Working in the restaurant industry is no easy task. The COVID- 19 pandemic only made the job that much tougher.
This past summer, I worked at two different restaurants in Wildwood, New Jersey. I worked at Duffer’s Restaurant & Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlour as a busboy and a delivery driver. I also worked at Joe’s Fish Company, where I did many jobs. It was not business as usual, but it was the case because of COVID.
Summer kicked off for me working at Duffer’s. The restaurant usually opens on Memorial Day weekend and draw large crowds who want to come and sit down and enjoy a meal. This was not the case, as no sit-down dining was allowed in New Jersey at the time. Being a small business, Duffer’s needed to figure out a way to adapt. My bosses got creative and decided to start delivering.
When I got the call to be one of the two delivery drivers for Duffer’s, I didn’t know whether or not the ice cream would be available for delivery because it could melt. We did end up delivering the ice cream and to my surprise, it did not melt. My delivery days came to an end pretty shortly, as outdoor dining was allowed on June 15.
Many restaurants just put out some tables and chairs in their parking lot, but Duffer’s was one of the businesses to put a tent out in the parking lot. Due to a lack of staff and business, my hours were cut back at Duffer’s. I only worked during the day time since I was working at Joe’s six nights a week. Last summer on a normal bussing shift, I would make about $150 in tips. This past summer I’d make about $80, and that was on a good day.
Mid-summer, I got the call to come back to Joe’s and now I had to balance the two jobs for yet another summer. I was hired back to become the service bartender for the summer. Joe’s Fish Company is owned by Morey’s Piers, so a lot of our business was dependent on the rides. So, not opening the rides did not help.
Joe’s opened up for bar service only for the first weekend, or so we thought. When Joe’s did that, the bartenders got so busy that they opened the entire restaurant the next day.
Joe’s was pretty low on staff so everyone had to take some shifts in a position that we weren’t used to. I was asked to pick up some waitering shifts.
The worst experience I had waitering came on my last table of the night, as it usually does. The table came in at 10:15 p.m., despite us closing at 10:30. It was a family with two women and two kids. First off, they were angered by the way their drinks came out, as I got the kids drinks before I got the alcoholic beverages since they take longer. They told me their kid’s orders when I took their drink order so I assumed they wanted me to put their food through to the kitchen, so I did. The adults were mad when their kid’s orders came out before their own. Their food comes out, they don’t like it. They tell me and grab my manager and they aired out their grievances to her. Many items were taken off their bill and when they were done so I gave them their check, as I just wanted them to leave so that I could go home. The first credit card they try to pay with was declined. The one little glimmer of hope in me was still hoping I would get some sort of a tip. Wrong.
Working in a restaurant is no easy task. Please remember to take care of the staff when you go out to eat, as many of us are just trying to make a living.
