Would You Tip A “Robot Bartender”?
Carl Craft weighs in….
So I’m doing my scroll the other day… caught in an internet rabbit hole and I find this question:
Would you tip a robot bartender?
Now, I didn’t even know robot bartenders were a thing, but apparently they are. Some places in the hospitality circles are installing robot bartenders as a part of supposedly uniquely modern experience for their patrons.
But to me, this kind of thing is just another cheap way for a corporation to weasel out of having to actually pay a human being a decent wage (not that bartenders make a decent living wage before tips, of course…). But replacing humans with robots on the jobsite seems to be the wet dream of CEO’s and CFO’s everywhere.
Anything to save a buck and cash in on some million dollar bonus for themselves…
Don’t believe that a robot bartender is actually a thing? Have a peek at this video. You’ll see the robot bartender in the background. It’s cute little robot arms flailing about… The guy gets his bill for his beverage and there’s a tip line on the bill.
Clearly the intention of the owner of the bar is to ask for a tip for their robot… AKA, a tip for themselves… you know the people who made the decision to cut the human being out of the process.
The “money for alcohol transaction” is an exchange that’s been around for hundreds of years. Humans on both sides of the exchange are part of the experience. The cheery, “Hi, welcome to Joes Bar!” The craft of creating the beverage, the joy of being thrown out of the bar after you’ve had too many. All of it part of the human experience and part of the “money for alcohol transaction” history.
A robot ain’t got any of that. So, my answer is not only, “Hell no, I’m not tipping a robot.” It’s also: “I’m not going to any bar that has a robot bartender.”
Here’s my final question: All the money you’re saving by cutting the actual human out of this equation… are you passing that savings on to me or am I still paying $19 for a Manhattan in NYC?
Yeah, I thought so…
That’s my two cents. What’s yours?
