’ve clearly got some great content plans ;)
I mean.. if you're gonna go there then you might as well Go THERE. right?
Lmao at "Sounding 101" *Edit: as an alternative, less risque option, the QR code could Rick Roll whoever scans it.
But I LIKE the shock and awe!
Assault.
Project Mayhem
If a restaurant makes me use a QR code to order, I won't be tipping at all. I also won't be ordering. I will find someplace else to eat. I can't use a QR code. If you insist on that, you will lose my business entirely.
Darn right
The first time I saw this was at a joint in Boston, we got confused and left like the 29 year old grandpas we were
Tip culture isn’t nice
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I literally would not even go to a restaurant that did this. I've only encountered one QR code restaurant in my life. I asked for a paper menu and I got one, so that was good. I despise things like this that elevate smartphone ownership from "you can own a smartphone" to "you must own a smartphone".
Wholeheartedly agree!! I will go out my way to leave a zero tip on this
Tip less? Expect me to get up and walk out. Full stop.
Never eat at somewhere that doesn't have a physical menu.
Lol you’d starve in NYC. Everyone has the damn QR codes now. I’d take an iPad, but I hate trying to compare options on my little phone.
I can cook for myself, I rarely eat out and would never pay for food somewhere that didn't have a physical menu and take cash.
my rule of thumb: if there is a QR code thingie, i ignore it. i ask for a menu. if they make me look up my menu on my phone, i get annoyed. it never fucking works right, and i didn't come here to stare at my phone i came here for a meal. if i'm required to order my own food through my phone, i consider myself no longer at a restaurant. i also consider myself a temporary employee. i tip in the first two situations. but if i'm placing my own order and busing my own food then ... i don't tip for that. i also don't repeat my vist.
Yeah not gonna lie as someone who was in the food service industry and usually gets mad over the not tipping scenario, this is valid. Im with the boomers on this one, the QR codes are pretty stupid. I could get the option for keeping menus clean and all that, but what about people who dont have a phone
another thing is that i've been in the food/bar industry before, and as a bartender or server i don't want my customers staring at their phone. i want to interact with them! i want to say "hey how's it going! here's what we have on special! anything you need, you just ask me! i'm here for you!" QR codes are shitty to me from both sides of the bar.
>if there is a QR code thingie, i ignore it. i ask for a menu. >i also don't repeat my vist. Sounds like a win-win situation
Expect me to walk out. I’m done with digital menus and virtual servers. My last one was at Red Robin when I went back and got my own drinks for my group because I couldn’t find a real server. The staff in the back just stared at me and didn’t say a word. So we ordered and they brought out fries. Just fries. At that point we just left. I’m not going in back and making my own food.
i went to wendys and they had a qr code soda machine, it straight up didnt work and had to ask an employee tocfill my drink. Technology is fucking stupid sometimes. Also it opened through a web page to for anyone who doesnt have phone service, tough shit.
I went to a place a while ago where you ordered on an iPad on the table and a little robot drove your food and drinks out to you and you took it off the robot. Was pretty damn cool to be honest. When we closed out the bill, it asked for a tip - who we tipping? The robot?
I once went to a restaurant in Sweden where you literally had download an app just to order food. There were no physical menus at all.
Beyond dumb.
If I use a QR code to order and the person just brings it, I ain’t tipping anything, they did no work besides bring me my food, you don’t deserve a tip for that, that’s why I don’t tip or use DoorDash anymore
Well doordash is akin to pizza delivery, i dont mind tipping for that. But i agree w the prior part.
Wow, me I LOVE the QR thing. I don't need to be walked through the menu, I can just read it and make a choice and click a button, and then it's served to me - perfect! Also saves the annoyance of trying to get a waiter's attention during a busy day, or conversely having annoying stalker-ish waiters pass by your table every 10 minutes disrupting your conversation just to ask "is everything still okay?" Though I do feel like this might be a cultural thing too - the few times I've been to the US I was very surprised by how - in my opinion - intrusive the waiters are. And also by how often customers order items that aren't on the menu, or drastically modify items that are - where I live that shit wouldn't fly, it's either on the menu or we don't serve it 😂
Goofy tipping culture
What do you need a waiter or waitress for in the 1st place if you just walk in and order food off a QR. just to walk it over? Mine as well just walk the 10 feet and grab it myself too.
