Tommy Siegel | Bluesky

Transcript

Single panel comic

Illustration of a highway with 3 billboards for fast food chains. A bridge is visible in the background, as are power lines running along side of the service road.

Each billboard has a chain logo, with secondary text below.

Wendy’s

  • Your fifth favorite burger is now an app

McDonald’s

  • Will you give us your data for food?

Burger King

  • Guess what: No app? No food
  • NateNate60@lemmy.world
    1274·
    2 days ago

    I doubt the person who drew this comic has had the misfortune of trying to order food in China. It’s basically a literal form of what the comic is poking fun of, and it’s ubiquitous.

    In China, you can go up to the counter, but you cannot place an order. Sometimes, you cannot even read a physical menu. Not even so much as a menu on the screen. You have to scan the QR code using the Panopticon app (also known as WeChat) and then get bombarded with advertisements. Like us and get a free drink! Click here for a random coupon! Join our WeChat group! No, no, no, no. Then click through their garbage UI to find the one thing you actually want. Make sure you don’t accidentally replace your order with one of their “recommendations” that pop up! Then, try to check out. Do you want to join our WeChat group for exclusive deals? Do you want to create an account? Dismiss, dismiss, dismiss.

    Click here to pay. Only WeChat Pay is accepted. No cash, you backwards peon. Enter your mobile number here. Required to order. Ha ha, nice try, 123456789 is not your mobile number. No worries, we got it from WeChat. You’ll get 3 order confirmation texts and 2 advertisements a week for the next six months.

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      573·
      2 days ago

      Mfw the “communist” country that can do no wrong according to the tankie instances out-enshittifies the home country of enshittification and capitalism in general 🤦🏻😄

      Meanwhile, the best baseball player in the world is Japanese, the number one ranked player in the NBA is Serbian, and they’ve even been overtaken as the most obese people by the citizenship-deprived residents of American Samoa!

      If not for Handegg and money hoarding, the US would hardly be #1 at ANYTHING anymore!

    • stumu415@lemmy.zip
      32·
      1 day ago

      I’m so sorry but you are full of shit. You can definitely order on the counter, all restaurants still have physical menus. I see it all the time with the elderly. They struggle with wechat or AliPay - which are apps western countries can only dream off - hence all stores can serve you normally.

      And most shops have AliPay over wechat anyway except in 3rd and 4th line cities.

      If you use AliPay, nothing gets bounded. Not your phone number or anything. The mini app isn’t even available again until you go scan or NFC again.

      And the UI of the miniapps in general is very good and intuitive because they want you to order quickly.

      Also you don’t have to link your wechat account, nor your phone number. This is specifically forbidden by the Chinese version of the GDPR in regards to personal privacy.

      I know it is extremely popular to shit all over China because ‘China bad’. Most western that come here are amazed at the technology and convenience of shopping, travelling and ordering. My parents who speak no Chinese and are in their late seventies, happily go to any small local shop and order their meal without my help.

      You clearly want to karma farm and keep the negative western propaganda flowing, up to you but be real and do not tell such bullshit.

    • ggtdbz@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      612·
      2 days ago

      I’ve seen this in Abu Dhabi. A bit creepy but it came with inbuilt convenience like letting your party members each pay for their items or splitting into X portions (you can pay for n*X portions if you want). Sure it’s handy but just give me a paper menu for fucks sake, let me ask the staff for a recommendation