Does it make sense to create my own QR code menu, or stick with physical menus?

right after the pandemic we jumped the gun and got rid of all paper menus... on the second day a 65-year-old lady chewed us out saying "I came here to enjoy a meal, not stare at a phone screen," and honestly she was totally right... now the QR codes stay on the tables but we immediately hand out leather-bound physical menus to anyone who asks. tbh everyone's happy.

A static QR code encodes the destination URL directly and will never expire. Build a mobile-friendly menu page on your own WordPress or HTML site and turn that link into a static QR code. Just make sure you don't link straight to a heavy 15 MB PDF file, or customers with spotty mobile data will be stuck waiting ages for it to load.

We used to spend 1,600 EUR a year on printing. We got QR codes engraved onto brass plates for the tables (one-off 180 EUR). We update the menu right on our own website. We only printed 12 upscale physical copies (140 EUR). We ended up saving a net 1,280 EUR in the first year alone, and about 75% of guests just scan the QR code directly.

watch out for those free qr generator sites. a buddy of mine printed them for all his tables and 20 days later customers were greeting with an "account expired, menu unavailable" page. stick to your own domain name.

QR menus make a place feel a bit cheap imo. Fine for a fast food joint, but people sitting down at a Mediterranean bistro want to hold a nicely designed weighted menu in their hands. Don't compromise the vibe of the place just to change prices easily.

If you make the switch, follow these three rules: 1) Print your Wi-Fi password clearly right on the table display; if reception drops in a corner booth, ordering grinds to a halt. 2) Keep the mobile menu strictly single-column, no horizontal scrolling. 3) List allergens clearly at the very bottom of the page.

Instead of reprinting whole booklets at a print shop, you could use wooden menu covers with screw posts or elastic bands. That way, when prices change, you just print the 2 affected pages in-house on glossy paper using a standard office printer and swap them out yourself. No dealing with QR codes at all.

We don't have our own website yet. Would it work reliably if we just upload the menu image or PDF to a free Google Drive link and generate a QR code for that?

Quick summary for newcomers: Look where the bucket leaks; pouring water on top doesn't solve it.

The biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say. Proven by experience.

If you're going this route, sort this out first. Changing habits is harder and more expensive than setting up a system.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

Exactly, and not many people know this. Finding a new customer is more expensive than keeping an existing one.

A two-week notebook guides you more than a six-month forecast.

i'm cuirous too.

The answer above hits the nail on the head. People defend habits, not processes. Resistance comes from there.

Calculate how many months you can survive without revenue, then halve that number. If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

I'll try it. When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles.

If you have questions write them; I'll answer as best I can.

Yes thats exactly how it is with creating a qr code menu. When we decide without measuring we always end up in the same place.

I'll try it.

My questions are cleared up, thanks.

to get into the details: Splitting your budget without knowing where you're losing users is just thrrowing money in the dark.

when we decide without measuring we always end up in the same place then anyway good luck with that.