“I’ve never witnessed anything like it in my life,” says Carmen Williams after having been seated at her table to eat lunch by robots.
Chef Lee’s Peking Restaurant on Bradley Park Drive in Columbus has some fresh employees. But it’s not the kind of place you’d expect.
If you ever have an urge to try egg drop soup, Snow white Chicken from Chef Lee’s, Ruby or Emerald the robots will be happy to lead you to your seats.
Chef Lee’s owner of the Peking Restaurant Harriet Zhu thinks the interaction between the patron and the employee is crucial.
So much so that she decided to incorporate new technology to increase customer satisfaction. Robot hostesses. Zhu says that the robots are present to allow waiters to be more efficient in taking care of the customers’ demands.
“They don’t replace the waiter, they’re simply making it easier,” says Zhu.
As of now we have two robotics working as hosts, Emerald or Ruby. Four or more will be able to be on the way to assist with taking orders.
This is how they function: After you arrive and provide the number for your group, a person provides a code to a robot that will tell it what section you should sit in. Then, follow Emerald or Ruby through the table and section she will guide you to.
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“Usually we request our customers to follow the robot’s instructions and place their menus on the tables.” Zhu says Zhu, “When they are following the robot, they’re smiling. They bring joy to patrons,” says Zhu.
Zhu says that so far robotics have been the main attraction of the dining experience in Chef Lee’s.
“My husband and I have been here before and have visited the robots, however, we’ve never been ushered towards the tables by one, so it was an enjoyable experience” says a customer Becky Bunting.
“It was not what we had hoped for when we went to lunch. However, Ruby was pretty amazing,” says customer Lisa Scully.
The owners insist that worker shortages do not have anything to do with the reason they decided to bring in robots. Zhu states that Chef Lee’s has been a popular restaurant for the city of Columbus since 1998. She simply wants to keep up with the times so that it will continue to be in business for many years to come.
“We have a long-standing tradition and I would like to add a contemporary element to this long-standing restaurant. Many establishments are offering fast in and out, and they’re using machines. If you visit the majority of these establishments, they don’t have cashiers. They use machines to help customers out as a trend,” says Zhu.
One of the customers, Norman Davis, agrees with the restaurant’s decision to introduce the latest fashions.
“I am in love with the new look. I’m loving the change, the world is mechanical, so this is a perfect fit,” says Davis.
If you’d like to get to know Emerald and Ruby and enjoy a unique lunch or dinner, Chef Lee’s is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. The restaurant is at 6100 Bradley Park Drive in Columbus.
