VIDEO: Look Out Seattle! Chinese Restaurant Replaces Human Waiters With Robots – Coming Soon!

http://viral.buzz ^ | december 4, 2014 | bill chandler

[lowbridge]

Robots have replaced human workers in a restaurant in China. Lu Dike, Owner of a family restaurant in the  northeast China provence of Zhejiang said he is opting to save on employee wages by foregoing traditional servers and using robots instead. Sound familiar?

Besides the savings Lu has experienced, the robots have become an enormous tourist attraction. The automated bots take orders and speak to customers with their forty phrase Mandarin Chinese vocabulary.

Each bot navigates the restaurant by sensing magnetic strips in the floor and using optical sensing systems that keeps them from running into walls or people.

[HereInTheHeartland]

That’s all fine until the robots turn on us.
They will end up attacking people who don’t finish their food.

[ScottinVA]

[Blue Collar Christian]

Will the robots switch Rs and Ls?

[Pontiac]

I can easily see a base staff of robotic waiters, supplemented by a few humans at busy times.

Not really.

Having waited tables in my youth I can say definitively that you do not want inexperienced wait staff on your floor during busy times.

It takes at least 6 months to get a green waiter(ess) up to speed. You don’t put a green waiter on the floor during your lunch or dinner rush. Two things are likely to happen if you do. The waiter will quit and/or you will have upset customers (certainly the latter and possibly the former).

Knowing what it takes to be a good waiter I am sure that robots are not yet ready to replace waiters in top notch restaurants.

Unless you are willing to eat entirely off the menu; that means no special orders, no substitutions, no refills on your water, coffee or pop, never send your steak back because it was not grilled the way you wanted then robots are not going to replace human waiters.

Any profession that depends on personal service is a long way from being in danger of being taken over by automation.

Fast food may go the way of automation but not fine dining.

[samtheman]

Restaurant staff in china is extremely low paid. This is a novelty and tourist attraction.

[WKUHilltopper]

LOL! That might replace “cow-tipping” as a sport.

[wally_bert]

People wonder why I don’t go to many dining establishments any more.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

At a McDonald’s or Applebees, I’d be just as happy entering my order on a touchscreen. At an Applebees, I’d prefer having my food served by a human being. At a McDonald’s I’d be happy with robot service.

[Malone LaVeigh]

I noticed a biological unit sweeping the floor in the background. They need to get a few Roombas.

[Pontiac]

I can only view food preparation and delivery by machine as a net plus, resulting in cleaner, more consistently prepared food. Unfortunately, we’re still a long way off.

In my opinion we have moved further away from that goal in the last 40 years.

I waited tables in a family owned restaurant in my youth 40 years ago.

The restaurant had been in the owner’s family at that time for over 80 years. My father had work in the restaurant in his youth and two of my older sisters worked there.

The two bothers that owned and operated the restaurant with their wives had operated the place since taking over from their father. They had a very stable menu and took great pride in their specialty of slow roasted beef and pork.

Chain restaurants have in large part supplanted family owned and operated restaurants. The pride ownership and discipline of the market has been replaced by franchise formulas and economies of scale.

My restaurant dining is done almost exclusively at family owned and operated establishments. I learn from word of mouth which restaurants to visit and which to avoid. I have my favorites that I visit frequently and many that I vow never to visit again.

I also have my favorite waiters and waitresses that I ask for by name when making reservations. You should always patronize good products and services to preserve that which is good in your community.

[bajabaja]

The robots have a vaguely female appearance, with what appears to be a bust and narrowed waist.

I think I will end this post right here.

Interesting article.

[HereInTheHeartland]

That’s all fine until the robots turn on us.
They will end up attacking people who don’t finish their food.

[goodnesswins]

In Seattle there was a Restaurant that did that..

[Salgak]

I give it twenty years. Robots are growing more complex and capable of far more complex activity than even a few years ago.

[Pontiac]

I suppose you may be right. Younger generations will grow up with robots and will be more accepting of robots and their limitations.

[TontoKowalski]

Thank you for your excellent post.

I've long been a fan of small family-owned restaurants, but have recently committed to an exclusive policy when eating out.

My experience is that when a family runs an eatery, the food is better, the service is better, the atmosphere is better. The slightly higher prices are just enough to keep the riffraff out.

[TangoLimaSierra]

They need to get a few Roombas.

Yeah, that would'nt be a problem with all the foot traffic.

[Salgak]

. . . I’d be more worried about when the robots start being LESS accepting of human limitations.

But I also suspect by that time, we’ll have heavily-cyborged people, and possibly even uploads of consciousness to a fully electronic format. . .

[sportutegrl]

Unless you are willing to eat entirely off the menu; that means no special orders, no substitutions, no refills on your water, coffee or pop, never send your steak back because it was not grilled the way you wanted then robots are not going to replace human waiters.

You never ordered a poboy from a Wawa before? You can customize your order much better than with a human clerk. Extra mayo, no cheese, double meat, etc.

[grey_whiskers]

Here, on a related subject:

THEY LOOK A LITTLE TOO MUCH LIKE DALEKS: Rise Of The Robot Security Guards.

Cheers!