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.

Waiting for QR

Yesterday I was at the local Whole Foods doing some grocery shopping during lunch (as one does). I got to the self-checkout terminals and the first thing to do is scan the Amazon Prime QR code. That lets the system know I am a Prime member and to give me my 5% cash back and other associated discounts. But there was a problem: my iPhone did not a have a strong enough network connection to load the QR code in the Amazon app. Apparently two (out of five) bars of 5G cellular is insufficient.

To load quickly, anyways. The loading circle kept spinning, so I just stood there waiting for the QR code to pop up. The people flow during that hour was slow so I was not holding up anybody. Honestly I think Whole Foods should make sure there’s solid network connection in their stores, especially now that everything is on our phones - including our credit cards. Gone are the days of Safeway where you bring a tiny card with a barcode to scan as confirmation of membership. Even Costco have migrated to digital ID cards on the Costco app. I never bring the physical card with me these days.

Soon as California allows for digital driver licenses in smartphones, I won’t bring a wallet with me ever again.

After a few minutes of waiting, the QR code finally appeared. I simply refuse to give up the 5% cash back (that is, if you have an Amazon Prime Visa card). Amazon Prime membership is not cheap these days, and I need to “make that money back” as fast possible so that I’m in the green. I bet the security guy was looking at me really funny, though. What is this guy doing staring at his phone and not scanning any items?

Study hours.