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Richard Polt's avatar

Agreed. I am annoyed by the assumption, here and elsewhere, that everyone owns a smartphone. Admittedly, I do, but the cool youngsters favor flip phones! (https://writingball.blogspot.com/2022/12/logan-lane-and-luddite-club.html)

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ACap's avatar

I prefer paper menus too. Actually, I like the sticky plastic ones. Bonus points for food stains under the plastic or a spiral binding that's missing the bottom few holes of each page.

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Matt Ruby's avatar

Amen. Another example of how we keep trading quality for efficiency. Wrote about that here: "QR codes make menus more efficient. But they also make sitting down for dinner feel like going back to work. Just when you thought you had escaped screenspace for the night, you’re forced back into scan-and-scroll zombieland." https://mattruby.substack.com/p/we-keep-trading-quality-for-efficiency

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David Sax's avatar

Nothing says fun times like PDF technology in a dimly lit bar!

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Elliott Fienberg's avatar

yes i was also concerned when the QR code menu became a means for ordering the food. when i wanted to refill my tall boy i had to do everything on the phone and pay on the spot. so we will also be missing the process of getting a bill one day too.

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David Sax's avatar

Yes totally. It's a kind of forced seamlessness and efficiency, which really puts the work into the lap of the customer. "Log on, find the way to navigate, fill in these forms, fill in your credit card info, save a password, save a profile...and we'll give you a drink"

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