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Original poster

To not want to order via an app in a restaurant!

232 replies

TeaAndBrie · 25/10/2023 22:21

Visited a restaurant for brunch today, it wasn’t super fancy but £12 for eggs Benedict to give an idea of price.
we were told to sit anywhere that’s free and then use the QR code on the table to see the menu and order. I must’ve pulled a face as she said she would get a paper menu and that we could order at the counter.
surely part of eating out if the experience and the service and this is all part of what you pay for?

OP posts:
apapuchi · 26/10/2023 00:37

Yo! Sushi (or however you write it) do this. My husband and I went after COVID restrictions were loosening and really struggled despite both being au fait with smart phones. Asked if they could just take the order but 'computer says no'. Was really quiet so the waitress literally stood alongside our table at the computer while waiting for us to battle on, then as soon as it popped up she got the drinks from the fridge 6ft away etc. The most unappealing thing to have a human standing within spitting distance but have to use an app to instruct them. My husband was really irritated by it (not with the waitress, just the absurdity of it all) and I kept the peace 🤪 and we managed but it was just a weird and shitty, unnecessary experience in that situation.

Video Killed the Radio Star and Technology and AI Killed Everyone else - as I heard on the radio today. There's no substitute for the normal, human interactions we all expect and these things don't even make things easier. I am really socially anxious too, but don't find it interaction with waiting staff beyond my capabilities.

Fairyliz · 26/10/2023 06:06

picturethispatsy · 25/10/2023 23:10

Ugh hate it.
Why do SO many businesses these days want the customer to do all the hard work 😭
If it’s not your bank it’s the supermarket or a restaurant. It’s gives me rage. Just do the work for me!! Stop outsourcing your work to me. I have my own job!

I agree; I’m retired but seem to spend hours a day doing businesses work for them.
I can’t imagine how people with jobs and young children have the time to cope nowadays.

Basilton · 26/10/2023 06:09

I think as it is the type of venue that has free for all seating, it is fine. I wouldn’t expect to go to a Michelin starred restaurant and order from an app.

theleafandnotthetree · 26/10/2023 06:10

ACGTHelix · 25/10/2023 23:23

Using apps in restaurants with staff can bring several benefits, but it's crucial to find the right balance between technology and a personal dining experience. Some diners enjoy the human touch, and they like interacting with servers, so offering a blend of both high-tech and traditional service options is essential. This way, restaurants can make sure that using the app adds to the overall dining experience rather than taking away from it.

Besides, tech is the future, think the back to the future restaurants etc

Edited

You say that 'some diners like the human touch' ss if it's some quaint quirk rather than, I don't know, pretty much the way humans have lived for all of human civilisation 🙄. I also fail to see how an app could 'add to the overall dining experience' - it might for some people be more convenient etc but I don't think even the most fervent technophile could claim it's an enriching experience. And finally, tech may want to be the future but citizens and consumers surely should have a bloody say in it.

HomeBird43 · 26/10/2023 06:27

Yeah not a fan. Hate the faff of having to download an app I’ll never use again and then having to insert all my sodding registration crap just to order a cup of tea.

Everything is shit since covid though.

HomeBird43 · 26/10/2023 06:30

However, scan as you go in the supermarket is bloody brilliant and I will die on this hill.

TitInATrance · 26/10/2023 06:37

I don’t like the apps and will go where there is table service if I can. However, if I’m out on my own and have to queue at the bar and order to a designated table number I have to bring a low-value item to leave on the table to reserve it - also annoying!

SilverGlitterBaubles · 26/10/2023 06:41

It's horrible and impersonal. Aside from this I believe there was a scam going around where fake dupes of the QR codes were placed in bars and restaurants to get your bank details. So no thank you from me.

