Roast my concept
So, I'm a React developer and recently I've been working on a small project of mine that I'll try to quickly explain below:
- You go to a restaurant.
- Read the QR code on your table with your phone.
- Get redirected to an on-line page with the menu.
- Order whatever you want.
- Pay.
- Earn some cashback.
That's it.
I'm not trying to replace the staff or anything like that. The idea is to have at least 2 or 3 QR for each affiliated restaurant. I can also see this very same model benefiting not only a restaurant, but also a beauty salon or just about any place actually that is capable of offering a service and cashback to their clientele.
So, now it is your turn to roast my idea and show me what is wrong with it.
Thank you all :)
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As many others have mentioned, this has been tried many times. What most people miss is that there is already a very large industry ruthlessly competing for restaurant payment flow. In other words, the hard part is not convincing patrons to use the app. The challenge is selling restaurants on your solution in a crowded marketplace. If you need to be convinced, just go talk to a local restaurant and see what it would take for them to switch.
I (and likely a ton of other people) thought of similar years ago (which doesn't make it a bad idea but still also doesn't solve much of a problem since the menu is in the window with the QR code most likely). 1st cousin is the app that puts your name on the last second table reservations list. I even thought of using an digital audio modulation to transfer the link to the menu (QR is often hard to read in different lighting conditions). Biggest problem is that you will spend $2 dollars getting every $1 signing up restaurants (low volume and notoriously hard to sell into unless you are making them money to offset their very low margins).
Then you depend on actually getting an attractive QR on their restaurant (somewhere) with color match.
Low margins
Very distributed market hard to hit via the internet
No recurring income possible
And the owner is really doing all the work except for the QR itself
Sounds like you are sorta gamifying with the cashback but to do that you really need some kind of game (even simple 3 wheel slot ... I have one of those too and still I didn't do this..which once again does NOT mean you are wrong..BUT???)
Who is your target market? What problem is this solving?
It is not very focused on the restaurant itself, but rather on their client instead. The restaurant must be concerned about providing the best experience possible. Waiting in queue or for the waiter to notice you is not a good experience. Also it is quite easy for the waiter to forget something someone ordered when the place is too crowded.
The way I imagine it, the client wouldn't have to wait in queue to order something. Also, a lot of people give up and just leave when waiting for too long. It is pretty common here in Brazil.
By allowing the client to skip the queue and just order what they want, the flow would increase and the restaurant would be able to attend more people throughout the day.
When you are hungry, you just want to order your stuff, sit, wait a bit while interacting with your people and finally eat.
Also, if you are with your people, you don't want to leave the table or wait too much for the waiter to notice you. Doesn't matter if you call them. Maybe it is just too crowded, then they will ask you to wait just a bit while they're attending the table next to you and might never come back. This kind of thing isn't rare.
And last, but not least, as already mentioned in this thread, I went to a burger festival last month. To make it short, I had to wait 1h~ in queue just to order my food.
"The way I imagine it, the client wouldn't have to wait in the queue to order something. Also, a lot of people give up and just leave when waiting for too long. It is pretty common here in Brazil."
If you could quantify that then maybe you're on to something... But there may also be a reason that lines queue up so much. Perhaps the restaurants just can't cook meals fast enough, ordering may not even be the problem. I would start off by problem finding, it sounds like you're focused on the solution.
they have this in alot of airports like Houston
Interesting. Would you mind telling me more about it? It is not popular at all in Brazil
Why would you go to the restaurant just to order uber eats?
The whole "go to the restaurant" just to order on my phone is what threw me... so it's some sort of loyalty rewards program?
If that's the case, I already crashed and burned on this one.
So,
where I live, a service like Uber is pretty expensive for the restaurant. For example: iFood is the most popular in São Paulo. They tax the restaurant for about 20%~ in any order made via the app, which is pretty expensive. Same for Uber. As a result, the restaurant will usually rise the price of each item on the menu to compensate this huge tax. It is bad for the user because they will have to pay for the extra amount + delivery tax. However, the kind of place I'm targeting at the moment is more focused on family stuff, you know. The main idea here is to give autonomy to the user and avoid letting them getting in queue and also possibly even make the restaurant capable of attending more people throughout the day since the flow will improve.
