[rogerclark]

These things really suck. The novelty wears off instantly. It's uncomfortable having to either stand up to get something from the robot or awkwardly reach over while sitting down. The moment when food comes out is the most likely time for customers to express positive emotion at a restaurant. You don't get to express gratitude toward human staff and the staff don't receive that positive feedback. The people working there are relegated entirely to cleanup and maintenance.

But I guess the robot companies are making money.

[dannyphantom]

I work as a server on weekends to stay sane and for....some reason, corporate had the grand idea that automated cleaning robots (it's like a roomba but a bit taller) going around would improve the guest experience.

Our floors aren't ever really filled with trash though! We're one of those 2010s-era brewpubs so it's a large, open space but these things are so awkward to navigate around and I wish so much that they would send them to the basement.

[peropero96]

> I work as a server on weekends to stay sane

Sorry for being nosy, is it about fighting loneliness? If that's the case, is it effective / something you'd recommend? I've been thinking about it for myself, and I worry that the physical exaustion, coping with nasty customers and lack of deep relationships on the job would make any benefit moot.

[dist-epoch]

> You don't get to express gratitude toward human staff

For some people, this is a feature.

https://unbelievable-facts.com/2024/10/ichiran-the-japanese-...

[LeoPanthera]

This is a really polarizing thing. I know a lot of people who value any extra opportunity to not talk to someone.

[HPsquared]

Same as robot taxis.

[heeen2]

Have you ever been to hama sushi, sushiroh or Kura sushi? These are chains where you order from a tablet and it gets delivered via belt to your seat or pick from the belt. You pay at an semiautomatic kiosk. Meeting the staff is optional

[epcoa]

Not always. They use these robots at higher end places like better hot pots joints (like Haidilao) which are full service, the robots deliver the food from the kitchen but typically it will be unloaded by wait staff. Allows wait staff to spend less time bussing food from the kitchen, and some of these restaurants can be quite large.

[ryandrake]

> But I guess the robot companies are making money.

This isn't the first time and won't be the last time the general public had to deal with things being worse, just so companies can make money. We can't have companies not making money. Good heavens!