“Scan QR Code Ordering” to pay attention to the public number first, is it convenient or difficult for customers?
When dining at a restaurant, some restaurants do not provide manual ordering or even physical menus. Consumers can only follow the official account or mini program to "scan code order".
The China Consumers Association recently stated that only providing "scan code ordering" is suspected of excessively collecting consumer personal information and infringing on consumers' fair trading rights, especially for the elderly, children and other groups that have caused consumption obstacles.
The Beijing News reporter also visited many different types of catering businesses in Beijing, such as Beijing Cuihua Building, the third branch of Huda Restaurant, Streetside Beef Skewers Shuangjing Store, Jindingxuan Yuanda Road Jinyuan Store (East District), DQ Ice Cream Five merchants such as Heshenghui Store can provide mobile and manual ordering methods. There are no additional conditions for scanning code ordering.
In Nancheng Xiangshuangjing Bridge East Store, you need to obtain personal information after scanning the code before ordering; Ama Noodle Dao·Yak Beef Kungfu Noodle Heshenghui Store “scan code ordering” must first pay attention to the official account and require manual labor When ordering service, the waiter will also "propose conditions" for customers.
Legal sources said that in the process of ordering meals by scanning codes, the legitimate rights and interests of consumers are likely to have been infringed.
“Additional conditions” such as “pay attention to the official account” when ordering meals by scanning codes are transactions that are “voluntary in form and mandatory in nature”, and there is a risk of consumer personal information being leaked or lost.
Consumers have the right to refuse to order by scanning codes.
If a merchant scans the QR code to order, you must first pay attention to the WeChat public account
On March 27 and 28, reporters from the Beijing News visited Beijing Cuihua Building, the third branch of Huda Restaurant, Streetside Beef Skewers Shuangjing Store, Nancheng Xiangshuangjing Bridge East Store, DQ Ice Cream Heshenghui Store, and Ah Yan Mian Dao·Yak Beef Kung Fu Noodle He Sheng Hui Store, Jin Ding Xuan Yuan Da Road Jin Yuan Store (East District).
At present, Cuihua Building provides menus in both scattered and private rooms. Orders can be placed manually, or meals can be ordered by scanning codes. You do not need to fill in personal information to directly enter the ordering interface.
A staff member told a reporter from the Beijing News that more elderly customers come to dine in time-honored brands, and it is not convenient for them to order meals on their mobile phones.
"Manual ordering is more conducive to waiters to introduce special dishes to customers, recommend dishes based on customer tastes, and will take care of the different needs of customers, such as whether there are any taboos and when to serve desserts."
Customers at the third branch of Huda Restaurant can pre-order on the simple paper menu, and then choose to scan the code to order or manually order.
The staff said that contactless ordering was advocated during the epidemic, and only after that, there was scanning code ordering.
In the beef skewers on the street near Shuangjing Bridge in Chaoyang District, Beijing, many customers directly use their mobile phones to scan the code to order, but they do not need to fill in personal information or pay attention to their official accounts.
The waiter said that there is a paper menu in the store, and there will be a reminder that you can call the waiter to place an order at any time.
However, there are also catering businesses that "scan code ordering to collect consumer personal information" and "scan code ordering must first pay attention to the business's official account".
In Nancheng Xiangshuangjing Bridge East Store, after scanning the code, there will be a message prompting "Apply for your public information (nickname, avatar, region and gender)". After clicking "Agree", you can enter the ordering interface.
The waiter proactively recommends customers to scan the code to order meals on the A-Mian Road on the basement level of Hopson House.
A reporter from the Beijing News found that if you want to order food with your mobile phone, you must first pay attention to the official account.
When asked to order food manually, the waiter did not directly provide the service, but said, "Then you need to order at the cashier."
Consumers: They are more accustomed to looking at paper menus for manual ordering
At the Jinyuan Store (East District), Jindingxuan Yuanda Road, a reporter from the Beijing News calculated the ordering methods of 6-table guests.
Among them, two tables of young guests choose to use their mobile phones to scan codes and order meals. One table asks the waiter for a paper menu for reference, and the other four table guests place orders manually through the paper menu.
A reporter from the Beijing News noticed that after scanning the code on the mobile phone, a pop-up window of "logging in as a member and enjoying member privileges" appeared, but it is not mandatory to register as a member. You can turn it off and order directly.
At the DQ ice cream on the fifth floor of Chaoyang Heshenghui, a reporter from the Beijing News noticed that the store offers small programs to order food, but most customers choose to order food manually.
During the visit, many consumers said that the restaurant should keep manual ordering while scanning the code for ordering.
