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New York (CNN Business) --
Of all the commercial adoptions inspired by the pandemic, perhaps none is as hated as QR code menus.
And yet here they are.
Early in the pandemic, restaurants ditched physical menus and instead revived a long-neglected technology, the rapid response code.
And it seemed like a good idea at the time.
As restaurants reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, restaurant design experts advised them to remove high-touch items like salt, pepper and ketchup bottles from their tables.
Even the physical menu had to go, and so the QR code — which when scanned opens a digital menu — became all the rage.
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However, when it became clear that Covid-19 was unlikely to be transmitted through surfaces, people revealed their true feelings about menu codes.
They hated them.
But for restaurants, QR codes are more than just a way to offer a contactless menu.
The technology solves problems restaurants have had for years that are especially painful now, like menu printing costs and staff shortages.
People don't really like menus with QR codes.
It's "an interesting dilemma," said Robert Byrne, director of consumer and industry insights at restaurant consultancy Technomic.
Should restaurants continue to use a technology that diners hate, or go back to the more cumbersome option?
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Some have decided that QR code menus have to go, because customers don't like them and end up ordering less because of them.
Other restaurateurs are holding on to the technology, or adding it for the first time, because the best option may be to make it something people actually want to use.
In fact, enhanced QR codes may be the future.
Square, which sells digital and point-of-sale services to restaurants, saw a 143% increase in the use of its QR codes, including ordering capabilities, among its restaurant customers last year, and grew even more this year Until now.
"Bring back the menus"
Bad reviews of QR codes are all over the internet.
Last year, Slate published an article with the headline "Bring back the menus!"
and a caption that read "I'm sick of QR codes."
Earlier this year, a Vice headline declared "Fuck QR Codes," followed by a plaintive "I just want to hold a menu again."
We're not talking about a vocal minority of haters here.
A recent Technomic survey found that around 88% of respondents said they preferred paper menus to QR codes.
Some 66% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they dislike QR codes because they involve pulling out their phone as soon as they sit down at the table.
Some 57% agreed that using QR codes felt like a chore, and 55% agreed that QR codes were difficult to read and navigate.
Some restaurants, knowing customers hate them, have brought back physical menus.
Some restaurants don't use them anymore, but others are sticking with QR codes.
Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and other chains, used the codes early in the pandemic before transitioning to single-use menus and then back to regular ones due to customer preferences, a spokesman said. .
BJ's Restaurants brought back its restaurant menus last fall.
"One of the things we've heard from our guests is that they love having a physical menu," CEO Greg Levin said during an analyst call in October.
Jeremy Wladis, president of The Restaurant Group, which operates eight restaurants in North Carolina, Washington and New York, has also returned to tangible menus.
Early in the pandemic, Wladis installed QR codes at his restaurants in New York City.
But he finally abandoned them.
With a physical menu, "I think people see more stuff and are more likely to order more food and have a better experience," Wladis said.
In addition, he himself prefers a royal menu.
"I like to see a full menu," he said.
"I'm old-fashioned."
That is not to say that the QR code did not have advantages.
"It's easier, because you make a menu change and change it on the computer, and then [it's] done," he said.
BJ'S Levin said in October, "I think we were all very excited in this business about the arrival of HTML menus because everyone thinks we're going to eliminate printing costs."
Beyond digital menus
QR codes can be a welcome help to restaurant operators navigating a tough environment, where ingredients are suddenly expensive or inaccessible, and the job market is tight.
"When you're updating a menu, even with a small degree of frequency, that can get expensive," said Technomic's Byrne.
Costs increase when an operator runs a restaurant chain.
And these days, maintaining a menu adds another level of complexity, said Bryan Solar, general manager of Square for Restaurants.
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QR codes allow restaurants to update prices and availability quickly and without additional costs, for example, if "over the weekend, the price of your avocado went up 50 cents."
Also, with QR codes, hosts or waiters don't have to waste time handing out menus to customers.
That can ease the burden on a restaurant that's already short-staffed.
Still, Solar understands why many people don't like digital menus.
“When people say they would like to see the QR code die, or that they want it to go away, I agree with that sentiment towards QR code 1.0,” he said, referring to codes that lead to static PDF menus or otherwise they are difficult to use
But, he said, people might like digital menus if they are more responsive and interactive, and can be used to order directly, add to your tabs or pay for your meals.
"Those are much, much, much more enjoyable experiences than enlarging and reducing a PDF."
Waiting to pay a bill is "a much bigger problem for consumers" than reading a menu, Byrne said, and one that can be solved using similar technology.
"Let me pay when I'm ready to go. And everyone's happy."
