Human And Food Serving Robot in Restaurants: Finding The Right Balance

Many people have become worried that restaurant workers will slowly lose their jobs since robots have become more and more common in the food industry, especially in fast-food chains. However, robots have many advantages that they can offer.

The key is finding the right balance so that workers can still be employed in the food industry with the help of robots to make their job easier.

Advantages and limitations of food serving robots

Advantages

Most of the advantages when it comes to food serving robots is that they are much faster compared to human workers. They also tend to be more accurate, more efficient, and more consistent in the results they give out.

Humans on the other hand can make many errors. If one of the workers is having a bad day, you will see their results become inconsistent and people may get the wrong order.

At Reeman’s, there are many different food delivery robots you can choose from that have all the advantages you are looking for including upgraded intelligence, high efficiency, and the ability to walk down narrow aisles and deliver the food to the right table every time.

Limitations

One of the major limitations when it comes to robots is that they lack emotional intelligence. They cannot relate to your clients on a personal level and give them the kind of restaurant experience that many people enjoy.

They also cannot handle complicated requests such as a person needing to have a meal fixed for an allergy.

With all technology, robots might fail from time to time. When you have fewer humans around, the robots failing can cause major issues because customers will then be stuck waiting for a long time to try and get their orders.

Human-robot collaboration in restaurants

Opportunities for collaboration

The best way to handle robots in the workforce is to allow them to collaborate with human workers rather than have them completely take over their jobs. For example, robots can handle more repetitive tasks like taking food from the kitchen and handing it off to the tables.

Some robots might also be able to refill drinks. Humans can then handle the more personal tasks like explaining the menu to customers, asking them how their day is, giving them recommendations, etc.

Best practices for collaboration

If you have decided to use robots in your food business, you need to make sure that the robots and human workers are able to clearly communicate with one another. Without proper communication, there will be an inevitable failure.

Both human workers and robots need to be able to support one another. Your current workers need to undergo intensive and thorough training when it comes to handling the robot in case there are technical glitches or other issues.

Customers can also be asked whether they prefer a human server or a robotic server. Each customer is different so some may prefer one or the other. Robots can work together with the servers to best meet the expectations of the customers.

Customer perspectives on food-serving robots

Each customer will feel differently about the food serving robots. The younger generations tend to be more familiar with technology and will be able to operate the robots easier and quicker. Older people that do not have familiarity with the technology might not feel like the robots are safe. They will also not want to take the time to learn how to operate them.

Some cultures and countries are also more accepting of robots and their need in society. All restaurant owners in the industry will need to weigh the pros and cons and determine if robots are right for their setting or not.

One of the best things any owner can do is to help customers build acceptance and trust with the robots. With the introduction of robots to restaurants, human workers should be there at the beginning to show clients how to use the system.

Make sure clear information and guidance are always offered. All robots need to be approachable and friendly rather than large and intimidating.

Clients need to see right away that the use of the robots is for collaboration and can be helpful rather than assuming that their restaurant experience is now more difficult.

Impact of human-robot collaboration on the restaurant industry

Potential benefits

As with all technology, there are some real benefits to using robots in the food industry. Your restaurant is bound to see increased efficiency and productivity since robots always deliver the same results compared to human workers that can perform very well on some days and poorly on other days.

When robots are trained well and you choose the right one for your needs, they can also improve the customer experience.

Lastly, robots bring reduced labor costs since you are no longer paying wages to servers.

Potential challenges

One of the largest challenges will be resistance to change. Some people like the dining experience that they currently have when they can sit down and talk to another person face to face. Some people might automatically not dine at restaurants just because they use robots.

People will also be concerned about job displacement as many servers will lose employment over the fact that robots are being implemented into the industry.

There is also a growing concern that robots are not ethical for humanity because they take over jobs and create inequality. Some people also believe that service robots cannot respect the privacy of customers and some will be unwilling to dine with them.

Conclusion

Even though robots can help in the service industry by providing fast and reliable results, there are always some people that will be concerned about the ethic of robots in the food industry.

As a result, you will need to be able to find the right balance between using robots and still employing real people to be servers and other positions in the restaurant. You also need to ensure you take into account the preference of your customers and workers.

About Us:
Reeman, derived from the word "reinforce" (REE) and "human" (MAN) Intends to enhance human capabilities. Let robots help humans everywhere and add infinite possibilities to life.

Details