QR code menus are criminal
I love QR codes, but, this time, they've gone too far
If you need to get binary about it, I like technology.
As much as I enjoy a good moan about its influence and impact, overall, tech has improved our lives.
But nothing’s that simple. We’re not made from 0s and 1s — and ignoring the unimaginable crimes tech has committed would be a betrayal of both The Rectangle and you, dear reader. I simply can’t and won’t allow it.
Which is why today I’m talking about one of the worst crimes tech has ever committed: forcing us to use QR codes to read restaurant menus.
If I had a gun with two bullets, and was in a room with Stalin, James Corden, and a QR code menu, you know what I’d do? I’d shoot the QR code menu twice.
QR codes have had a fascinating little history. They were invented in Japan back in 1994 by Denso, an automotive company. Created as a replacement for the humble barcode, the goal was to construct a reliable format that could store substantially more data.
And you know what? They achieved it. The QR code is a functionally beautiful thing.
Ready for a fun fact? Bad luck if you said no, you’re gonna get one anyway. A barcode can only store 20 alphanumeric characters. But QR codes? They can store over 4,000. That, I think we can all agree, is a much bigger number.
The reason behind that is barcodes store information in one dimension, while QR codes do so in two. The more you know.
Got time for another fun fact? The ‘QR’ in QR code stands for ‘quick response.’ Feel free to take that to your next pub quiz.
Despite their technical superiority, QR codes didn’t become successful overnight.
Although they were invented in 1994, they only really captured the public’s attention in the 2010s. There are a few reasons for this. One explanation is that Daso took a few years to waive its patent rights. After this, anyone was able to create and use QR codes without a license.
Following that, the format took off in the background. The retail world in particular was an early adopter, mainly because the extra information a QR code can provide is highly useful when you want to know creation dates and journey details. To put some stats on that, by 2012, 47% of merchants were using QR codes in some manner. That might not be pub quiz ready, but it’s still a good fact.
It was in this era I first came across QR codes. Mainly as a bit of silly fun. You’d download a dedicated app, create a QR code that linked to a silly website, and send it to a friend.
And back then? That meant Rickrolling. I know. I’m so so sorry. We have much to answer for as a generation.
Big change was around the corner for QR codes though.
Well, kinda. In 2017 Apple updated its camera app to include a QR scanner. Now, instead of having to download something specific to read a code, you could do it from your lockscreen.
My life was forever altered. Oh wait a second. That’s not right. Oh yeah, I remember now: nothing changed at all.
You’d stumble across a QR code now and then, but they were a side note. Something for enthusiasts and specialists rather than the general public, more RSS feeds than podcasts, if you will.
Until the pandemic.
When social distancing and germ spreading and the absolute horror was top of all our minds minds, QR codes had a resurgence. Almost half of people in the US and UK saw their use increase in this time — and I’d expect you did too.
At last, QR codes went mainstream. And they remain so. Which, generally, I’m fine with, apart from one specific use case: those damned QR code menus.
Listen, I don’t have an issue with QR code menus per se. Want easy digital access to what a restaurant has to offer? Perfect. Scan that code. Collect it like a Pokémon. You do you.
The issue is now lots of places don’t even offer a physical menu. It’s digital only. This is like going to an actual rugby game and being forced to only watch it on your phone.
There are a myriad of reasons I don’t want to use my device to look at a menu. What if my hands are sticky from eating wings or dirty from digging in the earth or covered in an indescribable gloop from a situation I’m legally not allowed to discuss? What if my phone signal is bad? What if I want to survey the menu like a medieval king observing his domain? What if I want to discuss a meal with someone and point out a specific item? What if I don’t want to look at my fucking phone while I’m eating? What if… just not?
For once, I’m team boomer. Sometimes those old folks know what’s up.
There’s such a thing as too much change, and getting rid of physical menus in favour of digital ones is where I draw the line. This is my hill, and I will die on it.
Technology, I love you, but you’re bringing me down. With QR code menus, you’ve finally gone too far.
Amen