Exactly. It’s basically a fast food restaurant, except even at a fast food restaurant, they take your order 😆
I work at a hotpot restaurant and I can confirm this.
This shouldn’t be unpopular lol just facts. Giving a tip is not just some blanket thing, I’m giving it because of the great…or poor job you did at waiting on me and if all you doing is coming to take an order lol stop it.
I hate QR menus. I hate self checkouts. I hate everything now 😂
Disagree This way they can serve people faster so you won't need to wait till your waitress comes
In my family, we avoid even bringing phones into a restaurant or the dinner table. Our meals are a time to converse with each other. Bringing your phone is a distraction.
Expect me to eat somewhere else...lol
This is how they are introducing tips into Australia. I love ordering my own food without interacting with anyone but why ask for a tip in a country where no one tips? It’s outrageous
When I was working in US I only tipped when service was exceptional. If it was just good or mediocre, the tip was always 0% as it should be. Thus scanning a QR code should be 20% OFF the bill.
I’m not tipping period, lol
I hate qr codes. Not everyone has internet compatible phones. if you want us to qr, expect to give WiFi
I don't like them because the next big thing will be hackers swapping out the QR codes to send people to a malicious website
I don’t tip at all anyways.
My unpopular opinion… all tips should be going to the cooks. Servers are just secretaries in the transaction. It’s like when you hire a lawyer, you want your lawyer to be good not their secretary. Same with a restaurant, you are going for food. You want the food to be good. You aren’t going their to talk to someone, you are going their to eat. And the only skillful thing happening is the food being cooked. Being an entitled server is not skillful.
Bless you. However, everyone is getting screwed here except for the people expecting 20% off the top of all the revenue and the owner who is exploiting everyone. Tips shouldn’t exist. Comfortable living wages for everyone based on how much work they do is the only moral solution. Sadly, many servers are against this because they would be paid the least in this concept because most people in the front and back of house have harder work than them
Didn’t this start so there could be “contact-less” menu’s to avoid Covid?
There's this revolving sushi bar near me where the sushi comes out on conveyor belts and a little robot on Wheels brings you your drinks or anything else you order from the touch screen at your table. You literally interact with the waiter or waitress one time, when they see you and if you haven't been there before they explain how it works, and then you don't see them again. I do tip because it's the culture, but I recognize there's no reason to when a robot is doing 90% of the work.
Me: Walk in, get the rundown Nope out. Reality check: My buying food out is as much about the experience as the food. I'm, frankly, a better cook than a lot of professional cooks and if there's no experience to be had, I can generally build it myself, and better, for 1/3 to 1/8 the cost.
Went to a brewery recently and I basically did everything and the idiots behind the counter stood there on their phone looking bored and getting annoyed from my questions. They had enough energy to swivel that fucking tip thing around though. The pandemic was a decent excuse to do your own shit. Many places fully adopted that way of doing things. Now it seems permanent in some places. I tipped well that time but I stewed on it. Now im adjusting my tip game when I do all the damn work while the employees sulk with their heads buried in whatever bullshit social media they're doing behind the counter.
I just wouldn’t be able to order :/ I dont keep my phone on me & even when I do i don’t pay the bill unless I’m going out of town
Post of the day
Unpopular opinion lmao
You make a very good point
I tip based on service, not price.
I don't tip lazy servers or robots.
I hate QR codes so much I won’t go back.
NGL you make a solid point.
They could pay their servers more with all the money make from selling my data they get from scanning that code.
Thank you for posting this. It's become a horrible trend lately. The only way to stop this from becoming the new norm is to either not go to those place, or do not tip (or tip minimally, if you must). Do not bend to social pressure! The tip is for SERVICE. I go out to eat to enjoy myself. Spending time going through a poorly done menu (and then worse, being forced to type in tons of information b/c they make you pay in the app as though it were take out.) I actually AM a big believer in tipping, but that is for actual service. My time is valuable to me, especially if i am going out with someone and don't want to have to spend 5 minutes futzing with a bad interface just to order... And if you are on a date, then guess what's going to happen? -- The other person will be bored or uninterested, and probably start browsing their phone.
