'About time!': Aussie cafes ditch divisive menu trend

You either love it or hate it, but this common hospitality feature is on the way out.

Great news for most Aussies who can't stand QR codes — venues are ditching them as a way to access menus and order food from smartphones.

 

With enough customers voicing their frustration over scanning those black-and-white squares to see food options, cafes and restaurants are now reverting to good old paper menus.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. 

Image: Supplied + Daily Mail

RELATED: Aussie pays insane price for a can of coke at Bondi Beach

The 'annoying' trend that never left post-pandemic

During the pandemic, QR codes had a brief moment of glory as paper and plastic menus were considered potential COVID spreaders.

Hospitality venues enjoyed the idea of cutting costs, and customers were equally as excited by the novelty when dining out.

But patrons quickly grew tired of squinting at screens and never-ending tech issues.

Others raised issues of privacy, worried that tech firms who owned the QR businesses were accessing their data. 

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

Some, particularly older people, also had trouble navigating the camera and the digital menus.

Then, others complained they were "tacky", especially in upscale restaurants.

So, customers began to voice their disdain, taking to social media to revolt. 

RELATED: 'I couldn't believe it!' Disbelief at cafe's sneaky fee

"I refuse"

"The worst part is when the QR code brings you to the App Store in order to download an app to order," one unhappy diner shared.

Another chimed in on Reddit, "I refuse to sit at a cafe where I have to take my own order."

"And they'll still charge you a service fee, even though you're the one doing all the service!" someone else quipped.

"I love how this had to happen during COVID, and then restaurants were just like nah, we're gonna keep it because we're lazy," one netizen wrote.

"I always assume if you still have QR codes, you don't care about customer service," another concluded. 

"Went to a restaurant earlier in Sunny Coast, asked for a menu – the only menu they had was on the door and was directed to a QR code menu on the table," another QLD resident wrote on social media.

"It’s for this f***ing web app which proceeded to charge a 6.5 per cent venue surcharge, a 2 per cent payment processing fee, and then had the audacity to ask for a tip (10, 15, 25 per cent) as the cherry on top."

So it comes as welcome news to her and other QR naysayers that many restaurants around the country are reverting back to paper menus or having the option of both paper and digital. 

"I've been noticing less and less QR codes in restaurants these days," a Sydney local told Kidspot. 

"And I couldn't be more grateful. I hate having to order through a screen; it's so not personalised, and it's hard to make dietary adjustments. I just want to talk to a real human so I'm glad the trend is slowly shifting."

Another agreed: "I love talking to a real waiter when I go out now. It's all part of the experience. Otherwise, I would just stay home and order takeaway!"

Originally published as 'About time!': Aussie cafes ditch divisive menu trend