July 4 started out to be a pretty good day. Decided to go out for brunch to celebrate our country’s independence. There aren’t a lot of choices in our city, but we decided to try a place we hadn’t been to for years. The parking looked great—plenty of handicapped places. And we were pleased when seeing so many customers wearing patriotic clothing. Got inside, and looked for the host, or whatever they call the person who meets you at the door and arranges for seating. Nobody at the desk. Waited awhile. Nada. Finally called out, ‘anybody here?” That brought someone out from the back. Everything went downhill from there. Warning! Help Wanted is a bad sign.
Got seated by a pleasant young woman who brought us our coffee right away. We perused the menu, and decided what to have. She took her time getting back to our table, but we weren’t unduly concerned. While waiting, we looked around. The place was half empty. Unusual for a Sunday morning. She finally came back and took our order. And then the long wait began.
They didn’t have WIFI, so I couldn’t get much on my phone to pass the time. After half an hour, she came and asked if we wanted more coffee. We said, “no, we’d like to have our food, if that’s possible.” She swallowed hard. “I’m afraid it’s going to be awhile,” she said. “Like, how long?” I asked. “Maybe 20 minutes,” she replied.
We debated whether or not to leave. But by now, we’d invested too much time to leave, go somewhere else, park, and start all over again. The hunger pangs were making us cranky, so I looked for the waitress. Nowhere in sight. I rose from my seat to find her standing outside the kitchen. Asked her if she could fix us a couple pieces of toast while we waited. She agreed. I looked back in the kitchen and saw only one cook at the grill. No wonder the service was so slow!
We had never waited that long in any restaurant for a simple brunch. How much time does it take to cook bacon and eggs? But as we drove away, we looked at the sign outside. It said, “HELP WANTED. SERVERS AND COOKS AT BOTH LOCATIONS.” If only we had seen that before we walked in.
Obviously, the poor service is a result of the federal unemployment compensation due to Covid-19. When combined with state unemployment checks, restaurant workers can make more money staying at home than going to work. Especially in places that don’t serve liquor– which generates bigger tips.. I felt sorry for the young people who were working that day. Glad we left our waitress a good tip. It wasn’t her fault.
Warning! HELP WANTED is a bad sign.