His Nokia phone made me laugh.

I've been in two restaurants lately where I was asked for my phone number before they took my order.

I went to a restaurant a couple of years ago now and the QR code was glued to the table and that was how you were supposed to look at their menu. I guess I could have done that but looking at a menu on my phone is not my idea of a good place to eat so I complained and a paper menu was produced right away. Sometimes it pays to be old and cranky. I also will not pay for a meal at some gizmo on the table. Either the server takes it or I pay at the front desk. I hate when people are taken out of the equation.

"Old and cranky" is how I identify now. I wrote a couple of months ago about the high-end restaurant where we walked in, not busy, for lunch and asked for a table, and I was asked for my phone number. I refused. They served me anyway.

Sushi, I remember when someone would ask me for my phone number it meant they were interested in a date.

Love this song! It’s a perfect statement of today’s times! The experience described in the song is real & took me back to a personal memory. Couple years ago I had a sudden crave for a Wendy’s Frostie. Haven’t had one in years & hadn’t been inside a fast food business for years. I parked, went into Wendy’s & up to counter where I was completely ignored by staff behind the counter. Staff was working the drive through & cooking processes & not appearing really busy or rushed. The seats inside store were mostly empty & no one in line behind me. Hello? I said with a small wave at a staffer as she walked by the counter I was standing at. Employee: What? Me: I‘d like a small strawberry Frostie. Employee: Did you put your order in? Me: Not yet, I’m waiting here. Employee: Put your order in Me: I’d like a small strawberry Frostie. Employee: Put your order in & pay. Me: What?? Employee: Over there!! (in not a ’nice’ voice) I turn around to see ’over there’ & only then do I notice the several standing kiosks for ordering and paying, There’s no signage either on the counter or anywhere else directing clueless customers to the kiosks. I never got my Frostie treat and haven’t been back. I could have since I do hold a plastic card and am pretty well versed in self service technology. I simply walked out.

You’ll understand why this song gave me such a laugh!

@murraysmom Zone 6a OH....I remember the QR codes for menus during COVID, as physical menus became untouchable. Unfortunately, they have stayed put in so many areas. I just dont get them. Half the time they don't work for me, and like the poor fellow at the bar, they just tick me off. I bought a pretty patio fountain with assembly required. The written instructions were minimal, and there it is! Please scan this QR code for a video. So I scanned, and nothing happened.

That YouTube clip was funny yet sad. I've been aware of QR codes since Covid yet have never used one, and no one ever asked for my phone number. When I said to my daughter, I'd like to go back to the good old days, she always says...when women and blacks had no rights? We're old but have much of today's technology. We've had iPhones for many years and gone through three iPads and many desktops,a smart TV and each has an Apple watch, but they throw out this new stuff every day, and then I turn into the old man in the video.

DH has macular degeneration and can barely see. During COVID we got the stupid QR code in a restaurant. But he needs this phone light and magnification to read a printed menu.

I guess I'm different. I love new technology and the conveniences it can bring. I'd actually prefer to scan the menu QR code - menus are filthy - like are they ever wiped down? I've only been in one restaurant where I've been asked for my phone number. When I've asked why it's needed, no logical reason was given so I declined. Or I just make up a number. I still get seated and served regardless of the number I've given.

I don't want to identify as "old and cranky." I want to be thought of as fun and someone who keeps up with the times. What I don't know I'm willing to learn. Google and YouTube can be your best friend.

@sephia_wa - I’m with you on you feeling about new technology and the resultant conveniences. But, I think my saga is an example of a customer service failure. Businesses that want to cultivate and keep customers must instill in their employees the importance of treating customers with respect and of offering assistance when and where feasible. For the record, I don’t look like an ”old and cranky” person but that employee should’ve provided a better and more clear explanation than ’over there’. I was proud of my restraint in that I simply walked out without escalating the poor service issue in any way. I’d lost my craving for the treat anyway.

sephia, I’m like you usually. But, I truly felt for this guy. I think he just wanted to order his beer from the barkeep, chat a bit, and maybe find others to shoot the breeze with.

