Virtual cashiers bridge NYC restaurants to Philippines
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — In a novel experiment, a handful of New York City restaurants are employing virtual cashiers who greet customers via video call from the Philippines.
At Sansan Chicken in Long Island City, Queens, cashier Romy beamed a smile from her home office, recommending menu items like the fried chicken sandwich despite occasional internet lags.
Romy is one of 12 remote workers hired by Happy Cashier, a startup that provides this virtual staffing service. When not directly assisting customers, he greets guests, explains menus, and manages online orders.
In an Instagram reel, vlogger @mikejchau shared his experience in ordering from Sansan Chicken with the help of a female virtual cashier via Zoom, who even recommended the store’s best-selling sauce.
“The virtual hosts could be the vanguard of a rapidly changing restaurant industry, as small-business owners seek relief from rising commercial rents and high inflation,” wrote Stefanos Chen, a Times reporter covering NYC’s economy.
The virtual workers earn $3 an hour, significantly below New York’s minimum wage of $16, but around double what similar roles pay in the Philippines.
While legal, the low wages have raised concerns about depressing industry standards.
“The fact that they have found a way to outsource work to another country is extremely troubling, because it’s going to dramatically put downward pressure on wages in the industry,” warned Teófilo Reyes of the nonprofit labor group Restaurant Opportunities Centers United.
this is insane
cashier is literally zooming into nyc from the philippines pic.twitter.com/opAyS8AYUs
— brett goldstein (@thatguybg) April 6, 2024
The service is currently used at a handful of Asian restaurants in Queens, Manhattan and New Jersey, including Sansan Ramen and Yaso Kitchen. Founder Chi Zhang, a former restaurant owner, expects rapid expansion to over 100 NYC restaurants by the end of the year.
Reactions have been mixed, with some customers confused by the virtual hosts while others, like Sansan Chicken manager Rosy Tang, view it as “a way for small businesses to survive.”
But skeptics like Jonathan Bowles of the Center for an Urban Future note “the fast-food work force is already shrinking, and new technology could further transform the industry.”
Offshore workers from the Philippines have also been actively monitoring Presto Automation, a provider of artificial intelligence (AI) drive-thru ordering systems. The company disclosed that over 70% of customer interactions involve human agents, despite previous claims that the technology was highly autonomous.
