Courtesy of Mish.
On August 7, I wrote about “McCashier” Your $15.00 Per Hour McDonald’s Worker Replacement.
Sure. You can make $15 an hour at McDonald’s, at least in Seattle. You just have to perform better than this machine.
Many commented along the lines of “What’s the big deal? It’s only a cashier. There are more cooking jobs that cannot be replaced.“
For example reader Chris commented …
A McDonalds worker isn’t a “cashier.” The person who works the front end doesn’t just take orders and money. The person who works up front also fills drinks for drive thru. They clean the restrooms and dining areas. They help assemble food if needed(dropping fries.) Does the machine do all those things? If it doesn’t then it isn’t really replacing anything or more cost effective then a person. There is usually 2-3 people in the back assembling food and 2 people up front taking orders, handling money, assembling trays with ordered food, preparing drinks for drive thru, etc., etc. You could get the kiosk and the stupid burger machine and still have more than enough work for those 5 people.
Really? What about robot cooks, robot greeters, and even robot waiters?
Robot Cooks, Greeters, Waiters
The Times of India reports Robots Greet, Cook and Deliver Dishes at this Restaurant in China.
It’s more teatime than Terminator — a restaurant in China is electrifying customers by using more than a dozen robots to cook and deliver food. Mechanical staff greet customers, deliver dishes to tables and even stir-fry meat and vegetables at the eatery in Kunshan, which opened last week.
“My daughter asked me to invent a robot because she doesn’t like doing housework,” the restaurant’s founder Song Yugang told AFP.
Two robots are stationed by the door to cheerfully greet customers, while four short but humanoid machines carry trays of food to the tables.
In the kitchen, two large blue robots with glowing red eyes specialize in frying, while another is dedicated to making dumplings.
Song told the local Modern Times newspaper that each robot costs around 40,000 yuan ($6,500) — roughly equal to the annual salary of a human employee.
…