ElleCapitaine · 26/10/2023 06:43

I love it - you can order at your leisure, order more drinks or food without having to wait for someone to come to your table, less likely to get an order wrong, fewer interruptions to the conversation, only takes a minute to order, can see how much you’re spending, can do it l separately easily if you want so don’t have to faff about asking for separate bills or working out who had the prawns and cocktail and who had the soup and tap water.

ChimChimeny · 26/10/2023 06:49

We're going away next week, it'll be the first time eating out since DD was diagnosed with coeliac, what is the issue ordering on an app for allergies/dietary requirements?
I can't remember the last time we ate out using an app so I can't remember what they are like!

Sirzy · 26/10/2023 06:52

I much prefer it especially if it’s just me and DS out. He is disabled so leaving him at the table isn’t always an option and taking him with me to order is a PITA. Ordering via the app (or table service) make life so much easier!

DutchCowgirl · 26/10/2023 06:53

Where I live there is a big staff shortage, especially at the cheaper restaurants. So if i have to choose between getting served through a QR or not served at all… then i prefer the QR.

Beansinyourears · 26/10/2023 07:06

I went to a restaurant the other day and same deal. What pissed me off though was that before finalising payment, it asked if we wanted to tip. Tip for what?! Haha what a joke.

Viviennemary · 26/10/2023 07:09

S o now we have to tip a computer. Even robots will probably require tipping eventually. You couldn't make it up.

miniproblem · 26/10/2023 07:15

In all the places I've been with app ordering they're more than happy to take your order if you have an issue/don't want to use the app.

That's been the case in chains and independent places.
I don't mind using the app but one place we go, it seems to be faulty when ordering drinks or customising anything. I also have a friend who is gluten free so often can't use the app.

It's never been an issue so I'm confused why people are walking out of places instead of saying you don't want to use it.

TolkiensFallow · 26/10/2023 07:16

I hate it. If I go out for a meal with someone, I just hate to immediately have to get my phone out. I like to put it away for a couple of hours and I don’t like the etiquette of “phones on tables”…

PuppyMonkey · 26/10/2023 07:22

I’m one of those people who can never seem to get the attention of the waiting staff and there also seem to be a lot of pub type places where you have to order at the counter these days - so an app is much better for me!Grin

TerfTalking · 26/10/2023 07:24

I hate them too. Having to order on an app and pay, then doing it again for more drinks, then doing it again for dessert then paying each other if you’re splitting a bill.

definitely avoid.

Sirzy · 26/10/2023 07:24

Beansinyourears · 26/10/2023 07:06

I went to a restaurant the other day and same deal. What pissed me off though was that before finalising payment, it asked if we wanted to tip. Tip for what?! Haha what a joke.

For the person who prepares your order? For the person who brings it to you? For the person who does the dishes at the end?

the app is only one stage of the process!

Funderthighs · 26/10/2023 07:27

I love ordering on an app. There’s no trying to catch the eye of the waiter when you’re ready to order and if the order’s incorrect, you have proof on your phone of exactly what you asked for. It’s great.

NewUsernameJT · 26/10/2023 07:27

Makes me feel the place is cheap not hiring waiting staff to do this.

also tipping. Whats that all about? Just pay staff a decent wage fgs

Pottedpalm · 26/10/2023 07:29

I just wouldn’t eat at these places.

toadasoda · 26/10/2023 07:35

Bobbotgegrinch · 25/10/2023 22:36

I won't do it. I ask if someone is going to come to the table.and take our order and if the answer is no we leave and go elsewhere.

Obviously the exception is cafes where we'd always have ordered at the counter, but anywhere with a qr code gets fucked off sharpish.

Me too. I say I'd rather a menu and if they resist I pretend I don’t know what a QR code is. Or I don't go to places who insist on this. Its not entirely a lie, I have never used one. It was fine during covid but ridiculous now. Its up there with the customer service lines telling me there are delays during these unprecedented times...

BarbedButterfly · 26/10/2023 07:38

I also much prefer it

RedRiverShore4 · 26/10/2023 07:39

I go out to eat to get a service, not do it myself.

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