Monkey waiters!

I know times are tough and the economy is going down but what do you think of a restaurant where the servers are monkeys?

A Japanese restaurant has two new employees and they pay them peanuts. The local hangout just north of Tokyo employs a pair of Japanese monkeys called Yat-chan and Fuku-chan to serve their customers.

The younger of the two, Fuku-chan, usually begins the first shift and is quick to hand out customers a hot towel to help them clean their hands before they order their first drinks. Fuku-chan, who is four, has only two years experience under his furry belt and his work load is limited to hot towels.

Both monkeys are well appreciated by customers who tip them with boiled soya-beans to enjoy during their down time. Kaoru Otsuka, who owns the restaurant in Utsunomiya, Japan, said he did not teach the sake-serving monkey its waiting skills.

Mr Otsuka claims Yatchan watched him serving customers and remembered how to do it.

“Lots of customers come to look at the monkey. He works everyday,” said Mr Otsuka.

The simian, called Yatchan, is also used to serve hot towels to the grateful customers who give him soya beans as tips. Mr Otsuka said the monkey also likes fruit, but was not fond of the sushi that the restaurant specialises in.

Watch this video from CNN and then answer the questions.

Questions for discussion

• Do you think it is a good idea to employ animals to do jobs that are normally done by humans? Why (not)?
• Would ever eat in a restaurant where animals take your order? Why (not)?
• What other jobs could be done by animals? Name some.

don’t forget to answer the questions on the comments section

NB: If you’d like to watch the same video but with captions just click here

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