Robots alleviate a staff shortage in the hospitality industry: “People need a break and rest, robots don’t”

Sea Palace, like many other restaurants, has a staff shortage. But according to owner Kaji Wut, they are doing well by supporting the technological gadget: “We partly solve the staff shortage by using the robots. They do the running for us, from the kitchen to the tables.”

The general service must also be improved by the robots. “We hope that the staff will have more time for the guests, because they spend less time walking around.”

The service is now completely used to their digital colleagues. “The advantage of working with robots is that they don’t need a break and rest like humans do. The robots can literally work all day long,” says a waiter.

Future

According to Smartrobot Solutions, which they claim to be the largest supplier in the Netherlands, four restaurants in Amsterdam are currently using the robots.

In the kitchen, Sea Palace has the biggest staff shortage, so Kaji sees a future for the robot there too: “We don’t have robots in the kitchen at the moment, but if they can come in the short term, that would be useful and a lot of problems Robots are also useful for cleaning: from vacuuming to mopping the floor.”

Guests amazed

The guests in the restaurant were amazed when they suddenly saw robots driving around. “It’s quite special. I follow the robots with my eyes all the time to see what they’re doing,” someone says. Another guest: “I think it’s interesting. A new technology and that in a restaurant.”

It is clear to Sea Palace that robots are the future. One of the guests thinks otherwise: “It just gets more impersonal. I like it because it’s new, but if this really becomes the trend, I don’t know if I’ll like it very much.”