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I've started to see more and more servers using a mobile POS with built in credit reader and receipt printer. They hand it to you for tip and signature and you

by pests 3y ago

I've started to see more and more servers using a mobile POS with built in credit reader and receipt printer. They hand it to you for tip and signature and you don't have to hand your card to anyone.

WirelessGigabit 3y ago
But now they get to see how much you're tipping them! Like they literally have to wait while you punch it in, increasing the social pressure to make up for a broken system. I don't go to restaurants anymore. Too much pressure.
- DiggyJohnson 3y ago
  Respectfully, this seems like social anxiety or hyperbole. You don't go to restaurants because of the stress of the cultural norm of tipping? Seems more accurate to say you don't like eating out in general or because of the price of eating out once you factor in a tip...
tlogan 3y ago
Definetly not a better experience for all consumers. Or waiter. I do know that some restaurant owners are removing these things. They do not want to look like Olive Garden :) But it really depends on a restaurant: is it high end, type of food / drinks, it is a date place, etc. Majority of restaurant is all about experience and event payment system should match that experience.
- sigwinch28 3y ago
  > Majority of restaurant is all about experience and event payment system should match that experience. I'm in the UK. I go to many high-end restaurants, cocktail bars, etc. Portable card terminals are essentially universal in these places. The fact it's the same everywhere is a feature, not a bug. It's quick. Your card never leaves your sight. No pen is required. Payments up to £100 can be done using contactless on a physical card. Even higher amounts with smartphones/smart watches. Tipping is often integrated into the terminal where tipping is common. It's rare to have to put the card into the terminal. I don't think it detracts from the experience. On the contrary, I think it streamlines the bit between being finished and wanting to leave: "Please can I have the bill and a card machine, please".
  - nerdawson 3y ago
    I’d be annoyed if I ended up in a restaurant that didn’t have a card machine. They’re almost universal at this point to the extent that not to have one would be unusual.
    - pests 3y ago
      > almost universal at this point Where you live maybe.
- kalleboo 3y ago
  I've lived in Japan for so long now that paying at restaurants in other countries where it's done at the table seems so awkward. In Japan, you don't pay at the table, you get up when leaving and pay at the exit. If you're at a high-end establishment entertaining guests, this also leaves you the opportunity to "go to the restroom" late in the dinner and pay ahead of time so that the "mess" of payments is completely forgotten. It also means waiters don't need to run around the place with cards/readers/cash, you don't need to fumble when you left your wallet in your coat that's been hung up, don't need to squint to read receipts in the dim mood lighting in the eating area, etc etc.
  - pests 3y ago
    > In Japan, you don't pay at the table, you get up when leaving and pay at the exit. Some (well, one maybe) restaurants near me are like this but it is uncommon. Ram's Horn comes to mind.

by pests 3y ago

I've started to see more and more servers using a mobile POS with built in credit reader and receipt printer. They hand it to you for tip and signature and you don't have to hand your card to anyone.

WirelessGigabit 3y ago

But now they get to see how much you're tipping them! Like they literally have to wait while you punch it in, increasing the social pressure to make up for a broken system. I don't go to restaurants anymore. Too much pressure.

DiggyJohnson 3y ago
Respectfully, this seems like social anxiety or hyperbole. You don't go to restaurants because of the stress of the cultural norm of tipping? Seems more accurate to say you don't like eating out in general or because of the price of eating out once you factor in a tip...

tlogan 3y ago

Definetly not a better experience for all consumers. Or waiter. I do know that some restaurant owners are removing these things. They do not want to look like Olive Garden :) But it really depends on a restaurant: is it high end, type of food / drinks, it is a date place, etc. Majority of restaurant is all about experience and event payment system should match that experience.

sigwinch28 3y ago
> Majority of restaurant is all about experience and event payment system should match that experience. I'm in the UK. I go to many high-end restaurants, cocktail bars, etc. Portable card terminals are essentially universal in these places. The fact it's the same everywhere is a feature, not a bug. It's quick. Your card never leaves your sight. No pen is required. Payments up to £100 can be done using contactless on a physical card. Even higher amounts with smartphones/smart watches. Tipping is often integrated into the terminal where tipping is common. It's rare to have to put the card into the terminal. I don't think it detracts from the experience. On the contrary, I think it streamlines the bit between being finished and wanting to leave: "Please can I have the bill and a card machine, please".
- nerdawson 3y ago
  I’d be annoyed if I ended up in a restaurant that didn’t have a card machine. They’re almost universal at this point to the extent that not to have one would be unusual.
  - pests 3y ago
    > almost universal at this point Where you live maybe.
kalleboo 3y ago
I've lived in Japan for so long now that paying at restaurants in other countries where it's done at the table seems so awkward. In Japan, you don't pay at the table, you get up when leaving and pay at the exit. If you're at a high-end establishment entertaining guests, this also leaves you the opportunity to "go to the restroom" late in the dinner and pay ahead of time so that the "mess" of payments is completely forgotten. It also means waiters don't need to run around the place with cards/readers/cash, you don't need to fumble when you left your wallet in your coat that's been hung up, don't need to squint to read receipts in the dim mood lighting in the eating area, etc etc.
- pests 3y ago
  > In Japan, you don't pay at the table, you get up when leaving and pay at the exit. Some (well, one maybe) restaurants near me are like this but it is uncommon. Ram's Horn comes to mind.