You are being served, but your job may be about to disappear

Until a couple of weeks ago, China Daily had a coffee stand in the lobby. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I did sometimes enjoy taking a coffee break in the middle of the afternoon. Often, some colleagues would be waiting in line and we'd have a chance to catch up. The stand was staffed by a personable young lady, Xie Xinshuang, who impressed me because she was always studying when no customer was present.

Now, the coffee stand has been replaced by a machine. I guess we could call it a coffee robot.

By some measures, this is an improvement from a consumer's point of view. I can get my coffee a little bit faster, it costs a little bit less, and it actually tastes a little bit better. Of course, there is nobody to talk with.