Some restaurants require that customers use their smartphones to read the QR code in order to see the menu. How do you feel about that? Would you rather see a printed menu?

Can't stand it. Especially when the printed menu has different or more items than the digital one.

They should have printed menus as a backup.

It's annoying. I want to keep my phone firmly in my pocket in a restaurant.

Has happened to me twice. I ask for a real menu, if they don't have , I go leave. I have no problem with the "ipad "style menus but will not be downloading menus and scrolling on my smartphone when the staff are stood around doing nothing.

Don't know about Japan, in some restaurant we need to use Apps just to order some menu.

Things supposed to be simple, choose your meal, get your meal and pay. However business find away to make things complicated.

Hate the continued reliance on having a phone. I don't mind ordering by a tablet, but I don't want to be doing it on my own device.

Of course, the ideal would be to have human beings taking the orders.

Phones are too small for reading menus. What about people who don't have smartphones? Or older people sometimes don't know how to read QR codes.

maybe i am old fashioned but when I am a guest in restaurant I want

-printed nice menu with details of food offered

-human staff who will come,explain about food,will take an order and will bring food/will provide service

restaurant where I need use qr code and you msut orderd food from some tablet,than some robot bring your dishes and at the end you have to to do selfcheckout-is not for me.

company who cant afford to pay normal salaries to workers/service staff and their greed brought all of these innovations-will not see a penny from me.

let your greed to sink your unhuman oriented business.

Those QR codes can lead to anything, viruses spam or whatever. If you can't post a menu or print off a piece of paper, I'm not eating there.

It's a good concept in theory, since QR systems don't require expensive POS systems and restaurant owners can take advantage of using a waiter-less approach when there are business constraints such as lack of workers, keeping the costs low for customers, etc. The problem is that customers are required to then bring their own smartphones, which in practice doesn't seem like a good decision in order to remain an attractive catering business. As many mentioned above, keeping a physical menu around is the way. Not all people want to use their own personal device nor do they own one.

I honestly prefer this QR approach over say a vending ticket machine though. Especially when you are trying to order during peak lunch hours, it's annoying to have to be pressured by the guy behind you breathing down your neck, tapping his foot, clicking his tongue, arms crossed indirectly telling you to hurry up when all you want to do is look at the menu options. If you already know what you want, fine, but when you go to a new establishment it's really annoying.

some customers first vote by removing their wallet and politely pointing to the QR code and saying bye bye

For me, it depends on the establishment. For example, over the weekend I ate at a small cafe which was obviously a husband and wife operation. Their menu and ordering was accessed by QR code. If they can reduce costs that way (although it certainly wasn't reflected on our bill!) by not having to hire more staff, or reprint their menus after changing or updating them, then sure, why not? I'll help you out a bit. That said, if I had accessed the menu with the code and then been bombarded with ads then it would have been a different story.

Big chains and franchises etc, no. Using the place's tablets and self-registers is fine - as long as they don't start requesting or applying tips, but I'm not prepared to use my own device. I don't take it with me a lot of the time anyway. I'd ask for a menu and if none were forthcoming, I'd leave.

Nope, not scanning a QR code. Those provided tablets are fine though.

While I understand the cost benefits for business in terms of reduced cost of menu updates and less staff required as well as the instant analytics of item sales, I do not like it and would rather see a printed menu and have real customer service. I similarly hate the trend to have customers check out their own goods at convenience store and supermarkets. While these things are ostensibly due to population decline, I understand that there is a desire by those who govern to ultimately wed these things to a central identification scheme (My Number) and a central bank digital currency "for convenience." I would rather be inconvenienced and see standards of privacy maintained or, better yet, strengthened.

Hawk Today 11:36 am JST

Using the place's tablets and self-registers is fine - as long as they don't start requesting or applying tips, but I'm not prepared to use my own device.

At least with your own device you have some control over the camera. You did notice the cameras on the tablets right? Imagine all that can be learned from the conversations at that "private" lunch you thought you were having.

NZ Today 09:22 am JST

company who cant afford to pay normal salaries to workers/service staff and their greed brought all of these innovations-will not see a penny from me.

So basically you do not go to establishments where tipping is expected? That is great! Tipping should never be expected. Tipping is for those whom the customer feels has gone beyond in their customer service. Sadly, long ago many establishments noticed that exceptional staff would make more in tips than from their salaries and dropped their staff's salaries to the legal minimum wage or lower as a result. Today you find places which "conveniently" figure the "correct" tip amount for you, 18% 20% 25%, based the total which includes tax. How convenient!

Tipping at restaurants is where the rules get intricate. The standard minimum tip has increased from 15% to 18%, with 20% becoming more common. Tips should be calculated based on the pre-tax total.

— https://thewhitemeal.com/the-rules-for-tipping-in-america/

Who increased the "standard minimum tip"? It is still 15% of the pre-tax total from me. Call me old-fashioned.

