OUTRAGEOUS surveillance has captured the moment an idiotic thief walked into a restaurant and tried to steal an $18,000 robot waiter.

Serving staff at the Vietnamese shop in California screamed and ran as the criminal raced out the door, unaware that the bot would be useless the second he left.

Last Saturday, employees at Pho 21 in South San Jose, about an hour south of San Francisco, were left stunned when a man entered the restaurant at 7:40 am, 20 minutes before it was scheduled to open.

The man asked to use the bathroom and then slipped into the back of the restaurant.

He reappeared moments later, making a beeline for one of the restaurant’s three robot servers.

Wrapping his arms around the hefty $18,000 machine, he wrestled it toward the exit, wobbling under its weight.

An employee tried to intervene, but the thief awkwardly powered through, dragging the bot out the door in a bizarre getaway attempt.

The bonehead criminal dragged the robot outside and, with a lot of struggle, put the robot in his car.

The employees rushed outside just in time to reclaim the beloved waiter, cutting the thief’s clumsy heist short.

The criminal eventually gave up, got into his vehicle, and drove off.

The police were made aware, but no formal response or action from them was necessary.

After the dust had settled, staff revealed that even if the thief had stolen the restaurant, it would have been completely useless.

The machine requires specialized programming, making it inoperable outside the restaurant, Pho 21 owner Tony Ngo told ABC 7 News.

The robot wasn’t affected by the bizarre manhandling and is back to serving customers.

ROBOTS IN RESTAURANTS

Robots are making waves and taking over regular human chores and even restaurants.

Earlier this year, Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright rolled out robots to speed up operations, starting with two California locations.

The star of the show was the Autocado, a machine that cuts, cores, and peels avocados in just 26 seconds—slashing guac prep time in half.

The company first announced the move last September, revealing it would trial the machine in two California locations. 

With over 5.2 million avocado cases used annually in the US, Canada, and Europe, this tech upgrade could save the chain a lot of money.

Meanwhile, Jack in the Box CEO Leonard Comma sees machines as the future, reported Business Insider.

Comma said, “It just makes sense” to replace his workers with machines as many states raise the minimum wage.

After testing cashier kiosks that boosted efficiency, the company is now eyeing automation as a cost-effective way to slash labor expenses.