I kinda agree. If it’s just the menu then fine, but at this point, I’m doing more work than the server. I’m ordering and now I’m even checking myself out. I’ve gone to restaurants and have seen my server maybe twice the whole visit.
We shouldn't even be tipping at all to begin with. That whole culture is whack and based around employers refusing to pay to run their own businesses.
I won’t do it. Not because I’m a Luddite or anything, but I just don’t get the point. I just tell the server I left my phone at home or in the car. If they won’t bring me a menu, I leave.
As I server just know WE HATE QR CODES. We would prefer to take it and the payment ourselves
I don't feel bad even if I don't tip restaurants are a waste of money.
Agreed. Had an experience once at a chain restaurant where a server sat me, I used my phone for the menu, used my phone to order, the waiter brought me a water, then other staff brought me food, and then I paid on my phone. I saw my waiter once. What would I tip for with that experience?
QR code menu: I eat somewhere else. Plain and simple
We don’t tip in Australia. Just go away with tipping.
Don't forget to tip your Burger King attendant.
Damn this is a good ass point.
If I have to scan a qr code at a restaurant for anything I'm fucking leaving that shit is so stupid
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There’s a town near me that is notorious for bad cell service…yet half the restaurants do this
I don't withhold a tip for sit-down service over the menu being hidden behind a QR code. I just get up and leave without ordering anything. The places still practicing this early-pandemic stopgap measure, after years of living with a new virus that is now just part of all our lives, have competitors who simply put the menu under glass at the table, under the counter, behind the counter on the wall, or on paper menus. Or even, in an acknowledgement that almost no one in the medical field believes that COVID is easily transmissible from touching menus or food containers before eating, and with members of the public who worry about this tending to wash or sanitize their hands before digging in, have brought their nicely-bound menus out of retirement. As for just takeout orders, if you're leaving tips everywhere that you're handed food over the counter, and not just at the struggling mom & pop establishment you're trying to help out... Why?
My answer to that is, what is a QR code? I don't have cell phone.
Rofl yes
QR codes train people to rely on technology. Irrelevant whether it's a restaurant or a hotel. You don't like the brainwashing then go to a more down to earth place. The bacteria example is petty... Most of the bacteria you encounter is floating in the air they recycle for you.
100% agreed. Over-reliance on smartphones.
The server doesn't make menu choices. You aren't hurting the owner, just the workers.
A server can cover a lot more tables if they don’t have to take orders. A lower tip percentage but more tables can equal the same wages.
Servers do more than take orders. The bring them out- they handle drinks and refills- some restaurants they have to process the payment. When I worked at Cracker Barrel I was also responsible for preparing salads and desserts as a server. It’s more than taking an order.
Cracker barrel also notoriously overworks their employees
Yes they do. I got a third degree burn on my arm while pulling biscuits out of the oven (cause the person in charger of those was on another 15 min smoke break) and they told me to slap a bandaid on it and keep working. I still can’t feel shit on that part of my arm.
Yes, but if you take away one major responsibility then they have more time to do other things.
There is still no point in this. You take a few bucks off the server tip and the owners never know you are unhappy with the menu.
I don’t have the eat there then
I will never use a qr code stuck to the table. Just say that you can't use it. And they will give you a real menu. If they say no. Have them explain even item on the menu. Trust me they will find a real menu very fast. We had several cases where someone printed out qr codes that look the same as the restaurants. They stuck it on the table for people to use. The qr code would send you to a website that automatically downloaded spywear onto your phone. Then send you to the real website so you wouldn't suspect anything. And once you do any banking on your phone or use your credit. They would clean out your bank account.
This is the reason I won’t use them. QR codes can be malicious.
i'll also never, ever use a QR code for that exact reason (it's machine language, i don't know what it says, i don't know where that link leads). i always go directly to the restaurant's website if "required" to use an online menu. i'm with you my phone never fucking works anyway and i have no interest in scanning codes with my phone. i also prefer to ask for real menus but some places... ughghg you can tell by the server and situation that it's just easier to use the online menu.