Yeah, no worries how I get the menu. I use my iPhone to pay for the meal. As long as I don't have to download an app.

At least with your own device you have some control over the camera. You did notice the cameras on the tablets right? Imagine all that can be learned from the conversations at that "private" lunch you thought you were having.

Good point. But like what, for example?

Whats next...just a pic of the food , but no actual food ?

I absolutely hate the use of QR codes in place of menus. If the customer is forced to use their own smartphone just to see the menu and place orders its a red line for me, I won't go to that place ever again.

Menus that don't require the customer to use their own mobile devices - either printed on paper or on tablets provided by the restaurant (like at kaiten sushi places) - should absolutely be the standard.

If you have an iPad or tablet with you can also use that.

It's all right but it's ALWAYS good to have a printed out menu option. Same goes for being able to pay for things in cash.

I sometimes go out without my smartphone, really, and I don't want to be forced to use it just to order some food.

I agree with many here. It's annoying af and detracts from the dining out experience. We went to a restaurant the other week, and had to instal LINE just to get out meals, and then they hit us with a hidden service charge...when questioned they pulled out a printed menu with a tiny note describing the service charge. We reported them to the local consumer welfare group and certainly will not return.

I get violent if there is no menu

I get violent if there is a menu! I'm there for tasty QR codes, not menus.

Actually don't really care, after resisting it at first, I tried, don't really mind that much. No endless calling of a waiter. Order at your own pace. Ideal is you can do both of course.

This fad of QR code menus needs to die a quick death. What if you don't have mobile data and the restaurant doesn't have free Wi-Fi? What if the QR code opens a link containing a virus or malware? What if you don't have your phone with you or it's dead because the battery ran out? Just give me a physical menu ffs.

I just wouldn't go somewhere that did that. Or anywhere that required an app.

QR codes are easy to fake, so you could be defrauded if someone slipped a fake menu in there.

QR Code menu: no thank you. I have no idea what else I may have downloaded while reading that QR Code.

Tablet menu, no problem.

Printed menu , absolutely. Many customers (especially elderly ) are not comfortable with these QR smartphone menus.

Not just restaurants, but increasingly prevalent in hotels too.

If you want to order a meal from room service, you must first turn on the TV, get out your phone, scan a QR code, then work backwards and forwards through the usually unfriendly interface to find what you want, then register name and room, paymnt method, and wait...

Yeah, no worries how I get the menu. I use my iPhone to pay for the meal. As long as I don't have to download an app.

This is very inconvenient for many elderly customers to do. The menu photos are also very small on the phone screens.

Menu please!

I walk out if no printed menu. What’s next, I have to cook myself aswell ?

When my elderly mother visited, the local family restaurant was kind enough to give me a menu which I translated into English so that she could order just by pointing.

Smartphone?! - mind-blowing.

Menu on a restaurant provided tablet? Sure. Using my own smartphone? I've done it out of necessity but would absolutely prefer not to. Aside from the many reasons against it that others have already listed, I don't want to deal with notifications and spam I get on LINE afterwards.

Nope. If a restaurant requires me to use my phone to scan a QR code to see the menu, I'll get up and walk out right then and there. Restaurant's own tablet? No problem, but I'm not using my phone. Non-negotiable...

Mr KiplingApr. 15  07:14 am JST

Has happened to me twice. I ask for a real menu, if they don't have , I go leave. I have no problem with the "ipad "style menus but will not be downloading menus and scrolling on my smartphone when the staff are stood around doing nothing

Same here I just leave.

Bad Idea,

One thing that learned in Japan is to never trust the menus photo's and or the Plastic samples of the foods, me and my family have been SCREWED so many times it is not funny anymore.

There ought to be a LAW banning this practice, I have never received the volume shown in the photos and when I protest or call it out it gets corrected or I get that Surprise look but NOTHING CHANGES so I pay and leave the place without touching the food, some will apologize others will not accept payment but most just watch and not say a word.

Before you order ask about the volume or the total grams and see how honest they are!?

Mr KiplingApr. 15  07:14 am JST

Has happened to me twice. I ask for a real menu, if they don't have , I go leave. I have no problem with the "ipad "style menus but will not be downloading menus and scrolling on my smartphone when the staff are stood around doing nothing.

I don't care for the QR menus either, mostly because I find them harder to read and navigate, but they are still "real" menus. They just aren't printed up. As for the staff standing around doing nothing, what would you like them to do? Even if you were looking at a printed menu, in all likelihood, they'd still be doing nothing while waiting for you to make a choice. Mind you, I'm using the term "doing nothing" quite liberally because restaurant workers are typically run ragged during the course of their shifts.

if dealing with a person is not an available option, I opt out..... which also rules out many conbini (not that I'm much of a conbini user). no complaints, I just prefer human interaction.