A restaurant in Guangzhou has reportedly fired its robot waiters due to their limited abilities. The robots were introduced in 2015 to attract customers.

Two restaurants in Guangzhou that employ robotic waiters have since closed their doors, and the Heweilai Restaurant is the only one left open. But it now employs human waiters, as the robots have been relieved of their duty.

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The Heweilai Restaurant was one of a handful of dinning places in Guangzhou that chose to hire robot waiters amid the trend of using mechanical helpers across different fields like manufacturing and household keeping, the Workers' Daily reports.

But the restaurant eventually dismissed the robot waiters because of their inability to carry out even basic waiting tasks including handling soup meals, taking orders and pouring water for customers. They also had to follow a fixed route, which sometimes cause clashes.

"They broke down too often, so our boss just stopped using them," a staff of the restaurant said.

Another hot pot restaurant owner surnamed Liang from Baiyun District in Guangzhou said that robots are preferred because of the high turnover rates of waiters and waitresses. She recalled that early this year, she employed six full-time waiters, but after the Chinese New Year holiday, only one returned for duty. She was thus forced to hire the automated alternative out of desperation to maintain her business operation.  

Meanwhile, Zhang Yun, Guangdong University of Technology's vice president, said that robots are expected to be of great help in the field of manufacturing, which basically involve repetitive tasks, but such technology needs further development before it can perform more complicated works effectively, like in the service sector.

Tagschina, robot waiters, Heweilai Restaurant, Guangzhou, technology