Robot servers who can dance, sing and say “excuse me” when people block their way could soon be serving you lunch with your coworkers or drinks with your friends, following the debut of the LOLA Matradee L.
LOLA, a FinTech product line of the Las Vegas-based National Merchants Association, is a 4-foot droid complete with a digital monitor that can display its face and/or promotional videos.
“It’s super cute,” said Travis Everett, chief operating officer of the National Merchants Association of the robot server. “It’s the cutest robot you’ve ever seen.”
The robot, which can carry almost 24 pounds, is poised to help businesses in the retail, hospitality and restaurant industries as they grapple with labor shortages and other issues coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Technology is increasingly important in the restaurant sector, and Everett pointed to the use of kiosks for placing orders as a primary example. While that technology has thrived at many large fast-food chains, the National Merchants Association—an advocacy organization—is also making it available to small businesses.
“What we’re doing differently is we’re helping the smaller merchants,” Everett said. “And we’ve got very, very aggressive programs that help them get this equipment most of the time with no cost to them, so that they can have the technology that’s forward facing and the tip of the spear, and the technology to really help them compete.”
The LOLA Matradee L is no exception, and National Merchants Association CEO, founder and owner Heather Altepeter said the robot—created in partnership with various robotics and engineering companies—was self-funded by her organization and has been made affordable for small-business owners.
“We’re making it free in many cases, just so they can start taking advantage of that technology and can be part of the early adopters that really drive it, because it’s coming,” she said. “And you don’t want to be—especially in the restaurant business—you don’t want to be the ones left behind. You want to be the next best thing.”
The LOLA Matradee L can seat customers, serve and bus tables and more, Everett said. The robot is geared toward efficiency, and—with a body consisting of up to four shelves—it can carry about three times the amount of food a traditional server could carry, he said.
It’s also independent, Everett said, and just needs an initial command to get started.
“LOLA doesn’t take cigarette breaks. It doesn’t get sick,” he said. “It can work a 12-hour shift on a single charge. So, it’s one less headache that these small-business owners have to deal with.”
Kiosks and robots like LOLA can fill the gaps created by a nationwide labor shortage, Altepeter said, and may also improve accuracy when it comes to taking orders and how swiftly they are delivered.
“We really believe that technology is the way to move everything forward,” Everett said. “And, as a FinTech company, we can really, really help these merchants solve problems with technology before they even become an issue for them.”
Though some people might worry about losing their jobs to automatons, Everett said there’s no reason to fear technological advancements like LOLA.
If jobs “at the lowest end of the spectrum” become automated, he said, then young or unemployed people can move instead into positions that will build their career skills and have a lasting impact on their life.
“In no way, shape or form is it putting people out of work,” he said. “It’s getting people to further places in their career, earlier, so they can look more toward the future.”
The LOLA Matradee L has generated “unbelievable” feedback since its rollout in April, Everett said, and the National Merchants Association is continuing to share it at trade shows and events.
The organization is especially excited to bring LOLA to the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago this month, and ultimately continue to be an advocate for merchants of all shapes and sizes.
“There’s going to be a lot of talk about … all the cool things with importing and exporting, and new flavors of things, and the best and the brightest of new tables and chairs and all that too,” Everett said. “But there’s going to be very little representation for technology, and so it’s just the perfect space for us.”
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