This kind of place I mentioned is common here. They usually don't deliver food, or maybe they do, but still people want to be there and enjoy the moment. However, most are crowded and people just don't want to wait.
Went to a burger festival last month. Had to wait about 2h~ in total just to eat.
Problem is that there were a giant queue for each food truck there - something that could be avoided. Also saw a lot of people giving up after waiting for too long.
This is already happening in some restaurant. As an example, Loft N8 Restaurant and Shisha Lounge in Prague. The developers sell it mainly as saving the time for everybody. I am unaware of a cashback, but they might be offering other incentives.
We have the same here in Denmark/Sweden a restaurant called Pinchos, they have an app, where you order your food, and the app lets you know when the food is ready to pick up. I have been there one time, and it works well, but I still miss the personal service and to ask questions at the table.
This is available at quite a few places in Australia (even mcdonalds has a similar thing, but I think it uses their app). The only time I've used it is at bars/pubs to avoid the process of going up the counter and having to compete with 20 other people trying to get the attention of the bar staff.
One of the biggest barriers is getting your product in sync with the bar/restaurant's existing POS menu. This means identifying which systems they are using and building integrations with them. It will often go something along the lines of: researching how those systems work, building a demo/prototype web application with documented api, convincing a bar/restaurant (or chain or group that owns several) that they should use your product, then getting them to speak to their POS provider to cost out/check the feasibility of the POS provider doing their half of the integration, getting everyone to agree on that, building what is remaining, then convince the POS provider that they can get more value out of the work they did by selling their integration with you to their other customers.
You could also try partnering with companies that create physical menus (like you find on tables) for these places, so they know how to work in your QR codes. These companies could help you get sales leads by mentioning that they support in-restaurant app-free mobile ordering codes.
I don't think it's a bad idea, could be pretty cool actually. You could even maybe make the order before arriving to the restaurant, which they could be happy about, because they would be sure to be paid, and that would happen even before the client gets there.
But the QR code in and of itself can be cool. Many people don't like to talk to waiters etc (check out in Japan they have spots that have individual booths where people don't have to interact with anyone).
But as some other people pointed it out, it could be quite time consuming, and not a super easy sell. You should dig more and figure out the best launch market for it if you want to get it going!
All the best! :)
Hey - this isn't a roast but something occurred to me when reading other comments; this seems very much like McDonalds in the UK where we can order from touch screens. This suggests to me that this sort of mechanic is valuable in the right setting.
The QR code element is a distraction. It might be better to focus on the efficiency for the restaurant ("turn 20% more tables at your busiest times" etc.) and customer experience ("order at your own pace, no need to catch the eye of the waiter".). As many have said, this idea has been developed in the past so I'd focus on really understanding why they're not everywhere already. My guess is that the backend system to receive (& fulfil!) the orders is the sticking point. Good luck.
I see two main issues
https://picturesofpeoplescanningqrcodes.tumblr.com/
:p
But seriously, people don't scan QR codes. I'm a techie and even I have no idea how to do it.
this idea is like the entrepreneurship 101, everyone has tried it and some ideas just don't work.
although if you can convince 100 restaurants you can still make a living. that's what separates VC funded vs indie hackers :)
I think you should simplify it, give up the paying part, it's too complex, would scare potential clients (restaurants). just make a digital menu.
I had the very same idea for years now.
also do your research: https://menu.app as an example.
I still think it's great, the marketing is more than the app/website itself.
Maybe do this with NFC :)
It's already done, and this customer is using our QR Codes :-) https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samuelperryman_userexperiencedesign-activity-6633574803527872512-jOKV
If you offer a full-fledged service (from QR Codes to the online menu and payment) then there's definitely a gap in the market! Our company only does the QR Code part.
We made this app 3 years ago in Argentina and it failed mainly because is hard to sell to a working restaurant and if they already have their software working then an additional app is only a step more in the complexity of software they have.
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Ran into this during the groupon craze a while back. Definitely needs to be beneficial to the business owner and the best ways to show them value are you bring them more customers, improve their margins, or increase their ticket value (larger parties, additional courses, etc).