A well-made QR code menu saves you reprinting every time a price changes, lets you offer it in several languages and can be linked from your Google profile. A badly made one is a PDF that takes ages to open, can’t be read on a phone and ends with the customer asking the waiter for a menu anyway. This is what makes the difference.
It opens instantly and reads well on a phone
The customer is seated, hungry and maybe on a weak signal. The menu has to open in a couple of seconds, without downloading any app, and be readable without zooming. A scanned PDF of your paper menu does none of this: a simple web page designed for a phone screen is far better.
Allergens, clearly shown
EU rules require food businesses to give information on 14 allergens. Marking them on each dish of your digital menu makes it easy for customers and staff, and avoids questions and mistakes at the busiest time.
Clear prices, tax included
The price customers see must be the price they pay, with IGIC (the Canary Islands sales tax) included. And the big advantage of a digital menu is that you can change it in a minute: there is no excuse for out-of-date prices.
In Spanish and English, at least
In Tenerife, many of your customers may not speak Spanish. A proper English version, not a machine translation, shows and is appreciated. If you get lots of customers from one particular country, consider a third language.
The QR code: size, contrast and pointing to your own address
- Size: it should scan from the chair. Around three centimetres per side is a good minimum.
- Contrast: dark on a light background, with nothing on top. Test it with several phones before printing.
- Point it to your own address: many free generators create QR codes that go through their servers and stop working when the trial ends or their terms change. Then you have to reprint everything. If the QR code points to your own website, it will always work.
Link it from your Google profile
Google lets you add a menu link to your profile. People who find you on the map can then see what you offer and at what price before deciding, which is exactly when it matters most.
And always keep a few paper menus
Not everyone wants to, or can, order from a phone. A few printed menus for those who ask are a touch that older customers, or anyone with a flat battery, appreciate.
You can see what a menu like this looks like in the demo café, in Spanish and English, with allergens and its QR code.