Contactless dining
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contactless dining is a restaurant dine-in experience that allows a guest to view the menu, place orders, and make payments without interacting closely with a server or touching shared public surfaces. The form of dining has emerged in global popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is enabled via technology such as near-field communication and QR codes, in which a restaurant customer scans a sticker to access the restaurant menu or payment system online.
While already commonplace in other countries such as China since 2013,[1] contactless dining has only recently gained popularity in the more service-based restaurant industry of the US, in which low-wage hourly employees receive tips from customers based on their service.[2]
Contactless dining has the benefits of quicker service, reducing contact between people, and higher margins from sales.[3] By removing the manual ordering and billing system, the model also decreases pressure on servers, helps restaurants increase operational efficiency, and improves the dining experience for customers.[4] This online ordering and payment system also allows customers to save their payment information and verify the accuracy of their order.[5]