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EU Robotics

Dutch Restaurant Will Re-Open With Robot Waiters (timesfreepress.com) 65

Posted by EditorDavid from the eating-with-automotons dept.
When Dutch restaurants open tomorrow, one will be using two shiny white-and-red robot waiters, reports the Associated Press: "Hello and welcome," the robots say — in a voice best described as pre-programmed. Their duties will include greeting customers, serving drinks and dishes and returning used glasses and crockery. It's unclear whether diners will be expected to tip.

One thing the robots will certainly do is see that social distancing rules are respected. "We will use them to make sure the five feet we need during the corona crisis sticks," Leah Hu said. "I've had negative reactions," she said, "such as saying it makes it impersonal." But it may prove just what customers crave when Dutch restaurants are allowed to reopen Monday as lockdown restrictions are further eased.

In a stab at quasi-human panache, one robot wears a chiffon scarf around its neck....

And in the southern Zeeland province, the Hus don't want to hear any complaints about the robots robbing young people of a job. They say it's hard enough anyway to find staff in a rural region without any major city close by... "We are often busy and cleaning tables and the robots give us an extra hand." It also frees up the human staff for some more personal contact. "We are not disappearing. We are still here. They will always need people in this industry," she said.
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Dutch Restaurant Will Re-Open With Robot Waiters

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  • People don't tip in eruo places any ways

    • Yes, they do.
      Servers and waitresses are generally well paid and a tip is more a small bonus than in the US maybe, so tips may be smaller.
      Even so, tipping is common where I live.
      https://www.ricksteves.com/tra... [ricksteves.com]

      • You don't tip in the Netherlands.

        • Yes, they do :-)
          I am Dutch and I always tip in restaurants and bars. Unless the service was really bad, that is. All the people I know do it too.

          • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

            by sabri ( 584428 )

            I am Dutch and I always tip in restaurants and bars.

            No you don't, at least not in the context of this discussion

            Having lived the first 35 years of my life in Kaaskopland and living in the U.S. for 10 years, I can tell you that you don't understand the difference between tipping in the U.S. and Nederland.

            In The Netherlands, table staff is paid a decent wage and does not rely on customers leaving money. You say "keep the change", and brag to your friends what a great tipper you are if you leave 10 euros on a 190 euro bill.

            In the U.S., the table staff is

            • Since TFA is about a Dutch restaurant, this is the context of the discussion. And so yes, I do tip and yes, so do other Dutch people.
              And no, it is not as much as you apparently do in the US, because in the money wise tight arsed Netherlands we have made sure that anyone that works actually gets paid a decent salary instead of being dependent on tips from strangers to make a living. Which is apparently something the US has not been able to accomplish yet.
              So under totally different situations you compare just

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by 1s44c ( 552956 )

                I lived and worked in the Netherlands. My experience is nothing like yours.

                In a mixed group a non-dutch will probably leave a >10 EUR tip, at which point a Dutch person will loudly proclaim that it's "TOO MUCH", pick up any paper money left as a tip, and put it in their own pocket. Their own pocket. They won't give it back to whoever put it on the table and will make excuses if asked. I've seen that repeatedly and it really annoys me when a dutch co-worker on a professional salary steals money I left for

          • Re: People don't tip in eruo places any ways (Score:5, Funny)

            by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Sunday May 31, 2020 @08:21PM (#60129482)

            I am Dutch and I always tip in restaurants and bars.

            Then you're not Dutch. We're famously tight with money to the point where "Going Dutch" is an expression of our tightarsery because no one wants to ever part with a cent more than they have to in this country.

            If you actually do tip people, you're likely just confusing the locals. Seriously when I'm out with foreigners and they tip, and we're not in some super touristy part of Amsterdam the waiting staff often look genuinely confused. Hell I've even had someone go to to their manager and ask how to handle the tip much to the bemusement of the American who paid for my dinner. It isn't in any way normal here in the slightest.

            Unless of course you live in Brabant, because we all know those guys are weird.

          • some of us do ... i have the impression mostly people who used to do part time horeca when they were younger and understand the shitty pay, long hours and exhausting kind of job it is :)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by longk ( 2637033 )

          I do. Granted, there is no etiquette prescribing a specific percentage. But most people will at least round up and throw in a few bucks.

