Virtual cashier sparks debate about ethics of remote work
A viral tweet showing a virtual cashier from the Philippines working at a fast-food restaurant in New York has sparked debate about the proliferation of crossborder remote work and whether it is a sign of job market innovation or a dystopian future built around the exploitation of foreign labour.
Tech start-up founder Brett Goldstein posted on X last week about his experience at Japanese fried chicken joint Sansan Chicken, where he encountered a Filipino woman working the cash register from over 13,000km away and who appeared on a monitor via Zoom.
Goldstein praised his experience at the restaurant, calling the level of service friendlier “than any in-person cashiers in New York”.
Although he placed his order through a self-service kiosk, the cashier was on standby and could control the point-of-sale system remotely. He also had an option to tip the cashier, he said.
Goldstein’s tweet has had over 18 million views and spawned a variety of takes on the use of outsourcing technology in sectors such as the F&B industry.
One commenter wrote: “It’s kind of a no-brainer when you can pay this virtual worker US$5 per hour versus US$20 for a local, and this virtual worker is more grateful for the job while also treating the customer with more respect.”
Goldstein said the company in charge of virtual cashier service at Sansan Chicken was called Happy Cashier.
Although Happy Cashier does not have an official website and very little information is available about it online, Chi Zhang, the company’s CEO and founder, told Fortune earlier this month its aim was to “empower small businesses by providing exceptional virtual cashier services, as well as operational assistance”.
He also said the service was being tested at a few restaurants throughout New York City.
The Post found job ads seeking “Happy Cashiers” posted to the Philippines’ sections of Glassdoor and Indeed on April 8. The requirements in the ads include 20- to 40-hour rotational night shifts. The pay is 112 Philippines pesos (HK$15) an hour, with the possibility of earning more from tips and performance bonuses. By comparison, the minimum wage in New York City is US$10.60 for tipped workers such as waiters.
The Happy Cashier job ads were posted by Longview Management Group, which describes itself as “a Philippinesbased company that hires, pays and manages highly qualified talent for US-based companies”.
Goldstein’s experience highlights a growing trend among restaurants that are turning to virtual cashiers to cut costs and address staff shortages.
Outsourcing is a major industry in the Philippines, with 1.5 million employed in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, according to the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP). The BPO brought in US$32.5 billion in revenue in 2023, according to IBPAP.
Analysts believe the increasingly rapid adoption of transnational remote work will be a major factor in reshaping the global workforce. According to a 2023 Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum, nearly 25 per cent of jobs will be disrupted by 2027 and an estimated 83 million roles will disappear.
Dr Virgel Binghay, a professor at the University of the Philippines’ School of Labour and Industrial Relations, said the expected rise in outsourced roles that leveraged automation for remote work was driven by technological advances, economic incentives and evolving workplace norms.
“Developments in communication, automation, and cloud computing have made remote collaboration more feasible and cost-effective, aligning with the global trend of tapping into international talent pools for cost savings and around-the-clock service capabilities,” Binghay said.
While technological changes have enabled workers to seek remote employment all across the world, some have criticised this form of outsourcing as exploitation as it reinforces low wages.
“They don’t want to pay normal everyday working class Americans a living wage, and they don’t want immigrant workers. So they turn to exploit Southeast Asians, who they can underpay and fire at a whim,” one X user wrote in response to Goldstein’s viral post about Happy Cashier.
“[We] Filipinos, alongside the Global South, are merely cheap labour commodities. With the advent of AI, the anxiety of being disposed of in exchange for a cheaper alternative has never more real,” another X user said.
JobStreet pegged the average monthly salary range for a cashier in the Philippines as being between 14,000 and 18,000 pesos.
The salary advertised in the Happy Cashier job postings – a monthly base pay of 17,920 pesos – falls slightly under the higher end of typical cashier wages in the Philippines. The Happy Cashier jobs are on a 12-month contractual basis, with no benefits such as health insurance, although performance incentives and tips are included.
Yet there are reasons why roles such as virtual cashiers still might seem more attractive despite the marginal increase in wages. Binghay described them as a “complex interplay of motivations” driven by high inflation rates, limited employment opportunities, personal aspirations, and global labour market dynamics.
“Key factors influencing this choice include the empowerment of working from home, which saves on commuting costs and enhances work-life balance; the flexibility offered by shift work, allowing for a better alignment with personal commitments; and job security,” Binghay said, adding that the decision to engage in virtual cashier positions “reflects a comprehensive evaluation of benefits that extend beyond immediate financial gain”.