Fast Food Robots And The Future Of Restaurant Workers

- Matthew Flynn

Many of us have already grown accustomed to seeing self-serve kiosks at fast food restaurants; placing orders on a screen with little to no human interaction. But what about buying lunch from a full-fledged robot, or seeing C-3PO in the back of your local McDonald’s flipping burgers? In restaurants like Creator in San Francisco, this is already a reality.

There is undoubtedly an appeal to the efficiency and convenience of getting your burgers from a robot— Creator sold out tickets for its first two months before opening its doors— but what does it mean for the future of fast food? Once the novelty has worn off, are Americans really ready to forego the casual small talk and friendly advice offered from human interaction for the sake of a quicker, cheaper burger? And will the role of the fast food worker be eliminated completely?

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The truth is, many fast food robots will simply be used to take over menial, repetitive, and dangerous tasks, thus freeing up human employees to focus on customer experience rather than being hidden in the back getting splashed with grease from the fryers. In restaurants where kiosks are used for ordering, humans are readily on hand to help customers with potential glitches and to guide new users through the ordering process.

One such location is Shake Shack in New York City’s East Village. The fast food spot only accepts cards, and customers order and pay at kiosks or through their smartphones. However, human employees, known as “hospitality champs,” are available to help guide new customers through the process.