A Panera customer went viral on TikTok after recording a robot drive-thru attendant taking his order.
TikTok user Gio (@gioxbattaglia) posted a video of his exchange with the robot drive-thru attendant on Dec. 29. As of Jan. 5, the video received 1.4 million views.
“Welcome to the Webster Panera. My name is Tori. Are you a rewards member?” the robot asked.
Gio provided the phone number associated with his rewards account, then placed his order. After each item, the robot noted, “That comes with a free baguette,” and asked if Gio wanted to add a drink.
When Gio finished ordering, the robot repeated his order and asked if it sounded correct. He replied, “Yes,” and the robot said, “Thank you.” The entire process took about one minute and nine seconds, the duration of the video.
@gioxbattaglia What do you think of the new system? #panerabread #food #fyp #tech #foryou ♬ original sound – gio
The video sparked mixed reactions in the comments section. Several viewers joked about how “hype” the robot seemed for the free baguettes, but others seemed skeptical about having a robot take drive-thru orders.
“This is insane,” one viewer commented.
“Yeah no. this is scary lol,” another wrote.
Many viewers commented that the robot attendant spoke too slowly, which frustrated them.
“It’s sooo slow,” one user commented.
“I can’t believe how slow it is omg,” a second agreed.
Others speculated that robot attendants will replace human cashiers. Some even said Panera is implementing robots so that the company doesn’t have to pay people.
“Damn i am a drive thru cashier at panera, she is snatching my job,” one viewer shared.
“The thing companies will do to not have to pay employees more,” a second viewer wrote.
“Capitalism hellscape,” a third commented.
The Daily Dot reached out to Gio via TikTok comment and to Panera via the media submission form on its website.
