Are Robot Waiters the Future?
2023-04-13
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1You may have already seen them in some restaurants around the world: robots.
2They are about the size of a child.
3They can welcome people and lead them to their tables.
4They can deliver food and drinks and bring dirty dishes back to the kitchen.
5Some have cat-like faces and even make noises when you scratch their heads.
6But are robot waiters the future?
7It is a question the restaurant industry is trying to answer.
8Many people think robot waiters are the answer to worker shortages.
9Sales of robots have been growing in recent years.
10There are tens of thousands of them now moving through eating places worldwide.
11"There's no doubt in my mind that this is where the world is going," said Dennis Reynolds, head of the Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston.
12The school's restaurant began using a robot in December.
13Reynolds said it has eased the workload for humans and improved service.
14But others say robot waiters still have a long way to go before they can replace humans.
15They cannot take orders.
16And they cannot walk up steps to different areas of a restaurant.
17"Restaurants are pretty chaotic places, so it's very hard to insert automation in a way that is really productive," said Craig Le Clair from the advising company Forrester.
18Still, the use of robots is growing.
19California-based Bear Robotics introduced its Servi robot in 2021.
20The company expects to have 10,000 deployed by the end of this year in 44 U.S. states and overseas.
21In China, Shenzen-based Pudu Robotics, which was founded in 2016, has deployed more than 56,000 robots worldwide.
22"Every restaurant chain is looking toward as much automation as possible," said Phil Zheng of Richtech Robotics, a maker of robot servers based in Austin, Texas.
23"People are going to see these everywhere in the next year or two."
24In Madison Heights, Michigan, Li Zhai was having trouble finding workers for his restaurant Noodle Topia in the summer of 2021.
25So, he bought a robot from Pudu Robotics.
26The robot was so successful he added two more; now, one robot leads diners to their seats while another delivers food to tables.
27And his employees load dirty dishes onto a third robot to bring them back to the kitchen.
28Zhai said he now needs three people to do the same work that five or six people used to do. And they save him money.
29A robot costs around $15,000, he said, but a person costs him $5,000 to $6,000 per month.
30Zhai noted that the robots give his human servers more time to spend with diners, which increases tips.
31Tips are extra money given to food servers to reward them for their service.
32And diners often post videos of the robots on social media that lead to more visits.
33"Besides saving labor, the robots generate business," he said.
34Betzy Giron Reynosa at The Sushi Factory in West Melbourne, Florida said working with robots could be problematic.
35"You can't really tell it to move or anything," she said.
36She has also had diners who do not want to interact with it.
37But the robot is helpful, she said.
38It saves her trips to the kitchen and gives her more time with diners.
39LeClair of Forrester said worker shortages have greatly increased the use of robot servers at restaurants.
40In the U.S., the restaurant industry employed 15 million people at the end of last year.
41But that was 400,000 fewer than before the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Restaurant Association said.
42In a recent opinion study, 62 percent of restaurant operators told the association they do not have enough employees to meet their needs.
43The use of technology, like QR codes, to order food also prepared people to accept robots.
44Karthik Namasivayam of Michigan State University's Broad College of Business said, "Once an operator begins to understand and work with one technology, other technologies...will be much more readily accepted."
45Namasivayam said that public acceptance of robot servers is very high in Asia.
46For example, he said Pizza Hut has robot servers in 1,000 restaurants in China.
47The U.S. was slower to use robot servers, but more restaurants are now testing them.
48Chick-fil-A is trying them at several restaurants around the country.
49The company said the robots have given human employees more time to serve and welcome guests.
50But not all restaurants have had success with robots.
51Chili's introduced a robot server in 2020.
52The restaurant company expanded the test to 61 U.S. restaurants before suddenly halting last August.
53Chili's found that the robot moved too slowly and got in the way of human servers.
54And 58 percent of guests surveyed said robots did not improve their overall experience.
55Haidilao in China began using robots a year ago to take food to diners' tables.
56But managers at several restaurants said the robots have not proved as dependable or cost-effective as human servers.
57Wang Long, the manager of a Haidilao restaurant in Beijing, said his two robots have both broken down.
58"We only used them now and then," Wang said, "...the machine can never replace humans."
59I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Faith Pirlo.
