ON SHIFT

On Shift By Mark Schettler

Over the past 18 months—is perhaps the understatement of that time— the only constant in restaurants and bars has been change. Some are for good like wage increases, and the not so good like—basically everything COVID related.

One that was already here and is now set to accelerate is automation. As with any of the changes before us, we need to consider the implications of automation while the tide is still going out instead of just waiting for the wave to crash.

There already exists technology to cook meat with total precision and indeed to cook entire meals. Even before COVID, we were used to seeing digital ordering platforms in places like airports. Now automation is encroaching on traditional FOH jobs as well, with robotic mixologists, busers, and even servers. Stills that are almost entirely computerized and programmable have been around for years. Recently, I ordered using voice recognition from a fast food window. How long have those underbar dishwashers been around now to replace barbacks? If there’s a job in an industry with profit margins like ours that can be automated, you can bet that someone has already created the technology to automate it. But of course, just because we can, does that mean we always should? If we shouldn’t but do it anyway (and let’s be realistic since that’s the most likely outcome whenever it comes to tech and Silicon Valley), then what? The primary questions we have to consider when implementing these new technologies are:

• Can the machines do the job so much better than in that given case human labor is now rendered truly obsolete; • Do we want humans doing this job or not (the job is too dangerous or otherwise unsavory); and • What are the economic and social implications of replacing that person, and is it worth it?

In automation like the robotic bartenders sometimes seen, especially in places like Vegas, which is still really viewed as a novelty, humans are not at immediate risk. Without waxing too poetic, bartending is healing work where the drink aspect—the only thing robots replace—is the least important ingredient. Yes, we will likely see their proliferation in places like airports and casinos, which isn’t necessarily a good thing for the customer. Still, robots can’t build a community as humans can.

However, in kitchens, the same is not true. Technology already exists that can cook a steak with precision and consistency that is perhaps difficult to match. As for fast food and quick-service restaurants (QSRs), implementing automation to prepare the food is imminent. Although I really hesitate to use language here like “obsolete,” from the C Suite perspective, the harsh reality is likely that they’ll soon be throwing that exact word around quite a bit. Without getting into ethics, we need to be clear about this.

Shifting to the question of whether or not we even want humans doing jobs where automation is possible when the COVID pandemic was at its worst in 2020, increased automation made a lot of sense. People could still go out to get their favorite guilty pleasure food, and the foodservice

workforce could cut down on close contact or even just stay home collecting unemployment. It worked—sort of. But, unfortunately, people who had to work were (and often still are) catching COVID at alarming rates. Working in hot, close quarters, using sharp things with guests shouting about wearing a mask or the speed of their order, as a pandemic rages, certainly qualify as both dangerous and unsavory. But take COVID out of the equation, and you get back to work being good enough for quite a few people, especially when factoring in needs for things like transitional and low barrier employment. The best reasons for automation to replace human labor in our industry are cost, consistency (potentially, and sometimes at the detriment of quality), and productivity. This potentially frees up people to pursue what some consider “more fulfilling work.” However, that’s often a luxury folks seeking transitional work or in need of a quick and easy paycheck cannot afford. So what comes of the millions of workers suddenly displaced? As we’ve learned from factory closings across the Rust Belt in recent decades due to automation and outsourcing, tangible, actionable solutions are imperative.

By about this point, there are those readers who are referring to Blade Runner or Terminator 2. Beyond the somewhat cartoonish narratives of insidious robots narratives, there’s the issue that in the timeline leading up to Armageddon, a little after John Connor was riding his bike in Reseda, people decided that they’d prefer robots to humans. Technology just kept delivering better and more “efficient” verisimilitudes because that’s what scientists with sketchy patrons do. We need to consider first if we want humans cooking our meals and making our drinks.

Mark Schettler

Bartender

General Manager Bar Tonique

Executive Director Shift Change

Co-Founder & Program Coordinator BRACE for COVID-19

Contact: Phone: 818-674-1394 www.BRACEforCOVID19.com