Friendlier Restaurants

Quote of the day:
“The film that ensues is acrylically bright, and the only way to match its median sound level would be to blow up a trombone factory.”
--Anthony Lane, in his New Yorker review of Transformers.

The credit-card industry may just be getting set to make our lives easier, according to Dimitra DeFotis in the July 9 Barron’s.

How about this? When the time comes to pay your bill, instead of giving your card to the waiter, he brings a card-swiping machine to your table. You just swipe your card and maybe sign, and you’re off.

It is interesting that only half of adults would be willing to use a payment terminal at their table. I guess the other half thinks it’s more secure to give their plastic to a waiter, who goes in the back, maybe to steal the number so he can sell it.

Does anyone not know that the number one and two sources of stolen credit-card numbers are paper files and the plastic card itself?

In addition to eliminating the time it takes your waiter to carry your card to the register and come back with the form, paying at the table would be MORE secure, not less.