July 24, 2021

"This was the beginning of the reopening, and we had a line of takeout orders. Her husband stood at the doorway and was like, ‘She's hungry! She needs her food right now!’"

"People who were already nice prior to the pandemic are super nice, and people who were a little bit difficult to deal with pre-pandemic are now completely just unbearable to even serve." 

Said the owner of Vanessa’s Bistro in Berkeley, quoted in "SF Bay Area restaurants are still struggling. Returning customers don't see that" (SF Gate). 

And there's this, from the founder of Misfits Bakehouse in Palo Alto: "I’ve been seeing a huge rise in people just forgetting to be human. People have been staying at home for a year and a half, but everyone in the service industry has been busting our butts ... and this is what we’re getting now."

2 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Joe writes:

What? The bastions of elite, liberal West Coast tolerance are fraying?

I grew up near Palo Alto and know Berkeley very well...it's too bad the best weather on the planet is wasted on idiots. Really smart idiots when it comes to tech and science, but idiots nonetheless.

An unknown smart person once said something about adversity. It doesn't build character, it reveals it.

Btw, I am extra nice to servers, bartenders, etc., the same as I always have been. I am happy that people are working doing a job that makes my life easier, and I am happy to pay for that.

Ann Althouse said...

Gavin writes:

"Can confirm living in the bay area, I have been amazed at this self absorbed rudeness for years. It's hardly surprising these deeply neurotic people are lashing out at wait staff after a self imposed lockdown. You see less of that the farther away you get from the bay area. The lockdowns have only made these people crazier."