Robots and technology have long been suggested as replacements to workers in food service, but an owner of an East Valley restaurant said he’s added a robot and other new technology to his eatery in the last few months that has not eliminated any human jobs and has let his employees to earn more.
The addition of a robot server has allowed Pork on a Fork, a local BBQ restaurant with a pair of Valley locations, to serve more customers in a day and has allowed for employees to have better interactions with guests, leading to more tips, said Wes Hansen, the co-founder of Pork on a Fork.
The robot, which is about four feet tall and weighs around 120 pounds, has eight trays on its sides for plates of food. The kitchen places them on the robot and it delivers it to the tables.
“It enhances the experience all around and just takes away the menial task of running food,” Hansen said.
Hansen said running food to tables was taking up so much of his employees’ time, that they weren’t always able to create the experience he wanted for his customers. Now the robot has freed them up to better serve diners. He said in the two months since the robot was introduced, tips have been up.
“Employees were on board once they realized they would have to do less work and they would get more tips,” Hansen said. “BBQ is a people food. It naturally leads to a lot more in-depth customer interaction.”
A bit of a gimmick
The robot is also bringing in more customers because people just want to see it.
“I have to bring my kids back here to see this,” is something Hansen said he’s heard a lot of from customers since introducing the robot to his restaurant at 1972 N. Alma School Road in Chandler two months ago. Pork on a Fork's other Valley location is in Phoenix.
The idea for the in-restaurant robot came to Hansen and his co-owner Justin Erickson after attending a Chandler Chamber of Commerce event and meeting the team of Pringle Robotics, which has a shop in Chandler.
Pringle does not make the robots but is the local team that sells and leases the machines. Pringle also helps with training and technical issues, which Hansen said is helpful since they are located just down the street from the Pork on the Fork restaurant.
After a 30-day trial, Hansen said he and his team were sold and decided to lease the robot for five years. A Pudu Robotics BellaBot delivery robot like the one Pork on a Fork uses can cost $15,000. Hansen said he is leasing his so if the company decide to upgrade in the future, it can get the most recent technology.
Pork on the Fork is paying $700 a month for its robot, which Hansen said equals about $4.80 an hour.
Pork on a Fork adds new payment system
Besides the robot, Pork on a Fork has also instituted a new ordering and payment system, where customers scan a QR code, place all their orders on their smart phones and then pay in the same method.
Taking the payment process away from servers also clears up time and allows for customers to eat at their own pace, Hansen said, which means the restaurant has the ability to serve more people each day.
“Time is precious. We can turn more tables with this technology,” Hansen said.
PopStroke, a minigolf and restaurant concept that opened its first Valley location in Glendale last week, uses QR code ordering technology that it uses and sells to other restaurants. PopStroke co-owner Greg Bartoli told the Business Journal that the technology will be used at almost all casual dining experiences in the next five years.
“It’s the way of the future,” Bartoli said. “It’s all about enhancing the experience. The friction time and waiting for your food goes down considerably.”
An entertainment concept like PopStroke can attract a lot of groups, so by letting everyone in the group place their own order through the app and pay for just what they got can save a lot of time and get rid of some awkwardness, Bartoli said.
