In the beautiful destination that’s Philadelphia, delivery robots from the Uber Eats app are experiencing a bittersweet moment. Some are loving them, while some restaurants are complaining how they operate. Here’s the scoop.
For weeks now, Philadelphia’s people are seeing these delivery robots in action. Not every restaurant is signed up – which is unfortunate – but do you know which is more unfortunate? There are restaurants that are enrolled in the robot delivery program without their consent!
Ridesharing media are not aware how many exactly of these autonomous delivery robots are moving across Philadelphia’s streets since they started in March, but they do know the restaurants that signed up… with their consent.
Six restaurants reported that they have been into the robot delivery program, but they never agreed to join. However, they simply let it pass, as they have quietly expanded the service within the designated zone in Center City.
Those restaurateurs told Ridesharing Forum they were “forced and prompted” recently to put meals inside the blinking bot’s temperature-controlled compartment, or the delivery robot. They were letting it pass as the owners were also intrigued by the technology, but the employees are not thrilled about their unsolicited new tasks of juggling orders inside and tending to the bot.
Eunice Cho, the owner of the restaurant Seorabol, stated, “Looking at videos, I thought it was so slow, and I was wondering how it works, but [the robot] is pretty huge.”
In other words, while these restaurant owners are frowning upon the forced sign-ups, they are also becoming curious about how the delivery robots work.
Delivery robots are semi- to fully-autonomous vehicles designed to transport products – such as groceries, take-out food, and packages – over short distances. Commonly seen as compact, six-wheeled pods resembling “coolers on wheels,” they primarily operate on sidewalks at walking speeds to complete “last-mile” deliveries.
What do you think of this news? Is Uber Eats right about signing these restaurants up “without their consent,” and relying upon these restaurant owners becoming amazed by the results? Or, are they in the wrong? Share your thoughts, post, and discuss with the community. Sign up today on Ridesharing Forum!