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COVID-19 might cause the death of the waiting staff

by on02 September 2021


QR codes replacing staff


While workers thought that it would be robots that killed off staff, it seems that COVID-19 is being used as a pretext to replace employees with QR codes.

Many restaurants have begun to experiment with QR codes and order management systems such as Toast that allow diners to order food to their table from their phones instead of with human servers.

Grocery stores have increased their investments in self-checkout kiosks that replace human cashiers, and more convenience stores including Circle K are experimenting with the computer vision technology pioneered by Amazon Go to allow customers to make purchases without standing in a checkout line at all.

The shifts mean that some of the 1.7 million leisure and hospitality jobs and 270,000 retail jobs the US economy has lost since its February 2020 high are unlikely to return when COVID-19 goes.

Last modified on 02 September 2021
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