I'm the same. I've been in IT in one form or another 30+ years and have actually scanned a QR code maybe as many times as you have, probably less. I watched my usually brilliant wife spend 10 minutes trying to figure out how to scan a QR code with her Android before she gave up and just typed in the URL.
The number 1 reason I don't bother is that, in my experience, they rarely work.
We've started doing nothing but QR for links and portals. People on the whole don't type in URLs, but they always have a smartphone or tablet. Designing for mobile is the only way to easily allow a room full of people to actually visit a page, and until laptops have cameras that can face backwards, there's not a lot of competition.
If you were out at all during / after Covid, restaurant menus were all QR codes on tables around me.
They are on posters all over. Commonly used for sign-ups and event entrance. It’s a mid assumption to think they are more popular in tech circles, I actually think the reverse is true.
That sounds almost impossible to me. I feel like half of everything I purchase which has a manual doesn't ship with a physical manual, but instead comes with a printed QR code to "get instructions". If it's a gadget that comes with an App, there will be a QR code linking to that app.
I know multiple bars/ restaurants which won't send waiters to your table but expect you to scan the QR code on the table and order with your phone.
Tech changes decently quickly so sometimes it is easy to just stick with what you know. Today I was standing in my driveway trying to open the garage door with my phone. After about a min of going thru random menus and whatever I said 'whatever' and just went thru the house and pushed the button. I will figure it out when I am not in a rush. Also you hand me a QR code I am going to be a little annoyed but also grateful at the same time. The annoying part is getting out the app to do it. The grateful part is not having to type something like that into the tiny interfaces we like to use for phones.
Also time to share one of my favorite shortcuts I use all the time. ctrl enter while in the title bar will add https://www. and the .com bit on the end of any string. Works in firefox and chrome.
I’m sitting here eating a chicken katsu curry in London and each seat at the bar has a QR code to scan and see the menu.
For the past 3 years a lot of restaurants switched to QR based menus for obvious reasons. So I’d wager to say that anyone that went out to eat in the last 3 years has interacted with at least a handful of QR scans :)
I’ve also seen hotels adopt “scan this code to get our WI-FI details”. Which is a pretty seamless experience and great
In the UK during lockdown they became quite common as a way of ordering food to your table in a restaurant or pub. I think that's the only time I use them though.
Those numbers have to be very low now that we are post 2020.
I am an it professional.
I've used qr codes maybe... 6 times, ever?
With probably 50% success rate before I give up.
I know for a fact that literally nobody else in my in law family of middle class Canadians has ever used a single one.
Anecdata of course, but if we're sharing assumptions... :-)
I'm the same. I've been in IT in one form or another 30+ years and have actually scanned a QR code maybe as many times as you have, probably less. I watched my usually brilliant wife spend 10 minutes trying to figure out how to scan a QR code with her Android before she gave up and just typed in the URL.
The number 1 reason I don't bother is that, in my experience, they rarely work.
We've started doing nothing but QR for links and portals. People on the whole don't type in URLs, but they always have a smartphone or tablet. Designing for mobile is the only way to easily allow a room full of people to actually visit a page, and until laptops have cameras that can face backwards, there's not a lot of competition.
If you were out at all during / after Covid, restaurant menus were all QR codes on tables around me.
They are on posters all over. Commonly used for sign-ups and event entrance. It’s a mid assumption to think they are more popular in tech circles, I actually think the reverse is true.
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That sounds almost impossible to me. I feel like half of everything I purchase which has a manual doesn't ship with a physical manual, but instead comes with a printed QR code to "get instructions". If it's a gadget that comes with an App, there will be a QR code linking to that app. I know multiple bars/ restaurants which won't send waiters to your table but expect you to scan the QR code on the table and order with your phone.
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Tech changes decently quickly so sometimes it is easy to just stick with what you know. Today I was standing in my driveway trying to open the garage door with my phone. After about a min of going thru random menus and whatever I said 'whatever' and just went thru the house and pushed the button. I will figure it out when I am not in a rush. Also you hand me a QR code I am going to be a little annoyed but also grateful at the same time. The annoying part is getting out the app to do it. The grateful part is not having to type something like that into the tiny interfaces we like to use for phones.
Also time to share one of my favorite shortcuts I use all the time. ctrl enter while in the title bar will add https://www. and the .com bit on the end of any string. Works in firefox and chrome.
On iPhones you swipe right from the Lock Screen. Android has a shortcut to double tap the power button.
I don’t know if I ever go searching for an app to open a QR code.
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Really? I've been in the tech world for over a decade but think I've personally scanned only a single QR code in the wild.
For people outside our bubble they basically don't exist, though I'll admit this is probably quite location dependant.
I’m sitting here eating a chicken katsu curry in London and each seat at the bar has a QR code to scan and see the menu.
For the past 3 years a lot of restaurants switched to QR based menus for obvious reasons. So I’d wager to say that anyone that went out to eat in the last 3 years has interacted with at least a handful of QR scans :)
I’ve also seen hotels adopt “scan this code to get our WI-FI details”. Which is a pretty seamless experience and great
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In the UK during lockdown they became quite common as a way of ordering food to your table in a restaurant or pub. I think that's the only time I use them though.
They became popular in LA during 'Rona. They're still around in a lot of places but definitely less. We like real menus.
Open camera and point here. Done.
Until you realize grandma has a spam version of camera she installed that doesn't support QR codes