Server describes "miserable" situation amid pandemic

If you go out to eat, don't take it out on your servers

The Daily Progress reports here that restaurants, while fearing what the winter has in store, have been having trouble finding enough staff. “I don’t know what this scenario is, but it’s a little scary," says a Downtown restaurant owner. "We have not been able to find enough staff to fill all of our spaces and we’ve just been doing the best we can. That’s for my whole restaurant group, and that’s what I understand from my colleagues, as well.”

Here's a theory: it's about the incredible stress that servers and bartenders have been under. Indeed, one server the DTM spoke to described the situation as "miserable."

She said that it was typical, before the pandemic, to get a troublesome or abusive customer a couple times a week, maybe on a busy Friday night, but she says that happens on almost every shift now. Customers have ripped off their masks and yelled at her, thrown food at her, and complained vehemently about slow service or not being able to quickly accommodate groups of people. Servers are trying to follow protocols, which can slow them down, and while businesses and the industry have been trying to ask customers to be patient, servers are taking the brunt of it, she says. All of this on top of having twice as much to do while making half as much as they did before the pandemic. She says that many of her colleagues are thinking of getting out of the industry or have already.

"Customers are coming out, and they are happy we are open," she says, "but too many people can be so rude and demanding. I'm seriously thinking of quitting its so bad. It's just not worth it."

Jeeze, for crying out loud, Folks, be kind to your servers!