Robot Waiters: What Restaurants Need To Know

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, one of the biggest issues restaurants have been facing is staffing. A labor shortage throughout the industry has led to many problems, including much longer wait times and incredibly frustrated customers.

This has led many restaurant owners to get creative and bring robot waters into the mix. Not only do these high-tech machines address labor shortages, but they also reduce human-to-human contact at a time when too many people in a small area could be a health risk. The reviews of this new technology have been mixed, but it may still be worth a closer look if your restaurant is struggling to stay fully staffed.

A robot waiter is exactly what it sounds like: a robot that takes orders and delivers food to diners at a restaurant; while these robot waiters generally do not take orders, they deliver food to customers and even take away dirty dishes. Of course, they don’t operate independently; restaurant staff is still necessary to load orders, tell the robot where to go, and put used dishes onto the robot.

Are robot waiters right for your restaurant? To decide, you’ll need to consider all the benefits and drawbacks of bringing a robot into your business.

Robots are often cost-effective solutions to a labor shortage and may even boost your profit margin. The expected range of approximately $1,000 per month to bring on a robot waiter. Compared to the cost of one or more employees to perform the same function, these robots likely represent a massive cost saving.

Automating food service through robot waiters and bussers will also increase reliability. As long as staff inputs the correct order and sends it to the right table, there should be fewer errors in getting the proper order to customers.

Robot waiter may also increase efficiency. They can often carry far larger loads in a single trip, compare to human employees. At the same time, taking on the burden of carting dishes to and from the tables frees up staff to interact more with customers.

This brings up another important benefit: better tips for employees. The reason? Employees were able to spend more time with customers and to serve more tables. This resulted in higher customer satisfaction and larger tips.

Finally, robot waiters may actually bring in business. Customers like new and interesting things, and having a robot on staff might get more people in your doors. Your clientele may also take lots of pictures and videos of the robot to post on social media - which will serve as free marketing for your business.

The decision to use robot waiters is a personal one that has to be made by each restaurant owner. While there are plenty of good reasons to join this future wave (particularly if labor shortages continue to be a problem), but this trend isn’t for everyone.