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Due to staff shortages: More and more Bavarian innkeepers are relying on robots for service

2022-05-19T05:28:53.424Z


Due to staff shortages: More and more Bavarian innkeepers are relying on robots for service Created: 05/19/2022, 07:11 By: Dominik Goettler Ready for delivery: A robot brings spaetzle and dumplings to the table in the Gasthaus Liegsalz in Pellheim near Dachau. Waiter Manfred is still responsible for the final touches. © hab Bavaria's hospitality industry is desperately looking for staff. The f


Due to staff shortages: More and more Bavarian innkeepers are relying on robots for service

Created: 05/19/2022, 07:11

By: Dominik Goettler

Ready for delivery: A robot brings spaetzle and dumplings to the table in the Gasthaus Liegsalz in Pellheim near Dachau.

Waiter Manfred is still responsible for the final touches.

© hab

Bavaria's hospitality industry is desperately looking for staff.

The first hosts and hoteliers are using robots to relieve their workload.

We looked around in a village inn.

Pellheim – Ewald Zechner has a new employee.

He can carry eight plates at once, doesn't make any holiday claims - and regularly causes wide eyes in the old tavern of the Liegsalz Inn.

For a few weeks now, a robot has been bringing the roast pork to the table in the rustic inn in Pellheim near Dachau.

Since the gastronomy had to close its doors several times during the pandemic, the hosts have been groaning under massive staff worries.

Cooks, waiters and temporary workers have looked for other jobs.

"We've lost the mini-jobbers," says Thomas Geppert, state manager of the Bavarian hotel and restaurant association.

Now the demand is picking up again, the after-work hours and the beer garden are calling.

But the staff is missing.

"It's a dilemma."

Bavaria and the robots in the tavern: "You have to keep up with the times"

Landlord Ewald Zechner, who in addition to the tavern also runs a lunchtime snack bar in the old town of Dachau and the large marquee at the Dachau folk festival, knows the personnel worries.

When he found out about the latest robot technology for the guest room in trade journals in February, he decided to strike at short notice.

"You have to keep up with the times," he says.

And so there is now a robot in his dining room.

He doesn't have an official name yet, even if he's called Zenzi from time to time in the kitchen.

The approximately chest-high digital helper from a Chinese manufacturer looks like a tray trolley with three levels.

The company from which Zechner rented the robot, which would otherwise cost around 10,000 euros, attached sensors to the ceiling of the restaurant.

This is how the digital waiter learns the way.

In the kitchen, the cook only has to enter the table number and the robot brings the plates to the guest - and if necessary plays a toast to the cosiness or a birthday song from its loudspeakers.

But then the real waiter Manfred comes into play.

"The guest still gets the food from the people," emphasizes Zechner.

"The robot can only relieve, but not replace."

The landlord and his new employee: Ewald Zechner and his serving robot in the dining room.

© dg

That's how Thomas Geppert from the Restaurant Association sees it.

He has occasionally heard of hotels or restaurants using robots.

"It shows the shortage of staff." Of course, robots can be of help, he says.

However, the digital helper cannot permanently replace the staff in the catering trade.

“The guest has to be human,” says Geppert.

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Robots in the gastro: when "Zenzi" meets the Sunday regulars' table

Zechner only sees advantages in his new employee.

Waiter Manfred saves himself the hassle of lugging around plates and thus has more time for the guests.

In the small village inn near Dachau with its eight tables, the robot means that Zechner can do without a temporary worker that is difficult to find anyway, he says.

An electronic helper is also at work in the Allgäu:

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At first, Zechner also tried to have the robot bring the drinks to the table.

But because the old inn from 1740 also has one or the other bump in the ground, the whole half didn't always reach the guest.

That's why the robot is limited to the plates - the sauces come extra and are poured on by the waiter.

Waiter Manfred was on board immediately, says Ewald Zechner.

Of course, the Sunday regulars' table let loose one or the other saying when suddenly the Zenzi rolled up.

"But our Manfred quickly bought the guts from them," says Zechner and laughs.

You can find more current news from the district of Dachau at Merkur.de/Dachau.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-05-19

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