Some consumers have also suggested that scanning codes to order meals is more convenient and more efficient most of the time, but compulsory attention to the official account is "disgusting".
In addition, the signal of some restaurants is not good, and you cannot enter the ordering interface for a long time after scanning the code.
Consumers also believe that some restaurants need to pay attention to the merchant’s official account, register as a member, and even use "sweet gifts and other discounts" to guide consumers into the restaurant group.
"It feels a bit forced. I worry about whether my personal information has been leaked, which will affect the dining experience. In many cases, even if you follow or join on-site, you will unfollow or withdraw afterwards.
Elderly consumers who are not proficient in the operation of smart phones almost overwhelmingly voted "no" to ordering meals by scanning codes.
An old man said that when ordering food on a mobile phone, the words are small and the pictures are small and unclear. “Some still need to pay attention, enter the phone number, send the verification code, fill in the verification code, etc. A series of operations are too complicated.”
Catering companies: "scan code to order food" should not replace necessary communication
Among the 7 catering companies visited, the waiter would recommend "Scan QR Code to Order" after guiding the guests to take their seats. Many stores also had promotional slogans such as "Scan QR Code to Order Faster" and "Scan QR Code Order to Skip the Line".
Many catering operators told the Beijing News reporter that because new dishes are being introduced at a faster rate, new products can be updated on the mobile ordering system when new products are launched or sold out, which is also conducive to reducing manual ordering errors. Including the final purchase order can be completed online.
"Especially during the epidemic, scanning codes to order meals is more conducive to the'contactless service' between waiters and guests." Some catering operators also admitted to the Beijing News reporter that many catering businesses in Beijing are now facing a "labor shortage". "Scan QR Code Ordering" relieved the manual pressure of the store to a certain extent.
However, many operators also believe that as a service industry, a major manifestation of catering is the communication between waiters and customers, which is also an important measure for consumers to score restaurant experience.
"The choice between mobile phone scan code ordering or manual ordering should be made by consumers. If customers do not want to use scan code ordering, manual service must keep up with them. And don’t miss the opportunity to introduce the restaurant’s specialty dishes to customers. Regardless of the extent of the development of the Internet, it is very important for the service industry to have warm communication with customers."
Expert: Consumers have the right to refuse ordering by scanning codes
According to a recent survey by Xinhuanet, 40% of netizens agree that "scanning code to order is not the only option" and hope that merchants provide multiple services; 23.33% of netizens complain that "scanning to order food" is accompanied by "registered members". "Follow the public account" and a series of issues; 16.67% of netizens said that "scan code ordering" is not conducive to the elderly to order meals, hoping for a better method of operation; 13.33% of netizens worry that personal privacy may be leaked; 6.67% Netizens think that "scan code to order" makes people less communication.
On March 25, the China Consumers Association commented on "scan code ordering" and believed that only providing "scan code ordering" was suspected of excessive collection of consumer personal information, infringing on consumers' right to fair transaction and right to know.
At the same time, due to the complexity of smartphone operations, "scanning code to order food" is not universal.
The application of new technologies should not become a consumption barrier for special consumer groups such as the elderly and minors.
Chang Liang, executive director of the Beijing Jiashan Law Firm, told the Beijing News that “scanning codes and ordering meals” seems to improve efficiency and facilitate both parties. In fact, in this process, consumers’ legitimate rights and interests may have been infringed.
First of all, in accordance with Article 9 of the "Consumer Rights Protection Law", consumers have the right to choose the method of service independently, which means that consumers have the right to refuse "scan code ordering" and choose manual ordering.
In addition, in accordance with Article 26 of the "Consumer Rights Protection Law", business operators shall not exclude or restrict consumer rights, reduce or exempt business operators, or aggravate consumers by means of format clauses, notices, declarations, shop notices, etc. Responsibility and other regulations that are unfair and unreasonable to consumers shall not use standard terms and technical means to force transactions.
Regarding “scanning codes and ordering meals”, we must pay attention to additional conditions such as official accounts. Chang Liang believes that these practices of catering institutions are actually "voluntary in form and mandatory in nature" transaction behavior, which violates consumers' right to choose.
Consumers go to restaurants to eat, and personal information such as mobile phone number, birthday, name, geographic location, and address book has nothing to do with catering consumption.
If the restaurant compulsorily binds information, membership registration, and ordering, and does not provide a "privacy clause" or "user agreement" in a prominent position, it is not a case of express collection or consent, and it is suspected of violating consumers' personal information. Excessive collection, and there is a risk of leakage or loss.
Beijing News reporter Wang Ping Qin Shengnan