I want to explain what inspired the “You should have an online presence other than Facebook” post, so you can bask in how Very Much a business can fuck this up.
Last week, my spouse and I were in Wisconsin (”A Drinking State with a Cheese Problem”). Now, while we were visiting their family, it does so happen that my family lives in central Illinois. And we decided that it was high time our respective parents met each other - we’ve only been married for seven years,why do you ask?
Finding an acceptable place to eat was not easy. We were starting from locations ~4 hours apart, and there is nothing in Illinois between Springfield and Chicago. Moreover, my spouse and I are both lactose intolerant, so we were trying to find a place which didn’t cover everything with cheese.
We selected a Mediterranean place in Rockford, which conveniently is where my aunt lives.
I mention this all as background, but relevant.
We went to the restaurant, and were informed that they have a total of three physical menus. But! Each table has a QR code you can scan which will take you to their menu “online”.
I valiantly test this first, being probably the most tech-savvy person present. And hit a brick wall: it’s not “online”. It’s on Facebook. Fucking Facebook.
Let me give you our Dramatis Personae here:
Myself: Tech-savvy, has a new smartphone, can read QR codes. Not on Facebook.
My spouse: modestly tech-capable, has an iPhone (I don’t do Apple KTHX, so if there’s an issue they’re on their own). Does have a Facebook account.
My Father-in-Law: has ancient iPhone, no social media presence.
My Mother-in-Law: has a slightly newer iPhone, I don’t think has Facebook.
My mother: Does have a Facebook account, has a smartphone, but it’s old, janky, and barely functional.
My father: has an old-type flip phone. The kind with a physical keypad. He is unable to text. He is barely able to make and receive calls. He regularly breaks it because he cannot figure out how to use it nor keep track of things like “Do not stick a wet rag in the same pocket as the electronic device”.
My aunt: Even jankier smartphone which needs replaced very badly. Facebook account unknown.
This means that of the seven people present, exactly one is able to access the menu online. And if they have trouble, there’s no one who can help.
And I confess I’m left wondering… what’s the target market here? Many younger people are avoiding Facebook - it’s being referred to as a “Boomer Wasteland”. The more tech-savvy avoid it because it’s insecure as fuck. Older people might be more likely to be on Facebook, but they’re also less likely to be able to use a QR code to access the menu.
I mean, I’m not saying there’s no one who can do this - obviously they’re still in business - but it seems like they’re cutting out something like half their potential customers here, which feels like a bad business decision.
And the funny thing is, while I think a restaurant absolutely should put their menu online, and put it in a simple format without having to download a PDF, if they didn’t do that, well, they’d be in the same boat as something like half the restaurants out there. So many small restaurants just haven’t figured out that marketing and advertising are a crucial part of the business, and that online presence is critical to that.
But this half-assed “We posted it on Facebook, here’s a QR code!” is the worst of both worlds.
Oh! And I forgot to mention the OTHER impressive fail. We were planning on ordering pizza the evening when the entire family could get together. But, again, my spouse and I can’t do dairy. So we want to see if the pizza place offers non-dairy cheese. I go to the website of the pizza place - small chain - and they have a link to the menu. It wants to know my location - makes sense, not all locations have all the same options - but when I select the location, it drops me not into a MENU but straight into the ordering process. And since I was looking before they opened for the evening, it then kicks me out of the ordering process because you can’t make an order before they open. The only way to view their menu is to start an order while they are open!
