$15,000 Robot Waiters: Is It Worth It?
You may have already seen them in restaurants. Robot waiters that can greet guests, lead them to their tables, deliver food and drinks and carry dirty dishes to the kitchen.
But are robot food servers the future? It’s a question the restaurant industry is increasingly trying to answer. Could it be that robot waiters are the solution to the industry’s labor shortages. Sales of them have been growing rapidly, with tens of thousands now gliding through dining rooms worldwide.
It cost around $15k for a robot food server, and around $800 a month to maintain. That’s $400 every two weeks, which is much less than minimum wage. Plus there are no sick days, PTO, lunch breaks and in some cases the company can avoid having to pay health benefits for a robot.
Many restaurant employees say robot waiters aren’t much more than a gimmick. There’s no way they can replace humans. They can’t take orders, and many restaurants have steps, outdoor patios and other challenges robots can’t adapt to.
I watched a server place my meal on the robot as it came out of the kitchen, The robot brought my food to the table, and the waitress came to serve it. Needless to say that made absolutely no sense. However, it reminded me of “Rosie” from the old school cartoon, The Jetsons.
Modern technology has truly taken life to another level. According to businessinsider.com Chinese restaurants started to replace their workers with robots as early as 2006.
The advantage humans have is personality, among the hardest things to duplicate in robots. The robot can’t do banter, upsell or say, ‘You’ve got to try this dessert because I had it last week and you’re gonna love it.’ In fact, they can barely hold a conversation. Great service comes with a great personality. I hope the robot waiter is not expecting a tip.
