Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, service industries– which were already fraught with high turnover– suffered more severe staff losses than ever.

Now though, even two and a half years later, restaurants are still struggling. According to the National Restaurant Association, the industry has made a substantial comeback but is still down about five percent– or around six hundred and thirty-five thousand jobs– compared to pre-pandemic employment.

Moreover, patrons across the nation are feeling the strain. The American Customer Satisfaction Index reported that customers are even unhappier with fast-food chains than last year due to slower customer service speeds, inaccurate orders, and the cleanliness of restaurants.

One Reddit user recently highlighted this harsh reality occurring at a local pizza place, where they claimed to have waited ninety minutes for one medium-sized pizza.

The user decided to travel to the store and figure out why there was such a hold-up but, upon arriving, was met with an announcement posted on the restaurant’s front door.

“DEAR CUSTOMERS: Due to the overwhelming shortage of STAFF due to “STIMULUS” and the lack of work ETHIC, we are asking our valued customers to please have patience with the TEAM that came to work today to serve you,” the note began.

“My team is working six to seven days a week, sometimes ten to twelve hours a day. Giving up time with THEIR families to be the front-line workers. Let us all show some kindness and humanity to them and say a positive word to keep them encouraged,” the note finished.

The post has since earned over forty-five thousand “upvotes” and prompted a thread with over five thousand responses– with many people online decrying the allegation that the stimulus checks and a lack of worth ethic are the prime reasons for staff shortages.

Reddit; pictured above is the whole note

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“They really think people are living off of two thousand dollars for two years instead of working,” wrote one user.

“Stimulus? Like the six hundred bucks I got a couple of years ago? Still sitting pretty with that free cash! My housing has only gone up twenty-five percent since then, too,” joked another user.

“It’s been a whole damn year and a half since the stimulus. They are just bad owners,” suggested a third.

And contrary to the restaurant’s note posting, the Reddit thread commenters are in some ways correct.

Workers have increasingly reported facing abuse and harassment from customers, receiving lower tips, and feeling dissatisfied with their lack of concrete schedules– leaving the restaurant industry for positions with more stable hours and pay.

Hudson Riehle, the senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group at the National Restaurant Association, even described how the industry might never fully recover.

“Given emergent technology, changing consumer behavior and dining preferences, and the extraordinary challenges of the last two years, the industry is unlikely to ever completely return to its pre-pandemic state,” Riehle explained.

In turn, exactly how business owners and consumers alike will learn to cope with this “new normal” remains to be seen.

To view to original Reddit thread, visit the link here.

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