      • Tipping for people may vary by location but there's no fucking way I'm ever tipping a robot anywhere ever. Makes no sense at all. That's like tipping a vending machine.

    • That's not true in the entire EU, but it is definitely true in the Netherlands.

    • That's one reason places like Las Vegas despise Europeans: they refuse to tip. Not only do these stiffs screw the wait staff, but the government taxes them on their tips whether they get any or not. Typically they have zero sympathy for the plight of the little people, "screw you, adopt our system you deplorables" is the prevailing attitude.
      • That's presumably because they've been misled by fancy brochures to believe that Las Vegas was civilized and didn't need charity in addition to the already requested money that they're parting themselves with and could have been spending it somewhere else anyway.
        • I am not aware of advertising anywhere that claims Las Vegas is "civilized."

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by sabri ( 584428 )

          That's presumably because they've been misled by fancy brochures to believe that Las Vegas was civilized

          No, it's because they expect their rules and customs to apply around the world. GDPR, anyone?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by 1s44c ( 552956 )

            Because protecting people's private data from abuse by multinationals is a bad thing?

            The US does far worse. See export control regulations, extraordinary rendition, and military adventurism for a start.

        • Yes, yes! That inflexible "screw you, I got mine" attitude you just displayed! I couldn't have described it better! The idea that one need not observe local customs while abroad because European standards are superior. Orwell goes into this bigotry extensively in his novel Burmese Days, which I recommend you read. There's lots of putting the little people in their place. You'd like it.

      • Not only do these stiffs screw the wait staff

        Yep, it's the stiffs who screw the staff for not paying some arbitrary amount above the bill, totally not the owner of the establishment who refuses to pay their staff a decent wage in the first place.

        The entire concept of standard tipping is just a symptom of a diseased society that doesn't value workers in the slightest. Pay your fucking staff properly.

        • Yes, it is the stiffs who are screwing the staff. Thanks for pointing that out. But it is nice to see some sympathy for the working class for once. Typically the far left tells them to go to hell. It's a relief there was no ugly bigotry or name-calling here.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by 1s44c ( 552956 )

        The whole concept of paid staff who are paid so little that they depend on charity from their customers is hard to understand for people who are not from the US. It should be illegal to treat employees that badly, they are not slaves.

        • You'd think that erudite, cosmopolitan Europeans would put a little effort into learning local customs and practices before coming. But no, they don't bother to and don't see why it's important. Europeans have a long history of such bigoted ignorance and disrespect for other countries, it is the foundation of imperialism. It's exactly how they treated natives that they considered inferior. George Orwell discusses it in his novel Burmese Days, I suggest you read it.

  • The colors are all wrong... but, for some reason, when I saw the photo my first thought was of Rosie from the Jetsons.

  • I wonder if they'll call them eAutomats to show how trendy they are.

    • The Japanese were light years ahead with conveyor belt sushi, almost prescient when you look at it now.

      • The Japanese were light years ahead with conveyor belt sushi

        Conveyor belt/boat sushi works because sushi is eaten cold.

        The model won't work well with hot food.

        The conveyor also works better when the restaurant is busy. The sushi restaurant near me runs the belt from 11-2 and 4-7, but during other times, you have to order from the menu.

        But mostly, I love it. You see exactly what you are getting. You can't over-order so there is no waste, and you can always grab one more plate, so you never leave hungry. Most importantly, it is really quick. You can just sit down

      • The Japanese were light years ahead with conveyor belt sushi, almost prescient when you look at it now.

        If by "light years ahead" you mean "50 years behind", then yeah I agree with you.

      • Forget the conveyor belt sushi, vending machines are the true miracle in Japan.

        You're walking along, minding your own business, and the next thing you know you can be drinking and eating something before you even knew you were hungry.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      They already are done, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]. Basically a conveyor built robot with reach throughout the restaurant, instead of sushi, small serves of lasagne or pizza or sliders a many course western meal on robot conveyor.

      Let's be honest, hacking those robot waiters mixing with customers, well, robo food fight would be a hackers idea of fun, good luck.

