Will QR Codes Kill Customer Service?

By Gerrick Numan

Right now, most hospo operators I talk to are at least thinking about using QR codes and/or self ordering screens. They’ve seen other operators using them and they’re thinking about the potential for labour cost savings.

If you talk to customers and operators, you get mixed reviews. The customer naysayers say they don’t like the experience of spending their first minutes catching up, staring at their phones, trying to figure out an app and an order. The operator naysayers talk about a potential loss of customer service, and a lack of control of dockets going into the kitchen.

The customers who love them, love the control they get. They no longer have to wait for a waiter, they can order as they please. The operators who love them, love the labour cost savings. I’ve talked to a casual fast food operator using self ordering who has their labour at 20% and still has a great customer experience.

On the restaurant side of the business, as a customer I've had two very different dining experiences with QR codes versus traditional service.

On a recent Saturday we had lunch at a very busy venue that used QR codes for ordering. An experienced, friendly maitre’d greeted and sat us at our table. She explained the menu and that we could use QR codes (or we could order from her if we wanted to). Then she left us to our devices, checking in throughout our visit, making sure we were well looked after and okay. We ordered everything through the web app, it all came out quickly and accurately. We left feeling well looked after, and happy that our food and drinks orders had been quick and accurate.

On the Sunday, we went to another very busy venue for lunch. We were seated by another friendly maitre’d who told us that our waiter would be with us shortly. The waiters were overwhelmed and took longer than expected to take our drinks order. When the drinks arrived there were mistakes. Once these were rectified, we had a long wait until a different waiter returned for our lunch order. When the food arrived, there were more mistakes. We left the venue frustrated at the mistakes and the long wait times for service.

Sure, the Sunday experience could've been avoided by better training and more experienced staff. It would’ve probably still been a shabby experience even if there were QR codes, but at least our ordering time would’ve been quicker and the mistakes likely less. The venue had considerably more staff on than our Saturday venue and the service was much worse.

The Saturday experience showed me that, with well trained staff, you can use QR codes to reduce your labour hours, whilst still maintaining an enjoyable level of service for customers. People like us, who are happy using QR codes, still get an enjoyable service experience from a friendly maitre’d, and those who want to order through waiters, still can.

Overall, as with everything, good staff (and customer) training is at the heart of it. Combined with well designed web apps, I believe QR codes and self ordering screens are a no brainer for the future of hospo.

Gerrick Numan, Director Millé /Mil-lay/ Hospitality Obsessed Interior Architects & Designers www.mille.co.nz