It started during the pandemic. And, like almost everything except testing, vaccination and social distancing, it hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact - if you’ll forgive the dreadful joke - it has spread like a virus.
You already know what I’m talking about: restaurants that won’t give you a real, physical menu anymore. Establishments where waiters and waitresses - if they still have any - shrug and point to the QR code thoughtfully placed somewhere on your table.
A photo of a QR code is the last thing we need…so here’s a much nicer black-and-white thing
In the conversations I’ve had with people since launching this campaign, QR code menus come up a lot. They have a way of getting a lot of diners really hot under the collar.
I guess it’s the brazen manner in which they just assume you have a mobile phone on your person1, complete with data2. It’s the shameless outsourcing of printing costs, and the labour cost of someone troubling to hand you a menu, to the potential customer. The potential customer who now feels more like a number on a balance sheet than ever.
Another absurd aspect of this that seems to wind a lot of people up? The wilful destruction of human interaction. Because now - what utopian joy! - you can order without uttering a word to any other human. Many of us have come to realise that we’re being channeled towards a world where we never leave our homes and never speak to another soul. It starts with the small things - like QR codes on tables.
But why did I say ‘potential customer’? You’ve already sat down at your table, right? Indeed you have. But it’s not too late to walk out.
And if they won’t bring you a real-world menu, you really must walk out. And you should make sure to have a word with the manager along the way.
Walking out of a restaurant is one of the more visible, clear ways in which we as citizens of the world can say ‘no’ to the digital coercion trend. And say ‘yes’ to the intuitive right to leave our homes without an electronic device in our pockets.
You can do all kinds of quiet protests like refusing to download ID apps, and you are of course letting me know about them so I can spread the word, but ultimately it’s harder to make anybody notice such actions. Conspicuously getting up and taking your money out of the door, making the reason for this very clear? That’s what might just get the manager thinking. And then, by extension, the whole industry.
Walking out of a QR-code restaurant perfectly encapsulates the idea of the Offline Rights campaign. Resist digital coercion and make sure the decision-makers in question see your resistance. That is all3.
You don’t need to be a pensioner or a Luddite to fall into this category. You might just like the idea of going out for a quiet, real-world coffee without any devices in your pocket. As the social impact of scrolling at dinner becomes ever more evident, choosing to keep the phone off the table is becoming a thing. There are even restaurants set up for this cool new trend.
Fun fact for restaurant owners. Data roaming costs money. If you have a tourist clientele, they may be offline even if they have perfectly good phones.
But you are strongly invited to go further, to achieve even more impact. Take a photo. Take a video. Post reviews, post on social media - and let me know what you did so I can put it in the next newsletter. I’ll also add the establishment to the Boycott List.
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