QR Code menu can generate losses by irritating customer, says expert

At the peak of the new coronavirus pandemic, bars and restaurants that managed to survive the crisis had to adapt dozens of points of their operation – and that was how the QR Code menus were born in most establishments in São Paulo.

It turns out that, since then, in these almost two years of life, the novelty that aimed to protect the health of the consumer has messed with his nerves to the point of transforming the experience of going out to eat into something sometimes more irritating than pleasurable. .

On the Instagram profile “Coisas que Sou Contra”, which uses humor to debate controversies ranging from paper straws to the habit of sending audios on WhatsApp, one of the most commented recent posts was precisely what was said against menus in QR Code .

“While you’re looking at the menu, message notifications and other apps come that end up distracting you and keeping you away from the table conversation”, points out public servant Bárbara Hashimoto Martins, 29 years old. For her, this is one of the main negative points of the system.

“With the physical menu, you can look with your colleague at the table what you are going to order and decide the order as a group, which makes it difficult with the digital one. And there is the difficulty of handling and the need to always have internet available”, he lists .

Martins also says he feels vulnerable when tables are on the sidewalk, afraid of violence and cell phone theft.

“It’s a moment when you’re concentrating there on what you’re going to order, especially if you’re hungry, and you end up losing a little of the notion of what’s going on around you. So, I take a quick look and I’m already trying to decide what I want.”

She, who frequents branches of the Outback restaurant chain and bars like O Rei das Batidas, in Butantã, remembers that both use QR Code menus. “It’s something with pros and cons. The pro is the advantage of not having to leave the dirty menu on the table before eating.”

For Ana Sweart, marketing manager of the São Bento group, which manages Tuy Bar Cocina, in Jardins, the main benefit of QR Code menus is “to eliminate printed materials with great frequency”.

“We illustrate all our items with photos, and the online tool gives us the agility to change prices and photos instantly, without depending on third parties such as advertising and graphic agencies, which often delay the change”, he says.

Sweart recalls that, when the system was implemented, there was “strangeness and complaints” on the part of the clientele — today, he guarantees, there are few cases. “Many noted that the tool would be progress, the new normal and easily joined in praising the initiative.”

Matheus Ramos, owner of QT Pizza Bar, also points out the removal of imported items that have become difficult to transport because of Covid as one of the advantages of the new menus.

“The ones who complain the most are older people, who end up having technological difficulties. However, our audience is younger, so the adaptation was smooth. It saves us in printing and also in time, since the waiter doesn’t have to take the table, is always there available on a display”, he comments.

Ramos believes it is a technology that is here to stay. “It facilitates, saves and helps in the operation. In addition, we can put direct evaluation links. I think physical menus will have to come back because there is a clientele that still prefers them, but they are minority. The number of printed menus will be much smaller.”

Recently, lawyer Marina El Tayar, 41, had to resort to the printed menu at the Ritz restaurant, at the JK Iguatemi Mall, because the QR Code was inaccessible.

“The downside is that the digital menu assumes that the customer has a smartphone, with internet access, and it is necessary to have the cell phone charged to use it. In addition, older people are not always able to access the QR Code and, in this sense, the printed menu is indispensable”, he summarizes.

“The good side may be the cost reduction for the restaurant, but I think that, for the customer, depending on the establishment, part of the experience is harmed because the menu often tells the story of the restaurant.”

Coordinator of the Center of Excellence in Retail at FGV-EAESP (São Paulo Business Administration School of Fundação Getulio Vargas) Mauricio Morgado compares the adoption of QR Code menus to a famous controversy in the aviation world. “It’s a lot like the baggage not included, which is only good for the airline,” he says.

Morgado believes that consumer irritation will speak louder — and even harm establishments. “That process of opening, downloading, creates a stressful situation, I think it’s unnecessary”, he points out.

“And I’m sure they’re losing sales. That’s bad to see, you don’t know everything that’s available, so I think the average ticket will decrease. People won’t have the patience to put together a combination of starter, main, side, watching drinks calmly, it’s very boring on that small screen, the interaction is very bad, stretching PDF.”

The savings in printing and the ease of updating are positive points recognized by the coordinator, but they would not, in his opinion, be enough to compensate for the system.

“It’s so addictive that the shopkeeper won’t be able to account for the loss. And I don’t know if he’s there to see the level of irritation on a daily basis, so I think it will continue the way it is because of the practicality for them. But it’s a lack of vision of how the consumer decides to buy.”