Why Restaurant Automation Is on the Menu
Just had breakfast in what could be considered a dive. One cook, one waitress and a busboy. No tables, just 15 seats at a counter. The building was shabby, but the interior neat and clean.
Someone had left a copy of today's Wall Street Journal where I read this article while waiting for my hash and eggs
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-restaurant-automation-is-on-the-menu-1458857730
As I read it I reflected on my excellent breakfast, and fast friendly service. Like so many things that seem to be going away, is this morning's experience next?
Are we turning into zombies who would rather interact with a touchscreen than a real person? This cant be good for society.
Here is the article;
Consumer preferences, reduced technology costs and government policies that increase labor costs are driving a trend toward automation in the restaurant business. If you make something more convenient and less expensive, it tends to catch on.
As recently as the 1960s, gas-station employees would rush to fill your car’s tank, wash the windows, check the oil and put air in the tires. Telephone operators made your long-distance calls and bank tellers cashed your checks. Those jobs now are either gone or greatly diminished.
Today, we reduce jobs whenever we shop on Amazon instead of our local retail outlet, use an Uber app rather than calling a cab dispatcher, order a pizza online, use an airport kiosk to print boarding passes, or scan groceries. Each of these changes in behavior has increased convenience and reduced labor costs—and competitive businesses pass the savings to their customers.
In the restaurant business, the increasing impact of technology doesn’t mean that a robot will soon roll up to your table and say, “Hi, I’m Trudi4783. I’ll be your automated server today.” But technology can replace certain functions. Touch screens are already transforming the way food is ordered in many restaurants.
In late 2013, Chili’s and Applebee’s announced that they were installing more than 100,000 tableside tablets at their restaurants across the country, allowing customers to order and pay their bill without ever talking to a waiter. The companies were soon followed by Buffalo Wild Wings, Panera Bread, Olive Garden and dozens of others. This means fewer servers covering more tables. Quick-service restaurant chains are also testing touch-screen ordering.
But technology at the counter poses challenges. Some guests find it impersonal or confusing. Customer service is still very important and, for now, having access to a person is important to assure smooth experiences for everyone. Increased automation also makes it more difficult to build a company culture. There are maintenance costs, and the business has to hire IT professionals to service the technology. The technology can malfunction, spoiling a patron’s visit.
So why the increased use of technology? The major reason is consumer preference. Research shows that many appreciate the speed, order accuracy, and convenience of touch screens. This is particularly so among millennials who already do so much on smartphones and tablets. I’ve watched people—young and old—waiting in line to use the touch screens while employees stand idle at the counter.
The other reason is costs. While the technology is becoming much cheaper, government mandates have been making labor much more expensive.
In 2015, 14 cities and states approved $15 minimum wages—double the current federal minimum. Additionally, four states, 20 cities and one county now have mandatory paid-sick-leave laws generally requiring a paid week of time off each year per covered employee. And then there’s the Affordable Care Act, which further raises employer costs.
Dramatic increases in labor costs have a significant effect on the restaurant industry, where profit margins are pennies on the dollar and labor makes up about a third of total expenses. As a result, restaurants are looking to reduce costs while maintaining service and food quality.
Highly automated models have limited applicability for restaurants with more complex menus. For example, at CKE Restaurants, the company I lead, our Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s employees make biscuits from scratch. They bread chicken tenders by hand, prepare complex burger orders, hand-scoop the ice cream for milkshakes, and the restaurants offer table service. None of these tasks can be effectively automated, and we wouldn’t want them to be.
But a new restaurant chain called Eatsa has almost completely automated food service, from ordering to handoff (back-of-the-house employees to prepare the food). It’s not really a new idea—Eatsa is a digital upgrade of the automat restaurants that had a long run of popularity in many U.S. cities beginning about a century ago. Based on my visit to the Eatsa restaurant in San Francisco—there is another in Los Angeles—it has a modern and clean feel, and a strong millennial customer base that is responding well to the restaurant with the slogan “Better, Faster Food.”
It isn’t a coincidence that this concept arose in San Francisco, which for years has had one of the country’s highest minimum wages and some of the nation’s most business-burdening labor regulations. The result: Since the recession ended, median family income in San Francisco has increased to about $78,000 from $70,000, but the poverty rate increased to 13.3% from 11.5%. So some in San Francisco are making more money, but more people are living in poverty. Why?
Part of the problem is that those with technical skills make good livings, while those who don’t have those skills are being priced out of entry-level jobs.
The low-labor Eatsa concept may be a harbinger of the future. If consumers prefer it, or if government-mandated labor-cost increases drive prices too high, the traditional full-service restaurant model, like those old gas stations with the employees swarming over your car, could well become a thing of the past.
Mr. Puzder is the chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants.
= new reply since forum marked as read
at Newark Liberty International Airport. 
I actually like people. I always leave a good tip too! 
it's coming.
don't kid yourself.
only it won't be anywhere near as good.
A club sandwich don't have no ham.
No time, no where.
A 'CLASSIC' triple decker has three slices of toasted white bread spread with mayo, lettuce, tomato slices, bacon, and sliced chicken (or turkey).
It is sliced corner-to-corner and kept upright with toothpicks with frilly cellophane frizzies on the end.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/classic-club-sandwich-recipe.html#!
It should be served with fries or Lays potato chips.
I also live in a small town (1800) and we have a local diner where the food sux, but I guess a lot of folks like it because they stay in business.
We do have some other locally owned restaurants that are quite good.