The Post-Pandemic Role of Cell Phones

This story is part of The New Rules of Dining Out. Read the resthere。

At Dante, a casual cafe and bar in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood, the scene on a recent Friday night looked similar to any pre-pandemic, early evening dinner service of 2019: tables were filled with people excitedly talking over the constant noise of bartenders shaking, stirring and mixing cocktails behind a long marble bar and the kitchen hummed along plating orders for servers to bring to tables. The only difference is that instead of being presented with menus, new tables and bar guests are instructed to use their smartphones to access a digital copy of the menu and pay their tab on them.

It feels like not too long ago restaurants and guests were at odds, with some restaurants going as far to ban手机and publications (including this one)encouraging guests to put their phones away在他们的饭菜中。现在，手机已经扮演了新的，作为外出吃饭的关键部分，餐馆老板正在重新思考与食客和潜在客人交流的方式，以及如何将这项技术融入餐饮经验。

最明显的方式手机已经成为的一部分the new normal of dining is the proliferation of the QR code, which guests can use to access menus and even place food and drink orders. Short for Quick Response code, the square barcode was invented in 1994, but didn't really take off in the US until the pandemic. According to the National Restaurant Association, half of full-time restaurant operators started using QR codes during the pandemic and while there aresecurity concernsabout the technology, most operators agree that the good outweighs the bad.

对于但丁（Dante）的负责人纳塔莉·哈德森（Nathalie Hudson）来说，QR码是一个受欢迎的补充，因为它允许餐厅随时更改菜单或一旦不再可用，就可以更改菜单。她说：“我确实认为实际的物理菜单仍然比QR菜单要好得多，但是，印刷菜单需要更多的时间，金钱和资源，因为它们需要每天打印和更新。”这样，不必担心客人过时的菜单，或者可能订购一些售罄的东西。“您可以在整个晚上多次更改QR码，以确保它不断与任何运行低的物品保持最新。”

手机现在也是客人的标签，一些餐厅使用的节目使客人可以通过手机订购并关闭支票。在Maketto，在华盛顿特区的一家休闲亚洲风格的餐厅和零售空间，销售Keem Hughley的总监看到客人希望如何与服务器不同。他解释说：“我们仍处于大流行中的中间，因此有些人想独自一人，而有些人则想要更多的参与。”Maketto开始使用Go Tab为客人提供一种“控制他们的用餐体验”的方式。服务器向客人打招呼，但通过手机下订单，可以在不等待服务器的情况下将其标签打开，以供多轮饮料或食物，使他们能够加快饭菜。vwin德赢ac米兰休利补充说：“我们的服务器指示是向每张桌子打招呼，并为他们想要的东西估计。”

对于布鲁克林的萨哈迪（Sahadi）的执行伙伴克里斯汀·萨哈迪·惠伦（Christine Sahadi Whelen），也是《太阳风味》的作者，首先，在萨哈迪（Sahadi）的餐饮体验中纳入了与去与他人建立联系的餐厅的想法相反的想法。但是自开放以来，她说她已经看到技术有相反的效果。她说：“我担心人们不会互相互动，但他们实际上是以一种非常有机的方式进行的。”客人是使用QR码来拉起菜单，在Instagram上创建有关他们的体验的故事，还是拍摄菜的照片，她发现他们仍在创造回忆并在餐厅里闲逛，这正是她和团队希望客人拥有的经验。“这是技术和传统的健康结合。”

Although most diners are comfortable, some guests still prefer to put their phones away and be presented with a paper menu which most restaurants will still accommodate. "It pains me to see someone being forced to use a QR code if they don't want to," Hughley says. "Our job is not to force you into the future, our job is to make sure you have a really good experience." At Dante, paper menus are available and at Sahadi's, a server will talk through options with guests if they prefer. It's about meeting each guest at their "comfort level with tech" instead of forcing them to hang on to their phones, Whelen says.

而且它不会很快去任何地方。哈德森说：“我认为QR菜单将在这里留在这里，因为它们可以更新和更改。”“我认为潜在的QR码可能会变得更加有趣，也许会导致动画或3D菜单。”这都是一件好事，也是可预见的未来用餐的一部分。但是有一个像惠伦这样的规则所有者不会弯腰：“我确实希望你关掉铃声。”