Some folks like to look for what gives their life meaning beyond the purely rational world of modern technology. Human interaction. He wasn’t going to get it while his dear wife was cooking cabbage.

The whole thing made me laugh.

Oh sure, KW PNW Z8, your example is a customer service fail. You definitely should have been helped and not dismissed. Customer service still needs to exist to help people who may not be familiar with their technology. That was bad on the part of Wendy's and the way you were treated by that employee.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

KW PNW Z8, I had a similar experience. I walked into a McDonalds and saw the kiosks. I walked up to the counter and there was a person there. I told her I didn't want to use the kiosk and could I just tell her what I wanted? She said of course and took me order with no problem. I'm sure it all just depends on the person who is working there. It seems too impersonal to me to be directed to a machine when a person is standing right there. It might make the orders flow better but it doesn't make for a good experience.

That was funny and sad at the same time. When someone prefers an impersonal kiosk over talking to a real person or a self-checkout instead of a real person it kind of makes me sad.

I don't think I've ever had to use a QR code for anything.

I use my phone to view the menu. Meaning, I use the camera on my phone to magnify the printed menu. A hybrid function?

I don't mind using the QR code if it doesn't require signing up to a particular app or web service, but I do prefer interacting with human staff.

@sushipup2 , I would have thought using a QR code would make your DH's life easier as his phone is backlit and he could enlarge any part of the page to see it better.

Lol!! Hilarious music video. I actually enjoy the song. Thanks for the laughs Rox.

“I'd actually prefer to scan the menu QR code - menus are filthy - like are they ever wiped down?”

Oh, I fully believe those menus are basically laminated petri dishes. Like if you looked at one under a microscope, it would wave back at you. I’m already germ phobic by nature, but the pandemic really took that to another level.

I remember once I scanned the QR code while we were waiting in line at a super popular restaurant. But when we got seated - what did they do? They brought out the menus anyway. Probably the same menus that had seen more hands than a Vegas blackjack table. So then I was stuck. I wouldn’t enjoy reading a menu on a tiny phone screen, but if I touched the menu, I’d immediately want to sanitize my entire existence. Such a dilemma!

@palisades_, what’s your phone hygiene like? I believe they’re typically very germy. Like, among the germiest things we touch, and we touch them all day long.

I use a disposable alcohol pad to wipe it at the end of day. Usually have extra pads with me when I go out or travel. I also don’t forget to wash those dirty hands often.

I clean my phone daily with a disinfectant wipe.

Germ phobe here too 🙋‍♀️

I rarely get sick. Can't remember the last time I had a cold. I recently spent almost a week with family who all came down with the crud. I spent a 6 hours on a flight home and never caught what they had nor caught anything from the flight.

Colleen, he's stuck in his ways, and stubborn is his middle name. Your suggestion has been made a number of times. Oh, well.

I actually like the kiosk ordering at McDonalds. I can easily tailor my order, and a real human never can get the order right. DH wants a Big Mac, no pickle, light on the sauce. Or extra cheese or whatever. Have had humans mess up the order most of the time.

@murraysmom Zone 6a OH - McDonalds certainly offers better customer service! I wouldn’t have minded using the kiosk at all. I do know how to navigate all the varieties of them out there - airport check in, Costco food, self check out groceries etc. etc. It was just that I hadn’t been into a Wendy’s for several years & didn’t know they had them now. The employee was just rude & that’s not acceptable.

Hubby and I decided on the chain Outback Steakhouse recently for a date night. The server did bring us menus ( which we used without a thought to the germs ), but when we asked for the check we were directed to the qr code to pay. I actually liked not handing my card to someone and dealing with it on my phone! I'm actually shocked that we haven't gotten sick, we have truly slacked off after the main covid crisis.