A restaurant in Cape Cod closed its restaurant to treat its employees to a “day of kindness” after an “astronomical influx” of rude customers.
Apt Cape Cod posted about the closure on Facebook on July 8.
The restaurant wrote that many of the restaurant’s guests and patrons treat them with kindness and understanding. But daily, some swear at their staff, threaten to sue and argue and yell, “making team members cry”.
“This is an unacceptable way to treat any human,” they said.
The post went on to say: “Please remember that many of my staff are young, this is their first job or summer job to help pay for college. We have had to make adjustments due to the increase in business volume, size of the kitchen, product availability, and staffing availability, we are not trying to ruin anyone’s vacation or day off.”
The post quickly went viral with users showing their sympathy.
Jo-Ann Belmonte wrote: “Regina and Brandi I am so sorry. Your staff has always been so polite and caring. Please let them know at least how much I respect them and wish I was still on the cape and could support you and the team!”
Jean Santiago Perra wrote: “So sorry.. obviously the rude have never worked in the service industry... Truly we need laws put in place for this behavior, it's abuse and not acceptable.
“Please tell your staff that you just cannot fix stupid and to laugh at the rude people… they don't deserve you.”
Another user, Christina Hallas commented: “It is horrible that people are treating others this way. I want to say Thank you for supporting your staff and helping them deal with this situation. It says a lot about you as a business.”
Last week, a Burger King sign in Lincoln, Nebraska, went viral after its employees posted the message “we all quit” and “sorry for the inconvenience”, protesting against being overworked and understaffed.
The sign was put up by angry staff members trying to send a message to upper management.
Rachael Flores, a former general manager at the store who gave her two-week notice after frustrations with management and the working conditions at the restaurant, told news outlet KLN-TV that eight fellow employees quit soon afterwards.
"They wanted to put up a sign to say, you know, 'Sorry there's really not going to be anyone here’, just kind of a laugh to upper management. That got to put up before we opened, and I didn't think anybody was going to notice it, because we did just one sign. And then it went pretty crazy on Facebook. I got a call from my upper management, and they told me I needed to take it down," she told the publication.
Flores said that due to an ever-changing staff of district managers, her particular branch had been overlooked, leading to working conditions that included 90-degree temperatures in the kitchen, resulting in severe dehydration, and 50 to 60 hour work weeks.
Flores said she was hospitalised for dehydration, and her boss told her she was a “baby”.
This morning, all of the Burger King employees at the Havelock location (here in Lincoln, Nebraska) quit all at once—and let potential customers know about it. pic.twitter.com/2FeFcw7E4I
— Ted Genoways (@TedGenoways) July 11, 2021
These fast food workers are reported to be among a growing group of retail workers who are "rage quitting" their jobs over working conditions and pay during the US labour shortage.