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Brent Council under fire for ditching receptionists in favour of a hologram

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By John Glenday, Reporter

August 20, 2013 | 1 min read

London’s Brent Council has come under fire after opting to ditch flesh and blood receptionists at its swish new Wembley headquarters building in favour of holographic projections.

The cash strapped local authority splashed out £12k on the technology which sees the image of an actress, Shanice Stewart-Jones, projected onto a glass screen behind the empty reception desk.

Visitors are greeted by the disembodied apparition as they enter and can even enter interact with it by asking a limited range of questions; such as directing people to register a birth or death or apply for citizenship.

Brent say that their ghostly recruit will save it £17k a year compared to a human being, even when additional maintenance and reprogramming costs are factored in. It also boasts a ‘touch screen function’ for the public to directly navigate to their desired information.

Alison Hopkins, budget and finance spokesman for the opposition Liberal Democrats, told the London Evening Standard: “There have been complaints about signage in Brent’s new civic centre but this is a startlingly expensive way of solving the problem.”

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