Does every cafe need my phone number, email address and postcode before making my coffee? Photo: Ashlinn Reid.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought us many things: Zoom calls, RAT testing and QR codes. Who would have thought that this cubist son-of-a-barcode would become such a big part of our lives? But I reckon it’s time we put this particular pandemic relic to bed, at least when it comes to hospitality.
First of all, I’m sick of giving out my personal details to every cafe, bar and restaurant under the sun. In an era of hacking, data breaches and digital piracy, I feel like I’m one poorly timed small-double-shot-flat-white away from identity theft or credit card fraud. Do you really need my email address, phone number and postcode to make a coffee? Why don’t I just give you my mother’s maiden name while I’m at it?
No, I do not need email updates from every cafe I visit. No, I don’t want to receive marketing offers about my local takeaway. And please, would you stop trying to trick me into leaving a 15 per cent tip on every pint I buy at the pub?
The QR code menu often creates more problems than it solves. Having brunch with friends on a busy Sunday morning recently, I discovered that a poorly coded QR menu was causing chaos. The intention was to have a small coffee as the default order, with the option to upgrade, but the app wouldn’t let customers proceed without selecting an option and the only option was to order a large coffee (and add fifty cents, thank you very much).
The staff were under the pump and had no recourse to fix this error. In the meantime, they were running out of large coffee mugs, creating a backlog of orders and a cafe full of disgruntled and under-caffeinated customers. Stepping up to the counter, I was repeatedly directed back to the QR ordering system; in the meantime, the stack of small coffee cups stayed untouched while the dishwasher worked overtime.
For customers who are less familiar with technology, the QR code can be a baffling system that may discourage return visits. And even among younger generations, there are growing trends of people deliberately buying ‘dumb’ phones to counteract social media addiction and improve their mental health. When cafes are not set up for people to circumvent the QR code system, it can be frustrating for staff and customers alike.
Service is an art, and an important part of making your customers feel like you give a damn. And for lonely people, those incidental social interactions are an important part of their day. I recall during a lockdown when I went to the local IGA and found myself with verbal diarrhoea while making small talk with the cashier. Starved of company, I was desperate for conversation: proof that we need those small moments of interaction to feel human.
Table service also gives customers with dietary requirements the opportunity to make sure a meal will be safe for them, and these interactions also require wait staff to be fully knowledgeable about the dishes they are serving: no bad thing!
Hospitality staff are chronically undervalued – highly qualified front-of-house workers in some of Australia’s best restaurants are often asked when they’re getting a ‘real’ job – and slapping a QR code on the table and calling it a day only serves to further undermine these professional and dedicated workers.
Looking at it from the other side, I’m aware that it is very difficult for hospitality businesses to find staff right now, and QR codes can (on occasion) save time for staff. And for people who speak different languages, it can be easy for them to translate the content. Like any new technology, there are two sides to the coin.
But there’s a clue in the name: hospitality. It’s about people, it’s about communication, it’s about connection.
QR codes might save time but at a cost I think we should be hesitant to pay.
