Gratitude?

Remember a year ago when so many were bitching because they couldn’t go out to eat at their favorite restaurants? So many restaurants had closed, some never reopening. Many of them had to re-invent themselves. They began offering outdoor dining or take-out. I remember one restaurant in my state turning into a drive-in.

Now we’re “back to normal”, so to speak, and everyone suddenly wants to go eat at their favorite restaurants, something they haven’t been able to do for a while. Apparently while they’re out having a meal, many patrons feel it’s their right to throw a tantrum when things don’t go their way at the restaurant. The service is slow. They don’t have your sandwich on the menu any longer. The prices have gone up. They’re not open late any longer. They’re short-staffed, because during the height of the pandemic, people who worked in the restaurant industry got smart, said the hell with that shit job, and learned something new and better. I know two people who did just that.

Whatever the reason for the restaurant you always enjoyed prior to Covid suddenly being the worst place to eat, it doesn’t give you the right to act like an asshole when you dine there. I would like to believe most didn’t act like assholes at restaurants pre-Covid. So why act like assholes now?

People in the restaurant industry have gone through a lot. Many successful eating establishments went under. Most are still barely making a profit. They have hired back or hired new employees. The brave and resilient will stay afloat. Many will get sick of your shit and close.

Imagine a world without restaurants. Without any kind of empathy or gratitude towards people in that industry, that’s what it will become. If