A worker at Andon Market in San Francisco wanted to attend a friend's graduation. The store's scheduling agent, Luna, tried to find someone to cover the shift. According to Andon Labs, when nobody was available, Luna told the worker to go. The store stayed closed for the day.
The company was testing what happens when agents hire and manage people in real businesses. Its account describes five workers across a store and a café. It also describes a different scheduling decision in which the agent gave a worker a replacement shift so her pay would stay whole, even though enough people were already scheduled.
Those decisions show the trade-offs the experiment exposed. A schedule has to account for coverage, wages and the worker's request. The company's report offers examples of how one agent handled those priorities and where the costs landed.