London bar workers go on strike because they’ve had enough of QR code payments

Once thought of as an ingenious and efficient way to get your pint, bar workers are walking out as QR codes have ‘ruined their connection to customers’

Staff members at board game bar Draughts in Waterloo, London, will walk out every Saturday this month to push for ‘more social interaction with customers’.

The implementation of QR codes across the hospitality industry – particularly after Covid – means customers are ordering through their phone and paying immediately.

This means the only real interaction workers get is when they deliver food and drinks and clearing tables, ruining the ‘fun part of the shift’.

Brune Levi-Hamza, who works at Draughts, told Metro: ‘This is not just some random pub job. We are passionate about board games and hospitality and we want to be able to recommend games and teach customers the rules.

‘But QR codes take away all that social interaction. I personally feel I don’t have as strong a connection with my tables because of them.’

And it is not just being able to chat more with tables. Workers are also losing out on crucial tip money, as well as a significant reduction in hours, meaning their take-home is dipping dramatically.

‘With QR codes, customers are paying before they have even received any service – so of course they want to take off the service charge when they click pay,’ Brune, 25, said.

‘But tips are so important for hospitality workers. We raised this concern before they even implemented them but we feel they ignored us.’

Metro has contacted Draughts for comment.

There has also been a growing consensus among customers that QR codes and app payments are not all they are cracked up to me.

Originally hailed before Covid by the Wetherspoons app, digital is now being seen as tedious, and a way for venues to sneak in extra charges.

Skehan’s pub in Nunhead, south east London, voted as London’s best pub in 2023, has insisted all orders under £10 must be paid in cash despite physical tender becoming less and less common.

Yet other workers are running full steam ahead with little customer interaction. In Bristol, Ben Cheshire who runs The Coronation pub charges customers 20% more if they order at the bar.

But workers at Draughts insist there are some people who ‘are still passionate about hospitality’.

Brune said: ‘We are in an industry of high staff turnover so not everyone takes our careers seriously. But we want to feel respected as passionate workers. I like making sure people are having a good time.’

Petros Elia, General Secretary of UVW Union said: ‘These workers are showing incredible determination.

‘Hospitality bosses think they can get away with zero-hours contracts, unsafe conditions, and cutting pay through apps — but Draughts staff are proving them wrong.

‘If management keeps dodging negotiations, our members will only escalate.

‘This fight is bigger than one bar: It’s part of a growing movement of hospitality workers who refuse to accept poverty wages and precarity.’

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