If You’re Eating Out Right Now, Don’t Be a Jerk
Restaurants and bars are opening all over the country and people are bound to go to them! This is, of course, a choice that I don’t feel comfortable with, but if you just have to go right now and pay someone else to cook and bring you your food, it’s very important that you don’t act like an ungrateful weakling.
My guess is that if you are going to have lunch and / or drink in the midst of a pandemic, you have your reasons. You may be trying to support a local business or keep your favorite bar afloat (although there are other ways to do this). That’s ok I guess, but custom-made chips and salsa and $ 2 tallboys while a 15% tip is not, as kids say it is.
Every time you decide to bring your body to a restaurant or bar, you run the risk of exposing yourself or others to COVID-19, even if you don’t have any symptoms . You, the patron, can stay at home, but the restaurant workers cannot because they need money. The person who decided to reopen your favorite bar or restaurant is most likely the owner, not the worker, and it is the workers who will take your order, bring it in and / or clean up after you, so it is very important that you are a polite patron , wore a mask and tipped well.
To follow. File. Rules
Aside from wearing a mask every time you leave your desk, the establishment you choose to bless with your presence probably has a list of rules that they would like you to follow during your visit. You must read them. If they are on their websites, you should read them before leaving your home. If the rules don’t suit you for some (unique, creative) reason, don’t go to this restaurant. Don’t ask for exceptions – you’re not special – and don’t try to “get away” by breaking the rules. If you have children who are unable to understand or follow the rules, do not bring them; if you have a relative who thinks that masks infringe on their personal freedom, do not invite them; and if you have one of those “medical exemption cards,” leave it at home because it’s a lie and you’re not fooling anyone.
Don’t complain! Generally!
If I’ve learned one thing during all of this, it’s that the $ 15 cocktails are actually totally worth it. I’ve never paid for alcohol, actually. I paid for an atmosphere, a chilled glass, a perfectly mixed and diluted drink, and I didn’t have to clean up or worry about running out of ice or lemons. Likewise, when you go out to eat at a restaurant, you are not just paying for the food. You pay for labor, for experience, for preparations you would never have thought of on your own, and – again – you don’t have to wash the dishes or wipe the table.
It’s okay if you missed someone preparing your meal. It’s okay if someone doesn’t bring you your food. Hopefully these quarantine aspirations escalate into a little empathy or perhaps new appreciation for the restaurant staff, but some people have a remarkable ability to forget their past prayers and promises when they get what they want.
People working in the service industry are under unprecedented stress and they will whine because certain aspects of your lunch are not exactly what you want them to be, unacceptable, especially when no one forces you to go out for fajitas (or something more). Keep your criticisms to yourself, be polite and polite to staff, and resist any urge to tweet at the establishment, especially if you tweet about grated cheese.
Extremely good tip
They are poorly versed in sex. This was the case before the pandemic, and even more so now. To make matters worse, the poor tell the restaurant workers that they don’t think their work is worth much, even if they put themselves in physical danger every day. It’s like deciding to eat out during a pandemic, how much you decide to tip is entirely up to you, but anyone who tipped less than 25% is now dead to me. Grubstreet’s Chris Crowley argued for the 50% tip , and it’s a compelling argument:
Why? Because restaurant workers were forced to keep working, to jeopardize their health in an industry that initially did not pay them enough; workplace abuse is widespread; and health insurance is unattainable at best . These people are literally risking their lives to make your food more convenient – you must never forget this.
Also keep in mind that you can financially support the restaurant without even being there physically. Checkout, buy a T-shirt, order a pick-up wine, or donate to whatever crowdsourcing platform your restaurant uses. If you are not sure how best to proceed, contact and ask. Send a simple email or personal message that says, “How can I help you? I cannot come, but I want to send you money, ”and then do as you are told. If your reasons are purely philanthropic, this should please you.