We started working together thoughtfully and step by step. For example, Pepper started as an intern at the USG People head office and became part of the reception team there. First, we put Pepper on the floor with basic software (this included welcoming guests, introducing themselves and sharing the wifi code) to see how guests and employees responded.
This has given us many great insights (you will read more about this later). We noticed that placing a robot on the floor has quite an impact. Based on these insights, we started further programming. The next step was to link Pepper to our visitor registration system. This immediately increased the added value of Pepper. Thanks to this link, Pepper can register visitors and inform USG People employees by email and text message that their visitor has arrived.
The next step was to link Pepper to our visitor registration system. This immediately increased the added value of Pepper.
Thanks to this connection, Pepper has taken over administrative tasks from the hosts and hostesses. This gives them 15 to 20 percent more time to give guests real personal attention. There is time to give the guest the desired attention, offer them something to drink, take a coat or a bag or, for example, accompany them to an appointment. Our hospitality professionals appreciate this, because it adds depth to the fulfillment of their function, but we also see from the customer satisfaction ratings that we receive from our guests that this extra attention is appreciated.
The customer satisfaction rating has increased after the addition of Pepper. But Pepper is not yet where we want it to be, so it also requires extra effort from our people to train Pepper, example of whatsapp number in philippines something for which time and space must be created. Due to the optimal collaboration between the team and the software developer, Pepper learns quickly, the software can be optimized quickly and we can add new tasks to the Pepper package.
The impact of a robot
Pepper was received enthusiastically by the hospitality team, but his arrival also led to a great many reactions. From inside and outside the company, positive and negative. Sometimes difficult for the team, because they were very positive. We emphasized that the robot does not replace anyone, but that we are curious whether and how robotization adds value to the service provision. There was and is a great deal of interest from outside, ranging from companies to children who would like to see a robot up close. But there were also less positive reactions, such as "Are you USG Robots from now on?" and "How do you feel about a robot replacing you?" Apparently it is a theme that is very much alive.
For that reason, we started with meet & greets at our head office. These meet & greets were used a lot, because people are curious. They want to know more and see what the added value is exactly. It is nice to see that children also like to come and see Pepper and actually do not think a robot is crazy at all, but deal with it very naturally.
There were also less positive reactions, such as “Are you USG Robots from now on?” and “How do you feel about a robot replacing you?” Apparently it is a very much alive topic.