The video rooms have been open since Jan. 2. If successful, the chain hopes to expand the service to other provinces, or even other countries. In addition to the food, customers pay 200 yuan per hour for using the room. ''The video rooms have been fully booked in February,'' said Chen Yu, manager of the Wangfujing branch. The Video room in Beijing is about 30 square meters and large enough for six customers. ''Many customers prefer to use the room for dinners rather than lunch,'' Chen said, adding the average age of customers who booked the video hotpot  is about 30. ''The whole process is very smooth. The image and the voice transmission  are as good as those of video conferencing at work, ''said one of Chen's colleagues surnamed Luo. ''I have a lot of friends in Beijing, whom I haven't met for a long time because of being busy at work,'' said a woman surnamed Yu who is having dinner with her husband at Haidilao.''The new service gives us a chance to have a dinner together without traveling. I would like to give it a try.'' The video hotpot also helped establish a friendship between waitresses in the two cities. Zhao Huanhuan, in her 20s, who is specially trained for serving in the video room in Shanghai, developed a friendship with a waitress named Lu Ke in the Beijing branch. Zhao said excitedly: ''It was too amazing to believe. I'm so interested in using the special room and enjoy serving people there. I also talk about some interesting interactive games with Lu before guests come for dinner''. Although Lu felt a little bit nervous when she first served in front of the screens, she said the new mode of communication also encouraged her to supply better services for customers. ''It's like a service competition. We saw each other through video and I could learn from Zhao's serving,'' Lu said, adding she will visit Zhao if she goes to Shanghai. It seems that video hotpot doesn't satisfy everyone's taste, however. Why do many customers choose the video room service?
Because the service there is excellent. Because they can have dinner with friends without traveling. Because the food there is delicious. Because the room is large enough for six people.