OK … This is fine. So they don’t have a mobile friendly website. I can still negotiate through this; I’ve done it with other sites …

Nope. The menu on the site is actually impossible to scroll through on a phone.

OK … I guess this is all right. Lots of websites are getting flack for not offering a mobile friendly version. I must be one of the few people trying to access menus from my phone …

Wrong again.

Emarketer, in fact, reports the opposite. In their article, “Younger Restaurant-Goers Take Advantage of Mobile Offerings”, they state that, like everything to do with mobile, this trend is growing. Not surprisingly, this habit presents itself in the highest numbers in my generation, Millennials. Almost a third of Millennials, as well as 17% of Generation Xers and 8% of baby boomers surveyed, reported that they use their mobile phone to look at a restaurant’s menu.

The high number of Millennials checking menus on their phone really surprised me. Earl’s is a trendy restaurant; lots of people my age go there to eat. Something doesn’t add up. There must be a reason Earl’s menu can’t be accessed through my phone. Maybe this would be too expensive for all restaurants except the significantly large chains.

I’ve never needed to check their website. I’ve always known exactly what I want – it’s the fish and chips – but I’m curious so I check my local pub, the Black Bear’s website.

 

It’s so simple. So easy. A flick of my thumb and I know exactly what I can have for dinner. The most painful thing about this is that the Black Bear is usually filled with an older generation, mostly Baby Boomers. I might be the first to see this.

My point is – there is no way Earl’s and restaurants like them shouldn’t have a mobile site. I would have even settled for regular site that I could use on my phone. If my local pub can do it, a chain restaurant such as Earl’s should be able to. Sadly, this just seems like a lack of effort.

Luckily for Earl’s, I wasn’t choosing the restaurant. However, the food ended up being delicious.