1You may have already seen them in some restaurants around the world: robots. 2They are about the size of a child. They can welcome people and lead them to their tables. They can deliver food and drinks and bring dirty dishes back to the kitchen. Some have cat-like faces and even make noises when you scratch their heads. 3But are robot waiters the future? It is a question the restaurant industry is trying to answer. 4Many people think robot waiters are the answer to worker shortages. Sales of robots have been growing in recent years. There are tens of thousands of them now moving through eating places worldwide. 5"There's no doubt in my mind that this is where the world is going," said Dennis Reynolds, head of the Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston. The school's restaurant began using a robot in December. Reynolds said it has eased the workload for humans and improved service. 6But others say robot waiters still have a long way to go before they can replace humans. They cannot take orders. And they cannot walk up steps to different areas of a restaurant. 7"Restaurants are pretty chaotic places, so it's very hard to insert automation in a way that is really productive," said Craig Le Clair from the advising company Forrester. 8Still, the use of robots is growing. 9California-based Bear Robotics introduced its Servi robot in 2021. The company expects to have 10,000 deployed by the end of this year in 44 U.S. states and overseas. In China, Shenzen-based Pudu Robotics, which was founded in 2016, has deployed more than 56,000 robots worldwide. 10"Every restaurant chain is looking toward as much automation as possible," said Phil Zheng of Richtech Robotics, a maker of robot servers based in Austin, Texas. "People are going to see these everywhere in the next year or two." 11In Madison Heights, Michigan, Li Zhai was having trouble finding workers for his restaurant Noodle Topia in the summer of 2021. So, he bought a robot from Pudu Robotics. The robot was so successful he added two more; now, one robot leads diners to their seats while another delivers food to tables. And his employees load dirty dishes onto a third robot to bring them back to the kitchen. 12Zhai said he now needs three people to do the same work that five or six people used to do. And they save him money. A robot costs around $15,000, he said, but a person costs him $5,000 to $6,000 per month. 13Zhai noted that the robots give his human servers more time to spend with diners, which increases tips. Tips are extra money given to food servers to reward them for their service. And diners often post videos of the robots on social media that lead to more visits. "Besides saving labor, the robots generate business," he said. 14Betzy Giron Reynosa at The Sushi Factory in West Melbourne, Florida said working with robots could be problematic. "You can't really tell it to move or anything," she said. She has also had diners who do not want to interact with it. But the robot is helpful, she said. It saves her trips to the kitchen and gives her more time with diners. 15LeClair of Forrester said worker shortages have greatly increased the use of robot servers at restaurants. 16In the U.S., the restaurant industry employed 15 million people at the end of last year. But that was 400,000 fewer than before the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Restaurant Association said. In a recent opinion study, 62 percent of restaurant operators told the association they do not have enough employees to meet their needs. 17The use of technology, like QR codes, to order food also prepared people to accept robots. Karthik Namasivayam of Michigan State University's Broad College of Business said, "Once an operator begins to understand and work with one technology, other technologies...will be much more readily accepted." 18Namasivayam said that public acceptance of robot servers is very high in Asia. For example, he said Pizza Hut has robot servers in 1,000 restaurants in China. 19The U.S. was slower to use robot servers, but more restaurants are now testing them. Chick-fil-A is trying them at several restaurants around the country. The company said the robots have given human employees more time to serve and welcome guests. 20But not all restaurants have had success with robots. 21Chili's introduced a robot server in 2020. The restaurant company expanded the test to 61 U.S. restaurants before suddenly halting last August. Chili's found that the robot moved too slowly and got in the way of human servers. And 58 percent of guests surveyed said robots did not improve their overall experience. 22Haidilao in China began using robots a year ago to take food to diners' tables. But managers at several restaurants said the robots have not proved as dependable or cost-effective as human servers. 23Wang Long, the manager of a Haidilao restaurant in Beijing, said his two robots have both broken down. "We only used them now and then," Wang said, "...the machine can never replace humans." 24I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Faith Pirlo. 25Dee-Ann Durbin reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English. 26___________________________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28dish-n. a flat container for holding and serving food 29doubt -n. a feeling of being unsure or of disbelief 30chaotic -adj. in complete disorder 31automation -n. the use of machines rather than people 32diner -n. a person who eats at a restaurant 33QR code -n. a square picture that is read by a computer and which provide information about a product or process 34guest -n. a person who goes to a restaurant or hotel and uses its services 35___________________________________________________________________ 36We want to hear from you. What do you think about robots replacing human servers? Tell us in the comments. 37Here is how our comment system works: 38Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.