Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Skylark Holdings, best known for its Gusto family restaurant chain, has begun rolling cat-themed robot servers called BellaBots at various outlets to deliver food and drinks to waiting customers.
Early surveys find that about 80% of customers feel positive about the robots on the restaurant floor, especially as one of the key aims is to reduce human contact during the Covid pandemic.
Additionally, Skylark hopes that the BellaBots will improve service, reduce the workload of staff, and leave customers with a memorable experience, bringing them back for more.
The BellaBots–designed by Pudu Robotics of China–both to deliver food to the tables, as well as to return used dishes and glasses when the meal is completed.
The firm is also committed to moving toward other next generation solutions such as cashless payments.
The rollout to all 274 Shabuyo shabu-shabu restaurants is expected to be completed by next April. The robot’s appearance at the Gusto chain will come in more gradual stages, but should reach about 1,300 outlets by the end of next year.
Skylark operates about 3,000 restaurants across Japan.
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