[avhception]

For many local places here, the only way to get the menu online is if a customer posted a photo of the menu on Google maps or something.

And 1/3 of the time, that photo is too blurry and off-angle and whatnot to even read properly.

[Gigachad]

I can’t help but think what this means is just that the menu isn’t that’s important as a marketing tool. If having an up to date website and menu resulted in a noticeable boost in business, every restaurant would have it.

Average person either finds the place through google maps or a TikTok video, checks a few photos of the food or venue, then goes. Doesn’t matter what the exact menu is because there are plenty of options and something will be appealing.

[ruszki]

Or it’s good for customers and bad for restaurants. There are such things, and menu can be easily one. Especially tourist focused restaurants infested with such tactics, and you can avoid most of them just looking on their menu.

[avhception]

Maybe that is the case for some places, but this is rather rural Germany. Not sure when I've last seen a tourist here.

[datsci_est_2015]

Yeah that context matters significantly. What’s the turnover rate for restaurants in your area? What’s the variance in menu? “Success” in my neck of the woods is staying open more than 2 years, and menu availability plays a significant role.

[avhception]

We usually order by phone, then drive by and pick up the food. Can't do that w/o a menu. The solution is usually to take a printed menu with you when you're there. But that's a chicken-and-egg problem!

[soco]

Is that a "restaurant" then? Your use case means a kitchen which indeed needs a menu. But dining is something else, so we cannot compare.

[avhception]

Many of them offer that option, so there is a grey zone. But you're right - should have been more clear about that.

[kelvinjps10]

I think it's important for customers and they usuallly post the menu in google maps thing, basically the customers are doing the labor of the business owner and the business owner as he still gets the results he doesn't do it

[cxr]

You are moving the goalposts, subtly.

The conversational context did not involve anyone making any claims about the viability of businesses operating sans info. You can check—nowhere does the person who you're responding to (or any of the ancestor comments in this thread) write in their comment that companies are losing business because of the lack of up-to-date information, whether on their own site on through Google Maps.

The context is people, very reasonably, making a plea that that info be published on the open web.