A Server’s Guide to Dining Out During the Pandemic
Just a few simple things to remember so I don’t stab you in the eye with a fork.
I have been a restaurant server for more than four decades. On most days I really enjoy my job. I love my coworkers and our manager, and I’m proud to serve at one of the best, most popular restaurants in the city. Our guests are a mix of locals and tourists, and in normal times serving them is (usually) a pleasure.
These are not normal times.
Any server can tell you horror stories of the occasional entitled, miserable guest. It comes with the territory, and we veterans have learned to just let it roll off our backs. Usually those guests are few and far between, and the rest are lovely.
But this pandemic has brought out the absolute worst in people. In the last nine months, since our restaurant reopened for dine-in after two months of lockdown, I have witnessed some reprehensible behavior from people who should really know better. At a time when we should all be a little more tolerant, a little more understanding, people are more entitled than ever before.
Not only have they forgotten that we servers are fellow human beings, they’ve forgotten that we are risking our lives so they can have some fried chicken.
