Recently, there has been a national debate regarding the plight of the American worker. Thousands of articles have discussed the impact of international trade agreements, increases in efficiency, and automation on job losses in the United States. I had mostly thought that the discussion did not pertain to the service industry. However, my assumption may not be correct. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, baristas may have to compete with machines for a job in the local coffee shop. Already, in some coffee shops customers can select their preferred bean and coffee style, and any flavoring from a touch screen. A robot grinds, pours, and foams milk before extending the finished product in a mechanical arm to the customer. While there is no chit chat, the price of the coffee is actually a bit less than the national chain operating nearby.
I recently got to see something like this in action. I was visiting a friend in central Massachusetts. He has developed an indoor park that uses a lot of sophisticated computer programming and automated devices to control all aspects of the park including when to pick lettuce, use the milk in the refrigerator to make yogurt, and manage the lighting. At the single register I ordered a cappuccino. The server took my order and walked two steps to a large stainless steel machine. She placed a cup beneath a spigot and then a thermometer in the cup. She punched a few buttons and then walked away to complete the food orders of other customers. The machine ground and then compressed the grind. Then a beautiful dark brown liquid with a lovely crema (the foam on top of an expresso) filled the bottom of the cup. Next, frothed milk was injected the temperature of which was apparently controlled by the thermometer in the cup. Once the cup was filled just beneath the brim, the entire operation ceased. The server had finished preparing the food for another customer, walked to the machine, took out the thermometer and handed the cappuccino to me. She did not say much and the frothed milk had no decorative design. However, the cappuccino was absolutely delicious. And, the total cost was two dollars. While there was still some role for a server, most of the real work had been done by a machine. So, while I certainly hope that there will be jobs for baristas, I have to admit my coffee experience was quite tasty and eye opening.
