Restaurants in USA pay the front end cashier who collects money from customers are paid $16 an hour. Now, these restaurants have come out with a novel idea. Outsource the cashier job. Now most of them employ Filipinos from Philippines for $3.15 per hour. Here is how it works:
The restaurant (say, in New York) has a normal front counter with a camera, microphone, speaker, and a payment terminal (card reader, cash drawer, etc.). A customer walks up to order as usual.
In Philippines, the “cashier” is actually sitting in a call center or at home overseas, connected via high-speed internet. Through a live video feed, the remote cashier greets the customer, takes their order, and enters it into the restaurant’s Point of Sale (POS) system remotely. The local restaurant staff just prepare the food and hand it over to the customer.
This works out in sit-down restaurants also. I am not explaining how it works here since this post will become too long.
For card payments, the remote cashier can process transactions through the POS system.
For cash payments, a local employee may handle the physical cash, but the remote cashier records the sale.
Why it happens?
Labor costs: U.S. restaurants face high labor costs (minimum wage in NYC is ~$16/hour). Hiring a remote cashier for $3–$4/hour through a staffing firm in the Philippines drastically reduces expenses.
Labor shortages: Some restaurants struggle to find reliable local workers for cashier or front desk roles.
Technology: Modern POS and video systems make this feasible with low latency and decent customer experience.
In the U.S., this is technically legal, because the overseas worker is not employed under U.S. labor law. The restaurant contracts with a third-party outsourcing company abroad.
Ethical concerns: Critics argue it’s exploitative — the pay ($3.15/hour) is very low by U.S. standards, though it can be a decent wage in the Philippines.
Customer transparency: Most customers have no idea they’re speaking to someone thousands of miles away
$3.15 per hour comes to a monthly salary of (in Indian rupees) Rs.48,000. Indians are world famous for under quoting in a competitive market. If they agree for $2.50 per hour, then their monthly salary comes to Rs38,133.
This is a fascinating example of how globalization and technology are redefining even traditional local services like restaurant cashiering. While it makes economic sense for U.S. businesses struggling with high wages and labor shortages, it also raises moral and social questions. The clear upside is efficiency — remote staffing uses global talent and keeps restaurants viable. But the flip side is the widening gap in global income levels and the potential loss of local entry-level jobs that once gave many young Americans their first work experience. It also highlights how developing countries like the Philippines (and potentially India) are becoming the new "digital front desks" of the world. Perhaps the real challenge is ensuring fair wages, training, and dignity for these remote workers while businesses chase cost savings.
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