Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that the amount of customers throwing tantrums at restaurants and hotels has been on the rise. The common thread amongst staff of both hotels and restaurants is that employees deserve to be treated better by customers, despite what situation may be occurring.
For example, think of the Brewerie at Union Station in Erie, Pennsylvania - the owner put a simple sign on his front door reading, "BE KIND OR LEAVE."
For the owner, Mr. Sirianni, it was necessary to put this sign on his door, as well as post this simple 4-word message to their Facebook page because his staff was not being treated right. Since the posting of this sign, customers have acted better towards his brewery and staff.
In the hospitality industry, it is said that "the customer is always right", but a lot of the time that phrase is taken advantage of by customers. The general manager of the Providence Marriott Downtown Hotel in Rhode Island, Farouk Rajab, discussed this and mentioned,
“We’ve always been people-pleasers in the hospitality industry,” ... “The customer was always right. Well, they’re not.”
Mr. Rajab says his staff has been going through it after many complaints about not answering front-desk calls fast enough to even off-brand shampoo, he had to take the initiative and post a sign of his own in front of his hotel. The sign basically reads that they are experiencing a staff shortage and asking hotel goers to be kind and patient towards staff.
According to a report by Black Box Intelligence, a restaurant analytics company, more than 60% of restaurant workers said they had suffered from emotional abuse and disrespect from customers and 78% said their mental health has taken a negative toll in the past 12 months.
There are so many restaurants, small businesses, and hotels that are understaffed and are struggling to stay open - next time you go out to eat, stay in a hotel, or visit a small business, BE KIND!