Hot pot restaurant introduces two robot waitresses. (Photo/Guangzhou Daily)

Restaurant with robot waitresses closed. (Photo/Guangzhou Daily) 

Robot waitresses at restaurants used to be a somewhat common gimmick in Guangzhou. Many customers came to the restaurants more for the experience of being served by a robot than for the food. But now, of the six restaurants in Guangzhou using robot waitresses, three are experiencing issues with their robot employees.

The very first restaurant in Guangzhou that used a robot waitress has now closed. A hot pot restaurant that once spent 140,000 yuan on two robot waitresses has also closed, while another restaurant actually fired its robot waitress.

Instead of spreading throughout Guangzhou, how and why have robot waitresses become an obstacle for restaurants?

Industry experts explain that although robot waitresses present an excellent marketing opportunity, robots can only replace low-level labor. Compared with human beings, robot waitresses are overly simplistic — not yet able to serve customers satisfactorily since all they can do is follow simple instructions without feelings.

Moreover, using a robot waitress costs much more than employing a human waitress. For example, each robot waitress costs 65,000 yuan with an additional 1,000 yuan maintenance fee and a 1,080 yuan electricity fee. Those numbers far exceed the average salary of a human waitress — only 46,800 yuan a year. It takes at least five years for most restaurants to cover the cost of a robot waitress.