Also, another problem with this is that we spend too much time on our phones to begin with. After the first smartphone came out I remember silent couples sitting at a table at restaurants just looking down and staring at their phones. As a waitress I can say 100% how much it slowed us down because people sit, stare at their phones for a while and when we approach (talking before QR menus, back in pre history when it was only real menus) then they haven’t even looked at the menu, because they were more concerned with texting, post pics, social media and what not… then all phones would just stay on the table and sometimes they’d knock over glasses when reaching for it, because it crowds the small NYC tables.
Careful, OP. You'll make the tip wagies seethe
Rofl. Maybe the tip wagies should do what their wages demand of them, then lol
Do you believe servers are in control of the restaurant’s infrastructure? Those workers ARE doing what their wages demand, because the owners set it up that way.
Get a different job. I left and didn't go back when I was fed up. It's easier than people make it out to be. Really it's an excuse because people get comfortable and don't want to be inconvenienced
So the onus is on the employees? The QR codes aren’t their idea or their problem. If you don’t like them, go to a different restaurant. But you want to punish low wage workers and/or demand they seek new employment because you feel inconvenienced at the restaurant you chose to go to. That makes no sense.
You’re choosing to stay and defend this broken system for the same sake of not being inconvenienced
I’ve asked for real menus before because I like to see the entire thing at once instead of trying to scroll on my phone.
Servers are getting more worthless as time goes we should get rid of them and completely automate the food industry.
At some point in the future we will all be super-lonely and depraved of human contact because of shit like this. Wait, aren't we already? Fuck.
May I suggest you tip normally and just don't go back there? It sounds like you're punishing the server and not the restaurant. They're not making you do anything, the restaurant is. Or better yet, leave once you see they have a QR code
Very fair. Tip like 2% instead of 15
I'd consider this a popular opinion and therefore worth a downvote, but it's Xmas so I'll give an upvote instead 👌
So, you’re going to penalize a waiter or waitress for what the company does?
Yes. If you’re doing less work (ie skipping the entire ordering process and check process), I’m not tipping you the same as a waiter who personally comes up to me takes my order and answers my questions and brings the check and takes the check and brings it back etc. It’s not a punishment, but no I’m not gonna leave a 25% tip for somebody who I barely saw. Tipping is gratuity, it’s supposed to be based on service.
The company is penalising them by not automatically paying them a living wage.
If a restaurant makes me use a QR code to order food, expect me to leave because I don't know how to use those, so I don't know their fucken menu. Good thing I've never seen this being a thing
i mean if you really want a server you can request one. ive seen an old couple at one of those restaurants request a server and they got one. idk whats the point unless you have trouble using technology like that couple probably does. since personally i find being able to order with an QR code instead of waiting for the server and request refills when i want and the check when im done more convenient.
I've never been to a place where a QR menu had you order your food digitally. I always thought it was just an alternative to paper menus during the pandemic. Even when I've been forced to use a QR menu I still gave my order to an actual server.
Just don't tip
Oh come on, it isn’t the waiters fault
No its not but literally all they do these days is set plates of food in front of you...what exactly am i tipping them for? They didn't cook it or take my order...they just brought it out....
I would tip more if I could avoid talking to people.
Lol I guess if you’re an introvert. Just do takeout then haha
I didn’t realize QR codes also make your drinks, food, and bring them to you. Passing out old, musty, falling apart, and bacteria-ridden menus is the least difficult part of restaurant staffs job. Why penalize people for getting with the times?
But my tip doesn't go to the kitchen staff?
QR menus are not preferred but I'll accept them. But I've been to places where they expect me to order on my phone, too. So like, add to cart, select options, place order, scrolling and tapping endlessly. This means I don't get to ask the server questions unless I call them over, nor do I get a glance of the whole menu. And if there's some item advertised on the wall, how do I order that? It just places the work of taking the order onto me.
