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Comment by canpan | Hacker News Reader

I went to a chain Family Restaurant recently here in Japan. The food is brought by a robot for a while now. Recently you get your seat selected at a touchscreen. You can pay at your table's tablet using PayPay. There is still some waiter staff, but it being reduced to the past. The only part that did not change much yet is the kitchen.

I said to myself to stop going, if there is no human staff left. On the other hand, small shops with good atmosphere are thriving.

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Given waiters are not tipped here, I actually quite enjoy the quietness/quickness/streamlined atmosphere of a Jonathan's or Gust that has all that automation. I would not want the kitchen staff to be replaced by robots though, food prep should probably always been overseen by humans. But in general, I like not having to interact with people sometimes.

You are probably talking about Cafe Restaurant Gusto (ガスト). A robot bringing me the food improves my experience as I don't have to wait as long, and I can leave whenever I want, just get up and pay, it's more efficient and provides a better experience.

Gusto, Saizeriya, Jonathan's... Lots of them are at least partly robot-staffed these days. It is a bit inconvenient for me to have to remove the plates from the robot, which usually stops at an awkward location relative to my seat, but that's really nitpicking on my part. Also, they play music and talk, which can get annoyingly loud at times.

a lot of the yakiniku chains i've been to are also staffed at least in part by robots bringing the next set of plates.

> I said to myself to stop going, if there is no human staff left.

Who do you trust more - the robots or the human staff? And I'm asking about America, or maybe, in Japan as foreigner?

This is a complicated issue but it's in no way insignificant. A lot depends on the culture and current political environment - none of these is something that you or any common man can influence.

The bigger question is, if Japan can use plenty of robots to increase productivity while keeping the unemployment rate near the minimum achievable, what's there to argue about? There will be minor inconveniences but from an economic standpoint, there isn't more one could ask for.

> Who do you trust more - the robots or the human staff? And I'm asking about America, or maybe, in Japan as foreigner?

What do you mean with "trust"? Write down the right order? Or not spit in your food?

Both, mistakes or personal/ethnic/political dislike - not uncommon in these polarized times of "anything goes if you aren't caught".

That's IMHO not a concern at all in Japan. Being polite and accommodating to customers is held paramount.

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