The End Of Waiters And Hotel Clerks?
Ryan Ferguson writes at FEE about the iPad ordering he's experienced in his travels:
Because of the rising minimum wage, many fast food restaurants in the US, Canada, and Europe have started using self-service ordering machines. This previously wasn't economically viable, but the higher price of labor makes the cost of the self-service systems a better option. You can also see this change with self-service ticketing machines at airports, self-service checkout at grocery stores, and in a few examples at actual restaurants.When we were in Japan one year ago, we went to a self-service sushi restaurant. Each seat has an iPad in front of it where you input your order, and then a few minutes later, small plates on a track automatically zoom out to your seat.
There have been forays into automation in fast food.
What's your preference when you go out to a nicer place? Waiter or waiter app -- on a tablet (or, probably soon, also on your own phone)?
And on a related note, Jeffrey A. Tucker writes of his "delightful" hotel stay in what he calls a "giant vending machine" -- Yotel in Times Square. It had a four-star rating and the price was only $150.
He checked in with his credit card at a kiosk -- "in record time." He notes:
There were no employees anywhere on site, which was spooky at first, but then you get used to it and wonder why every hotel doesn't do it this way.And maybe this is indeed in our future. After all, a kiosk is a great way to avoid the coming $15-per-hour minimum wage that the governor signed into law. At the end of this year, it rises to $11 and then up $2 per year thereafter. But rather than causing wages to magically increase out of magically appearing resources, it could mean a huge subsidy to low-wage robots, such as were on display in this hotel. If you need to drop your luggage off quickly, there is even a mechanical claw that will grab it and place it in a locker for you.
He first saw hotel employees at an upstairs restaurant and bar "where servers are bustling around serving expensive drinks."
Why are employees here and not downstairs? Perhaps that has something to do with the exemption in the law for tipped employees, who can be paid as little as $6.80 per hour. This is a more viable wage level in this city, where it is ridiculously expensive to do any business.This is a situation anyone with economics knowledge would predict. The human assets move where they can be employed most inexpensively, and away from areas where they are made expensive as a matter of law.
Here's Yotel's "solo cabin."
Headline: Minimum Wage Raised To $15 Per Hour: Minorities and Women Hurt Most.
Wfjag at April 25, 2018 12:11 AM
They've been doing that with sushi for years, decades. I was in Indiana last week (and not the ocean-adjacent part of Indiana); they do it, with fresh fish, in Kroger.
But if the innovation is the Ipad, we're presumably supposed to believe the fish is fresher or harvested from a pricier net (rather than just riding on a room-temperature belt until someone decides to eat it), even though the preparation is happening out of sight. I don't think the economics can defend this presumption.
But more to the point: I want to sit at the bar and have the chef look me in the eye when he passes me nigiri. I wanna watch him wash his hands & blades frequently and run from the room when he sneezes. When someone's serving me raw fish, I want him to know that his reputation and his livelihood are contingent upon my safety.
For a monthly & deeply cooked McMuffin at $2.55 or whatever? Sure, order by kiosk.
Crid at April 25, 2018 12:38 AM
I like people.
NicoleK at April 25, 2018 4:51 AM
Populist.
Crid at April 25, 2018 5:02 AM
Back before the mortgage I used to spend pricey weekends in NYC at the Intercontinental, a nice and old-timey place around the corner from the Waldorf. It was elegant, but the rooms weren't all that much larger than the Yotel rooms... A Ramada in Dayton would seem capacious in comparison.
Crid at April 25, 2018 5:33 AM
For fast food type places yeah. But for upscale dinning establishments I want a waiter/waitress that I can call over if I have a problem or need a new fork or whatever. For this type of service I am willing to pay more and tip well. Ambiance means a lot when having a leisurely meal with wine and friends.
Jay at April 25, 2018 6:07 AM
Those screens are germ magnets. You can use a stylus, but for me, I don't like ordering food from them. The older you get, the harder they are to use. I see people in their 70's struggling with technology, and I can't help but feel that as these things get ever present, it makes it harder for the elderly to function independently.
Janie4 at April 25, 2018 6:49 AM
Don't be so quick to write off those menial service jobs.
Try pumping your own gas in Oregon or New Jersey. Like New Jersey and Oregon, other state governments will rationalize mandating human servers at a higher minimum wage in restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, and hotels. It's a jobs program - using your money.
That the cost of such amenities will rise precipitously due to higher labor costs is dismissed as corporate propaganda. Greedy corporations could simply reduce their profit margins to absorb higher labor costs, right?
One problem, grocery stores run at an average profit margin of 2%, restaurants at 4%. There's just not a lot of cushion with which to absorb those higher labor costs.