  • The clear message being sent is that people are gross, sick and can do nothing but hurt each other. Who needs robot overlords to separate us when we do it to ourselves?

    I will have quite a laugh the day that the power goes out and the owners can't get the robots to tell them how to run the restaurant.

    --
    Once we no longer have the intellectual upper hand, then we quite literally, by definition, cannot outwit our successors. - Robert J. Sawyer

    • The clear message being sent is that people are gross, sick and can do nothing but hurt each other.

      Well yes, this has been true for hundreds of years. When we're not spreading disease, bringing wildlife to extinction, warming the planet, or razing entire forests, we bomb the everloving shit out of each other for oil and some delusion over whose imaginary friend is the only true imaginary friend.

      People are *the worst*.

    • The clear message being sent is that people are gross, sick and can do nothing but hurt each other.

      You may not like the message, but that doesn't make it wrong.

      I will have quite a laugh the day that the power goes out and the owners can't get the robots to tell them how to run the restaurant.

      The robots have batteries. They can continue to operate during a power failure.

    • I will have quite a laugh the day that the power goes out and the owners can't get the robots to tell them how to run the restaurant.

      You have restaurants that stay open during power outages?? Where I live, pretty much all of them shut down, since it's hard to cook things with no power....

  • The server with the scarf is going to act more and more feminine, just like Gladys in Making Money.

  • Are these actually robot waiters? Or are they old, repurposed stuff that'll turn out to be black market Japanese army stock? You know, where the firmware wasn't actually really erased. So if you make a pass at the waiter, and try to slap them on the butt, you'll find yourself looking into the barrel of a gatling laser.

  • Robot customers (Score:3)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Sunday May 31, 2020 @03:39PM (#60128752)

    Will they spray battery electrolyte on my food if I am rude?

  • ...until the first customer catches a computer virus.

  • However, they havenâ(TM)t even started to operate yet and have already gotten great publicity.
    I mean, this news even made it to Slashdot!

    Erm, never mind. Forget I said it.

  • "One thing the robots will certainly do is see that social distancing rules are respected. "We will use them to make sure the five feet we need during the corona crisis sticks," Leah Hu said."

    Five (more commonly six) feet is a minimum distance for people wearing masks. Not for diners. They will have their mouths open, they will be chewing, they will be emitting fluid droplets that can be carried around literally the entire restaurant by the ventilation system.

    Anyone who thinks that five feet apart is suffic

    • Restaurants in the Netherlands will only open for outdoor seating. The evidence so far is that the risk for Covid-19 transmission is relatively low outdoors.

      Though the government in the Netherlands is utterly misguided about controlling transmission risk. They still follow the WHO with "face masks don't help for the general public" and the media are going along. Supermarket cashiers wear gloves but no masks. Hairdressers have reopened but PPE is optional.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by longk ( 2637033 )

        Cashiers don't have masks, but in most stores they did get a plexiglass wall in front of their face.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by longk ( 2637033 )

      The WHO recommends 1m, Europe 1.5m and the US 1.8m.

      If you believe 1.8m/6ft to be for maak wearers, where did the other two numbers come from?

      Trust the experts they say. Then they give you experts which can't get their story straight.

  • In case you get sick, a medical robot will come to your help. They are easy to recognize as they will greet you in this manner: ""Please state the nature of the medical emergency"".

  • That'll be a fucking improvement. Seriously.

  • As much as I wish for a robot with near-human dexterity, this isn't it. I don't even have to look to know these robots aren't capable of actually bussing a table. That would require knowing which items can and should be stacked, the nature of the detritus inside the dishes, and the difference between a round puddle of water and a shallow plate. Human cognition is an amazing thing.

    Anyway, my point is that we shouldn't call these things waiters until they can perform all the tasks a waiter can perform. A hum

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 1s44c ( 552956 )

      Did you ever actually eat what FEBO sell as a hamburger? Their meat has the texture of ground bone.

      It's unbelievably bad.

  • I am very surprised that nobody has yet mentioned the obvious solution to today's problems ...

    Surrogates (2009) [wikipedia.org]

  • Sounds more like a Chinese restaurant that just happens to operate in Holland.

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