“Boss, give me a raise!”: Robot waiter in Turkey demands a pay increase and an extra day off

In Ankara, an unusual restaurant employee named Fiko became a real star among visitors in just a few days. He is a robot waiter who greets guests, interacts with children, helps collect dishes and sometimes even dances. But what entertains visitors most is his unexpected demand to management: «Patron zam!» — «Boss, give me a raise!».

The robot was brought to the restaurant by its owner, Sungur Deligözoglu, after a trip to China. According to him, that was where he first saw robot waiters and decided to try introducing the technology at his own establishment. At the time the reports appeared, Fiko had been working at the restaurant for just three or four days, but had already attracted a great deal of attention from visitors, especially families with children.

Fiko performs вполне real duties: he greets customers, entertains children, helps collect dishes from the tables and sometimes deviates from his programmed routine and starts dancing with the young guests. The owner admits that the robot does not always follow commands strictly, but he is not scolded for it — children simply enjoy this behaviour.

The most unusual part of the story is Fiko’s «labour rights». According to Deligözoglu, the robot receives a salary and has one day off per week. What is more, he regularly demands a raise and jokes that he works too much for his current pay. The owner says Fiko also encourages the other waiters to start talking about their salaries.

Turkish media report that Fiko receives a salary at the minimum-wage level. In 2026, the official minimum wage in Turkey is 28,075.50 lira per month after deductions.

It is not yet known whether the robot has secured a raise. But the marketing effect is already obvious: visitors come to see the unusual waiter, children take photos with him, and the story of a robot demanding a pay increase and another day off has spread across the Turkish media.

It seems Fiko has mastered not only the waiter’s profession, but also the main rule of modern working life: if you work hard, ask for a raise. Even if you are a robot.