Navigating a Job in Food Service during Quarantine
by Nancy Duong, Reporter and Website Designer
Opinion/Editorial
As we approach nearly a year in a seemingly uncontrollable pandemic, the number of regulations and restrictions set for public spaces has changed quite drastically. For the most part, businesses in Washington have continued to enforce limited capacity, social distancing, and masks. Having worked throughout the entire pandemic, I’ve been able to observe how COVID-19 has affected business. Of course, my experience reflects only my workplace and may not be representative of other places.
I work at a bubble tea store in the U-District, so we often get university students that come in large groups. At the start of the quarantine in March, we were prohibited indoor dining and only accepted take-out orders and online orders placed through couriers such as UberEats, DoorDash, and GrubHub. We noticed a drastic decline in in-store customers but continued to receive an influx of online orders. With fear still lingering at the forefront of our minds, many were hesitant to go outside, and even showing up to work at the empty store had me uneasy. Despite rates of COVID-19 going up, it seems the concern and fear has only declined among customers.
In the next few months as regulations were lifted, we were once again open for dine-in but continued to enforce social distancing and masks. In such a hotspot like the U-District, we still received many customers. Much to my chagrin, we continued to have students that came in large groups and the occasional unmasked customers. In addition to unpleasant customers, the influx in online orders continued to pour in, making it much busier than normal in a surprising twist.
With the rise in COVID cases, we once again had to close for dine-in. Much like before, we continued to have an influx of online orders placed. We had taken on other online food delivery services so we were busier than ever, even with closed dine-in. Eventually, we reopened for limited dine-in, and it was as if everyone had forgotten about the guidelines. Customers poured in day after day with lines out the door in our small shop. With the addition of online orders, many of my coworkers and I were overwhelmed.
Being able to see firsthand what it’s like gives me little hope for the future and for any return to normalcy. Should you decide to purchase food or drinks in person, or go out in general, I implore you to make your visit quick. Order for takeout or even call and order over the phone ahead of time. Many businesses are struggling during COVID, but show your support by ordering take-out instead of dine in.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the various authors in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Kamiak High School or The Gauntlet.