J & H Family Stores Roll Out Autonomous Floor Cleaning Robots
ZEELAND, Mich. — J & H Family Stores tapped ICE Cobotics to provide autonomous floor cleaning robots for use in its convenience stores.
So far six Cobi 18 robots have been deployed across the chain's locations.
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Utilizing autonomous technology will potentially not only alleviate associates from repetitive and mundane cleaning work but also free them to better focus on customer service and experience, according to the company.
While the Cobis clean the floor, staff can focus on other pertinent tasks like stocking coolers and shelves, or preparing fresh food products for guests. J & H hopes to create higher retention rates by eliminating some of the more tedious tasks for store employees, an important priority for the company in a tight labor market.
"Partnering with ICE Cobotics to bring autonomous cleaning into our stores has been a huge success," said Loren Hoppen, J & H chief operating officer. "It has helped improve customer experience, employee retention, and labor expenses within the stores. Having the Cobi machine in the stores has allowed our team members to spend more time with customers and improve customer experience."
J & H joins other c-store chains to take advantage of Cobi robots. Last September, RaceTrac Inc. began to integrate Cobi 18 cleaners at its travel center locations through ICE Cobotics' all-inclusive subscription model. The reasons for the adaptation were similar, with the company using the Cobis to free staff for other tasks.
Founded in 2011, ICE Cobotics is a technology and cleaning equipment company with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. It develops and specializes in autonomous solutions sold through subscriptions. The company's Cobi robots have a compact design that allows the cleaner to navigate small spaces, tight aisles, and around moving and stationary objects, including cooler doors, glass and windows, making it a safe option for c-store environments.
Founded in 1969 and based in Zeeland, family-owned and -operated J & H Family Stores serves customers throughout west Michigan. Its sister company, J & H Oil Co., proudly supplies nearly 120 retail sites, 50 of which are company-operated.