With Singapore facing a rapidly greying population and a shortage of manpower in the food and beverage industry, this is the ideal time to go electronic at restaurants and eateries.

Some eating places are already leading the way by providing customers with tablets at the tables for the ordering of food items.

In this way, manpower can be reduced by hiring only a few servers and a cashier.

Currently, this electronic ordering system is provided mainly at Japanese restaurants and eateries.

I hope that the Government will encourage more restaurants and eateries to adopt this ordering method. It reduces the manpower needs and customers do not have to wait for staff to be available to order their food.

As long as the food is good, I am very certain customers do not mind having to order their food with a tablet, especially as it is a faster and more efficient way of doing so.

Perhaps in future, electronic payment machines can be installed, doing away with the need for cashiers, so customers can settle the payment themselves the way it is done at self-service counters at some supermarkets, and retailers like Ikea.

In Japan, it is very common to order food at a machine, collect the food and finally return the trays to the counter.

This is the direction in which restaurants and eateries here should go so as to help solve the manpower shortage.

Customers will not mind serving themselves at restaurants and eateries that serve good food.

Susan Tan Lin Neo (Miss)