A woman in Pune alleged that a restaurant employee misused her personal information, obtained via a QR-code menu, to send her harassing messages. The incident has sparked a debate about customer data privacy and the security of digital menus used in eateries. The restaurant claims to have fired the employee in response to the complaint.
A woman from Pune has alleged that a restaurant employee misused her personal information after she visited a popular eatery on FC Road. Concerns over customer privacy and the expanding usage of QR-code menus in restaurants have been raised by the occurrence. Earlier this week, the woman, known as Rishika Dutta, posted about her encounter on Instagram. She visited the restaurant on April 28 and scanned a QR code to view the digital menu, according to her post. She allegedly got unexpected texts from an unknown number later that evening.
According to Dutta, she found out that the sender was purportedly working at the same restaurant after verifying their identification. She feared that the outlet's QR-based menu system had been utilised to obtain her phone number. Online screenshots seemed to show the man attempting to establish a connection and asking intimate questions.
Dutta requested action from the restaurant management after being disturbed by the occurrence. She said that immediately after the complaint was filed, the restaurant notified her that the employee had been fired from every location. She did, however, also assert that the management did not provide a formal apology or produce written documentation of the firing.
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In response to the allegations, the restaurant posted a public reply on social media, apologising for the incident and stating that "immediate action" had been taken. The business also emphasised how crucial client safety and privacy were, and it pledged to improve internal procedures to stop future occurrences of this kind.
Netizens React
A number of social media users criticised eateries' increasing dependence on QR-code menus, echoing worries about safety and privacy. One user asked how privacy fits into this push for digitalisation and why diners are being forced to reveal phone numbers, which are frequently connected to Aadhaar.
Another said they have stopped eating at restaurants that do not offer paper menus, calling the obsession with going digital unnecessary and intrusive.
A third user claimed she faced a similar incident at a restaurant in a Navi Mumbai mall a few years ago, alleging harassment despite filing an official complaint, and said she eventually stopped visiting the place, adding that women do not feel safe in such situations.