Conan the Grammarian at April 25, 2018 7:15 AM
The idea that the elderly cannot adapt is nonsense. My dad got his first computer at 75 and was tracking his stocks on it within a week. Of course, he also stored his cell phone in a drawer, saying he'd charge it when he needed it.
People struggled when self-serve gas stations were new, but they adapted. Same with ATMs. People will adapt, elderly or not.
The biggest problem many elderly have with adapting is that they put off adapting for so long, resisting smaller changes throughout middle age until they were finally forced to make a major adjustment later, when the learning curve is much steeper.
Check out the phones those cellular companies targeted to the elderly are offering. They're mostly basic flip phones. If Grandma had gotten a flip phone 20 years ago when they first came out, she'd be using a smart phone by now. Instead, she put her faith in the continued existence of pay phones and eschewed modernity with a dismissive shrug at "those kids and their toys."
Conan the Grammarian at April 25, 2018 7:35 AM
The older you get, the harder they are to use. I see people in their 70's struggling with technology, and I can't help but feel that as these things get ever present, it makes it harder for the elderly to function independently. ~ Janie4 at April 25, 2018 6:49 AM
The human interfacing is not necessarily easier in places, English speaking seems to be a rarity in most fast food places near me. And in some of the ethnic specialty food places, English is basically unheard of.
Joe J at April 25, 2018 8:13 AM
Adding to what Crid said, Japan has been automating restaurant service for well over a decade. Most quick-service joints have you place your order and put your money in a vending machine at the entrance. Sushi ordering (especially the conveyor belt variety) is often automated. And, at sit-down places, you often put your party number in on a machine and wait for your number to be displayed before you sit (there is no hostess to seat you). Stay at a Love or Capsule hotel (or even a hostel) and check-in is largely automated (pay, push button, elevator opens and takes you to your floor where a light is illuminated above your assigned room).
Ferguson may have just noticed this in Japan “last year” but it’s been common since at least the early 2000’s.
Maybe it’s related to the costs of labor, but Japan also has a culture of convenience factor that’s probably playing in.
sofar at April 25, 2018 8:23 AM
I'd prefer to deal with fellow humans, with the exception of the toll both, in which traffic can be backed up for miles. I actually like E-Z Pass, but that is the exception. The only reason I used the automatic checkout at the grocery store this morning is because the express lane was closed.
In most cases, robots can blow it out their mechanical ears, as far as I'm concerned.
mpetrie98 at April 25, 2018 2:19 PM
Another possibility with Japan is that its population is actually shrinking and aging. There simply may not be enough young people to do work as sushi servers or bellhops, so automation could actually be a necessity over there.
In the US, automation is still mostly an option, IMO.
mpetrie98 at April 25, 2018 2:23 PM
I'd stay there — and I'm taking note for my next trip to New York.
One thing I'd hate to see them automate would be bartenders. Well, maybe in airport bars, where the shots are computed and everything is standardized. But in regular bars, I still want someone to open my beer, pour my wine or mix my cocktail.
Kevin at April 25, 2018 2:46 PM
"One thing I'd hate to see them automate would be bartenders." Kevin
With liquor laws: ID checks for age and bartenders being responsible if a patron does drunk driving, I don't think it will happen soon.
Joe J at April 25, 2018 4:13 PM
They're already automated. Punch in the drink desired and the computer mixes the ingredients. No bartender, no overpours, no muss, no fuss. No original drinks and no creativity either.
Conan the Grammarian at April 25, 2018 4:22 PM
"No original drinks and no creativity either."
I suggest that is overrated.
The Orange Door Entertainment System ships with an advertised 80 thousand songs. The difficulty of making a choice appears.
Automated beverage systems can produce thousands of different recipes - at least, the liquid parts. Subtlety isn't precluded.
Radwaste at April 27, 2018 3:28 AM
Yes, but the drink machine cannot as yet, respond to a whimsical request by a patron to mix up something original. Or, during down hours, experiment to create a signature drink for the bar.
Conan the Grammarian at April 27, 2018 11:38 AM
Try it this way:
The restaurant/hotel chain hires a bartender or other consultant to develop drinks, and then punches the recipe into the system - making it immediately available at all locations. They can also hire ad people to create an audio-visual launch that plays on the machine.
Ben David at April 29, 2018 7:25 AM
The End Of Waiters And Hotel Clerks?
Well, according to economists (and others), this shouldn't be a big deal. They are fond of pointing out that automation has been replacing human workers for a long time and that new jobs have been created to replace those which have been lost.
JD at April 29, 2018 12:19 PM
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