Anyone notice decreased service levels at restaurants?

dseag2

dseag2

Dallas, TX
Location
Dallas, TX
It seems that since Covid occurred many restaurant workers have decided to choose better paying jobs or have just decided not to go back to work entirely. Many restaurants in our area have Help Wanted signs. I went to a Schlotzky's (not exactly a restaurant) a while ago and stood there for an extended period of time with no one coming to the counter to take my order. I left. Even the full-service restaurants we frequent seem to have slower service. Anyone else noticing this?
 

We have. The number of people working at restaurants is a fraction of what it used to be. Many of these places were closed down in the early days of this pandemic, and the employees had to find other jobs....or live off the government. Supply is a long way from catching up with Demand. Virtually Every store, restaurant, etc., in our area has Help Wanted signs posted, and not having much success, in staffing.
 
It seems like all restaurants here are desperate for staff. One place was short of kitchen staff. Waitresses are working double shifts. I give a good tip. If they’re showing up, they deserve a little extra.

In Vancouver, BC a small Asian restaurant was offering $50K per year for a dishwasher. This rated a news article.
 

The last time we went out to eat (big chain "farm" restaurant) there was only one waitress. There were only three couples at the tables so we thought she could handle it. She took our order and then came back to ask us what it was we wanted three times. It took one hour to get our food.
 
Yes it's the same here, probably shouldn't be as bad in the UK as it may be in the USA because waiting staff get paid at least minimum wage and often more, plus tips.... so they have less reason not to return to work than their US counterparts.. but sadly yep lot of shortages now in the hospitality industry... including hotel staff...
 
Our Mc Donalds here in town had signs up saying they will pay $15.00 per hr. with a $3,000.00 sign-on bonus.

Well, they could not get any help, so now they have installed robots. People say the robots get everything wrong. I don't go there anymore as the food is so bad. The last time in one was 1972
 
Practically every place I go has help wanted signs, not just restaurants.

We’ve been to restaurants with people waiting but whole sections empty. They just didn’t have the staff to serve those tables.
 
Tom 86 said:
Our Mc Donalds here in town had signs up saying they will pay $15.00 per hr. with a $3,000.00 sign-on bonus.
Well, they could not get any help, so now they have installed robots. People say the robots get everything wrong. I don't go there anymore as the food is so bad. The last time in one was 1972
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they are programed that way.... Why should they change now????
 
If there's anybody who hasn't noticed decreased service levels, especially in restaurants, they're living in a vacuum. And if there's a food service business that thinks it has figured out that they can get along with less hired help and make money, they're living in lala land.

A consumer advocate on one of our local news channels didn't have any money-saving tips yesterday, but he did a short segment on people being patient and kind to servers who really have no control over how long it takes to get to them or for the kitchen to fill their orders.

It's sad that we all have to re reminded to be patient and kind to others. What have we become? In short, impatient/inconsiderate/selfish/demanding :(
 
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Well, it has at least put an end to the overly-enthusiastic waiter/waitress who stopped by your table every five minutes with an overly-cheery "How's everybody doing? You guys need anything else? How's that lasagna? Anybody interested in dessert? Are you sure? We have a dy-no-mite lava cake tonight!"

Unfortunately, it takes an Act of Congress. Divine Intervention, or standing on top of your table sending up smoke signals using the candle light to get a refill on your water, iced tea or soda, or heaven-help-us, another napkin or a replacement for the fork you knocked to the floor. I recommend taking tiny sips and bringing some napkins from home. Oh, and hang onto that fork unless you like eating with your hands.
 
hollydolly said:
probably shouldn't be as bad in the UK as it may be in the USA because waiting staff get paid at least minimum wage and often more, plus tips.... so they have less reason not to return to work than their US counterparts..
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Good point. Servers here are paid $15.20 (minimum wage) plus they get tips.
 
hollydolly said:
Yes it's the same here, probably shouldn't be as bad in the UK as it may be in the USA because waiting staff get paid at least minimum wage and often more, plus tips.... so they have less reason not to return to work than their US counterparts.. but sadly yep lot of shortages now in the hospitality industry... including hotel staff...
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I thought European countries didn't have tipping. Is this recent?
 
Good service last night at a sit down restaurant. Left a decent tip, and appreciated it. Don't go out to eat often, but this was my friend's birthday.
 
WheatenLover said:
I thought European countries didn't have tipping. Is this recent?
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We've always had tipping in Europe , UK and all other European countries .. our service staff however don't rely on it as a wage.. so it's not a huge deal if they don't get a tip.. and people don't feel obliged to have to tip altho' most do...that includes waiting staff in restaurants and cafes', hotel staff, hairdressers and everything in between
 
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hollydolly said:
We've always had tipping in Europe UK and all other Euopean countries .. our service staffhowever don't rely on it as a wage.. so it's not a huge deal if they don't get a tip.. and people don't feel obliged to have to tip altho' most do...that includes waiting staffin restaurants and cafes', hotel staff, hairdressers and everything in between
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Thank you for responding. I had no idea. It is good that service workers don't have to rely on tips, IMO.
 
WheatenLover said:
Thank you for responding. I had no idea. It is good that service workers don't have to rely on tips, IMO.
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Absolutely...I have to admit that any country that makes their service staff rely on tip for a salary are looked on as very low indeed..

..and also because of the fact our waiting staff get paid a proper wage, there's no necessity to turn tables here... so if you book a table at 6pm for example in most restaurants you can have it the whole night, no-one is rushing you out after an hour or 2 to get yet another set of diners in so they can make more tips... (salary)
 
No problem for me as I don't go to restaurants anymore. When I think about it I haven't been to a mall in over a year. I think I'm a better person when I stay away from people with those masks. Only place I go to is a grocery store and only in the morning when there aren't that many folks around. I think the economy is pretty depressed even though the propaganda on the media is telling us that the economy is booming. I wonder? How is it "booming" when so many stores have brown paper on the windows? There also seems to be a lot of stories about travel opening up and suggesting that everyone will soon be traveling to those "wonderful" holiday destinations. Well, I don't know. If I have to climb into a taxi wearing a mask, go to the airport wearing a mask, fly a jet wearing a mask, another taxi or van wearing a mask and perhaps see some museum wearing a mask, then for my money, I'd rather stay home and watch Doc, Kitty, Festus and Marshall Dillon. They never wear masks. Only the stag coach holdup crooks wear masks. It makes me smile when I see masked bandits shoting the stage coach driver and his guard. It's kind of close to home; if you get my drift?
 
The reason for low staff in restaurants and stores all over is pretty simple. The unemployed are still getting their unemployment checks. Our current administration is continuing to feed these checks to the unemployed. Who is paying for all this? You and me - in taxes. It's time the unemployment checks stop and its time now for it to stop. People are enjoying being lazy it is a sad situation. When I worked it made me feel good about myself when I got my paycheck. Our culture is changing for the bad. Why work if I can get free money?
 
kssf said:
The reason for low staff in restaurants and stores all over is pretty simple. The unemployed are still getting their unemployment checks. Our current administration is continuing to feed these checks to the unemployed. Who is paying for all this? You and me - in taxes. It's time the unemployment checks stop and its time now for it to stop. People are enjoying being lazy it is a sad situation. When I worked it made me feel good about myself when I got my paycheck. Our culture is changing for the bad. Why work if I can get free money?
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News flash. The extended benefits ended and nothing changed. One of the major issues right now is with women who always bear the brunt of childcare. There is no childcare to be had on any meaningful basis.
 

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