4 Genius Ways QR Codes Improve Your Restaurant

If the last year has taught restaurant owners anything, it’s how to adapt. Lockdowns, layoffs, outdoor dining, supplier issues have made it pretty difficult to keep the lights on. Bars and restaurants have had to be creative to streamline their businesses and stay afloat. And that’s where QR Codes come in. QR Codes are the digital technology connecting the real world to the digital world and have made business just a little easier for these bars and restaurants. Here are some helpful ways the restaurant industry can use QR technology to help business run a little more smoothly.

QR Codes Replace Menus

If you’ve gone out to eat, more than likely, you’ve seen QR Codes take the place of the traditional menu. This is a brilliant way to minimize the number of surfaces that customers have to touch and share with other people. The less you have to touch, the better. Bars and restaurants have placed QR Codes at their host stand or laminated them at the table for customers to scan. Immediately, guests can see the food, drinks, and specials right from their phones. No more one-time-use paper menus or staff having to sanitize menus and risk spreading COVID themselves constantly.

“What’s the Wifi?”

Any server or bartender will tell you this is the most annoying question to be asked in the middle of a rush. “Can you put the game on?” is a close second. Now managers can link the Wifi connection to a QR Code so that you can scan the code at the table and connect directly to the internet without bothering the girl trying to remember the four different salads with seven different dressings.

QR Codes and the Foodie

Attention small business owners: if you don’t have a good social media presence, you’re doing it wrong. Engaging with your community is very important. If you’re a bar or restaurant owner, take advantage of the foodie trend. People love to take pictures of their delicious food and drinks. Put a QR Code on the table that links directly to your Facebook and Instagram pages. Guests can upload their pics right from the table and write a caption describing their experience while still in the moment. Sit back and watch your online engagement flourish.

**Note** you can do this for your Yelp! page too, but do so at your own risk.

Check Please!

If the guests read the menus from their phones, that’s one less thing your staff is touching. You can wait until the guests leave to remove the glasses and plates from the table with gloves. What about the check? Create a QR Code that links directly to online payment software. Your guest doesn’t need to borrow a pen or pass a check back to your staff, not to mention bypassing the dirty cash exchange.

Many of these tricks were born out of adapting to the pandemic, but there are plenty of reasons to keep these practices for the future. QR Codes can save you time, paper, and resources. Not only is this smart and safe for your staff and guests, but it makes your guests feel more comfortable dining at your establishment.

People can eat from the comfort of their own homes. But there’s a reason that they go out. Some fresh air, a change of scenery – sometimes just letting someone else prepare dinner can be all someone needs to lighten their load. When guests see that you are taking the pandemic seriously and are doing what you can to minimize the risk, they will remember that they want to grab a bite the next time.