Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Right from the table

I am a big fan of the restaurants that do ordering right at the table using QR code. I think it is a great system, kind of a step up from fast food counter ordering. Everybody’s got a smartphone these days, right? A quick scan, order what you want, and the food arrives to the table in short order. Best of all, it allows folks to easily pay for their own meal (bonus if I can use Apple Pay right on the website). The QR code system negates the need for card splitting, or heavy Venmo calculations. Everybody gets to earn credit card points!

It’s awesome for large groups. Especially when said group is a bunch of car enthusiasts gathering once a year, most of us having previously only met on the Internet. Surely a restaurant would hate to split a bill amongst ten credit cards. Having one person pay, and then accept Venmo from everyone else, is a huge hassle as well. That’s why I was surprised and relieved to see the restaurant was the order-from-the-table-via-QR-code type.

Ordering from the table has got to be a thing borne out of the pandemic, right? Back when indoor person-to-person contact is to be avoided as much as possible. Instead of a server coming around to take orders, let people order for themselves digitally. The point-of-sale is packaged right in, too - that’s another interaction eliminated. The only face-to-face potential is when the server brings the food. But even that, I’ve seen in some restaurants, can be done by robots.

This is one of those necessary changes spurned on by the unfortunate pandemic that we are happy to see continue on. Another one is the hybrid university classroom, where students have the option of attending in person, or joining virtually from Zoom.

It’s Klay day.