A Korean barbecue restaurant in Tustin, California, unveiled its new robot waiters earlier this month—now one of the first in the state to do so, according to its owner.
“[The robots] have greatly increased our customer satisfaction,” Karaaslan told The Epoch Times. “Now, guests can order and receive their food much quicker, without having to wait for a waiter to remember to stop by and ask them.”
According to Karaaslan, each robot is programmed to speak up to 50 languages and can be trained to navigate any restaurant space without running into people or other objects thanks to built-in motion sensors.
The restaurant plans to expand its robot staff in the coming months, including a robot bartender to mix specialty cocktails—then delivered by robot waiters—and even a robot hostess to waitlist and seat guests.
However, Karaaslan said the machines will in no way replace their human staff members. Instead, he said, employees that would normally deliver food to tables help in other parts of the restaurant where additional staff are needed, such as the kitchen.
“They’re not taking the place of workers … They’re here to improve customer experience so we can serve more people quickly and easily,” he said.
Each machine takes between 12,000 and 15,000 steps per day, according to analytics recorded by the robots at the restaurant.
Karaaslan and his family own two additional restaurants in Irvine and one in Kansas City, each staffed with a team of robot servers.
When The Epoch Times visited the I Can Barbecue Korean Grill on Feb. 14, one of the robots approached with a “Happy Valentine’s Day” message on its display.
Hungry guests will be greeted by Fatima, Elizabeth, and Toga at 2881 El Camino Real.