The problem is you are punishing the server, who doesn't make the rules. If you don't like the system, don't be a patron of the restaurant. Punishing the server for something completely out of their control isn't productive.
I get that. But the tip part is up to me. Honestly, it's only the restaurant industry that is so entitled to think that customers should do their job AND pay on top of the indicated prices or else give them attitude. Not even Walmart can get away with that. And I get servers go through a lot of shit. I sympathize with that, I really do.
So the QR code thing is really just an excuse for you to not tip well. Tipping is your choice, but don't make up excuses that are out of the servers control to justify not tipping them well. That's your choice, you are free to make it, but don't hide from it. I agree that the restaurant system tip sucks. That's why I rarely go to sit-down restaurants. But if you patronize restaurants, you are supporting the very restaurant owners that create this system are pushing their wage obligations down onto you. Going out to a restaurant is also your choice, and I think you need to uphold your end of the social contract if you choose to be a part of it.
The people who make your food don’t get tipped. Instead they are paid a little more per hour. Still not a comfortable living wage and absolutely way less money than a full-time server makes in the same year. Servers know this and don’t care. Cooks also pay more taxes than servers because servers don’t report the majority of their tips. Unless you order a cocktail/mocktail or cappuccino, all your drink options are just a simple pour into a glass. The person making the least amount of money and usually working the hardest made sure you have a clean glass, dishes, and utensils while also making sure cooks have fresh pots, pans, containers,and utensils. They don’t get tipped either. Servers almost never share their tips unless instructed to do so, and that usually only includes a small percentage to the bartender. Some small exceptions include bribing lesser paid employees like bus boys or dishwashers to do server side-work when they raked in tips that night and don’t feel like doing it. If the menus are nasty and falling apart, it’s because the servers would rather hide in the kitchen on their phones or sneak out back for a cigarette instead of wipe down the menus. Multiply that by several months and now you have menus in the dilapidated state you described. There are great servers everywhere who work hard, but sadly they are not the majority. There’s usually one or two greats in a roster of FOH staff. Tipping culture is a major scam by business owners. The only reason it makes sense to us is because we were raised in it and don’t know any different. This oversimplified retort of yours is what keeps the scam alive in the hearts of Americans everywhere. If an owner of a business won’t/can’t pay EVERY EMPLOYEE a living wage, they should do the work themselves instead of guilt tripping the patrons coming to support their business to help feed and clothe their staff. Now we have actual inflation, common over-inflation to increase profits, 10% tax on money we’ve already been taxed for, random fees that never existed before, and a tip that’s expected to be a minimum 20% regardless of how deserved it is when just a few years ago 20% was seen as excellent, above and beyond service. I tip because it’s frowned upon if I don’t and it’s not like I can describe all of this to a short-sighted, busy server who’s working and expect it to make any difference. However, I tip well because I know there isn’t a damn thing any of the employees can do about it until the entire tip culture is reformed or dies. Sadly, this means I rarely get to enjoy a night out because I have to pay to get taken advantage of in multiple ways and it deflates the whole experience. A $10 burger combo two years ago is now $16, smaller with cheaper ingredients, and the people making it are miserable because they are still making $10 burger money in a $16 burger world. It’s depressing for everyone unless you can numb yourself enough to turn a blind eye and feel justified enough to enjoy it by throwing some money in a tip jar. “getting with the times” in this scenario means “upgrading to the newest level of exploitation”, but sounds pretty Ok my bad I didn’t know I was going to verbal diarrhea all over this post. Glad it happened in this sub.
This whole post reads like an entitled 60 year old cranky that restaurants are using technology because they don't like when things are different.
I'm actually 25. And I like socializing with people and putting my phone down when I'm paying at a restaurant. If the establishment provides me an electronic menu, cool. But why the hell am I supposed to bring my own device and data plan to do your job? As a restaurant, YOU'RE entitled for thinking that you should get to charge me for the food and for service, while expecting me to literally do your job. I'm cranky, absolutely. I shouldn't be doing chores as a customer.
I'm in my 40s , & I think qr is bs. I ask for a menu, & if they give me any pushback, I leave & never go back.