5 Things Customers Need to Know About Eating in a Restaurant Right Now

This week, I was a guest on a Canadian morning show. Before I went on, I jotted down some notes of the things I wanted to say. Since the TV show was for a Canadian audience only, it seemed prudent to also share these pearls of wisdom with some of the rest of North America.

• Restaurants are understaffed. Please have patience. For whatever reason, staffing has been a challenge. You might see empty tables, but that doesn’t mean there’s enough staff to seat them all. Your food might have taken longer than you think it should have, but maybe there’s only two people in the kitchen instead of the four they need. Be understanding.
• Be generous and remember that restaurants and the people who work in them have been struggling financially. Maybe you hadn’t heard, but some people were out of work for a really long time. Unlike so many people with corporate jobs, restaurant workers didn’t get to just work from home for a few months. When it comes time to tip, don’t be cheap.
• If the restaurant asks you to wear a mask, wear a mask. Servers, managers and hosts don’t want to police your behavior. They want to do they job they were hired to do. Follow the rules and don’t put them in an uncomfortable situation.
• Be grateful. For months, dining out wasn’t an option. Remember that eating in a restaurants a privilege, not a right. If you can afford to go someplace to have your meal prepared for you and then have someone else serve it and another orson clean up for you, you’re lucky. Don’t for get that.
• Don’t give up on us. If your experience wasn’t perfect, give us a another chance to make it right. Don’t be so quick to go to Facebook, Twitter, or Yelp to vote your disappointment. One bad review that goes viral can ruin a restaurant and for what?A milkshake that took too long to get to you? Give a restaurant a chance to get back on its feet before you trash it.