The Doorman's Fallacy in action
Replacing human service roles with apps, QR-code menus, and self‑checkout often saves businesses money but can quietly erode the quality of the experience, argue many commenters. Using the “Doorman Fallacy” as a lens, they note that humans like waiters, concierges, and receptionists perform invisible social, safety, and problem‑solving work that simplistic digital systems rarely replicate, especially when designed mainly to shift labor onto customers. Others counter that, with good UX and competitive pressure, automation can genuinely improve convenience and cost, framing the real issue as poor design and misaligned incentives rather than technology itself.
What the “Doorman Fallacy” Is (per thread)
- Doorman = example of a role whose value is wider than the obvious task (opening a door): security, handling exceptions, information relay, social signal, first line of problem detection.
- “Doorman fallacy” = focusing only on the narrow, measurable function and deciding it can be automated, ignoring these soft, hard-to-measure benefits.
- Some argue the NYC doorman is a bad economic example (most buildings don’t have one; in practice it’s a luxury), but a useful conceptual example about invisible value.
QR Menus, Restaurant Apps, and Bill Splitting
- Many dislike QR menus: break social flow, feel “insulting,” depend on often-bad web UIs, emphasize phone use instead of presence.
- Others like them: no waiting for servers, easier individual payment, less chance of miscommunication, card never leaves hand.
- Several note the Dubai brunch story sounds like bad UX, not an inherent tech problem:
- Multiple QR cards could allow parallel scanning.
- Per-seat ordering and per-person payment is a solved problem in many POS systems and some regions.
- Cultural variation: in parts of Europe, Canada, etc., individual checks for large groups are routine; elsewhere equal splits or one-person-pay-then-settle are more common.
Parking Apps and “Imaginary Problems”
- Some see parking apps and expiry notifications as clear improvements over physical meters and tickets.
- Others argue digital meters unnecessarily mimic coin-prepay constraints to induce overpayment.
Labor Shifting to Customers
- Recurrent theme: shipping labels, self-checkout, QR ordering, forms, and flat-pack assembly transfer work from staff to customers.
- One side: this is “free labor” whose savings go to companies amid rising prices and consolidation.
- Other side: competition and low margins (e.g., groceries) mean many savings are at least partly passed on; also some customers genuinely gain time/convenience.
Self-Checkout: Convenience vs. Trust and Jobs
- Enthusiasts: faster, less waiting, more control, ability to use coupons creatively; handheld scanners and RFID systems praised.
- Critics: worse UX in many chains, weight checks and glitches, accusations of shoplifting for honest mistakes, job loss, increased surveillance, encouragement of petty theft in a low-trust spiral.
Broader Automation Concerns
- Drones/robots and staffless hotels cited as similar cases: tech handles the “easy” part, struggles with last steps and exceptions.
- Several stress that automation often ignores hospitality, empathy, and edge-case handling, which humans provide “for free” but don’t show up clearly in metrics.
- Others warn against using the fallacy as a blanket defense of every legacy job; some roles are still worth automating despite lost soft value.