When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, it forever changed all our lives even to this day as we still try to exit the pandemic. If you were one of the many people working during the heart of the pandemic, it definitely was interesting, challenging and a unique time. Being labeled essential to go and do an everyday job was definitely an adjustment. It honestly still blows my mind to this day. In today’s post, I will be talking about my experiences in the restaurant industry and what it was like working down lock down.
Let The Madness Begin:
I was very fortunate and lucky to be employed the entire time during the pandemic mostly without issues. I can recall everything changed at the drop of a hat. At first, it seemed there was nothing to worry about and the pandemic wouldn’t even come to our area. Sadly it did and with it came the end of normal as we knew it.
I worked at a chain pizza place on a busy highway that connects the beach towns to the mainland. When the normalness ended, I remember at night the entire strip being pitch black dark, dead quit and no cars even in sight. I honestly felt like I was in a ghost town or a zombie movie. It was crazy to me how to see everything go from normal to nothing in a matter of days. On the strip we were on, the restaurant was one of the only places open. Now imagine this, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, and all the major fast food places are either all closed or close before dark. It was mind blowing to me how our pizza place was open and running like normal while everything else was closed. How is this so, you may ask? Well, we did not have a dining room, we only had a small lobby area where the counter was. Essentially we were a take out or delivery only place which gave not only us an advantage but the other chain pizza places that were in the area.
Of course it was to be expected it was going to be busier since there were curfews, more people at home, no school and everything else was closed. However, we didn’t imagine it was going to be as crazy busy as it was. To put how crazy it was each day, imagine it is Super Bowl Sunday, now multiply that by 10 or 20 each day! On average we got 200+ orders each day. It would be non-stop, just constantly bombarded by orders. At first, we all got very overwhelmed since we were not used to this heavy volume everyday and all at once. However, after a few days of doing it, we noticed the peak times and patterns so, in turn we were able to adjust and got used to it very quickly.
Wait! I’m Essential?
Another thing that took some adjusting was the whole idea of essential workers and being labeled “essential”. I remember thinking “I’m essential? But I only make pizza”? Yea it was really weird being put in the same category as first responders and health care workers. It honestly never made sense to me and still really doesn’t to this day.
I guess it’s as the saying went then “Everyone plays their part”. When you think about it, it honestly is true. We’d be making food and taking care of those working around the clock, as well as those working other important/essential jobs. Of course this came with some hardships though, such as working 9-10 hour shifts, doubles (sometimes), working 5 to 6 days in a row, etc. However luckily for me though, I had really good bosses and a great team. We made sure we took care of each other by making sure we each took breaks, eat, etc. My bosses also made sure if they had to give us crazy hours, they made it up to us by giving us multiple days off in a row as well as rotating us around so we didn’t all get burnt out. I’m extremely grateful for my amazing trio of managers for really being good bosses the entire time before, during and after the entire lockdown situation. They really made working there enjoyable and created a positive working environment.
Craziness & Horror Stories:
Now of course it wasn’t all fun games the entire time, there were definitely some horror stories mostly from customers but a few from co-workers too. You thought hotels were crazy?? Buckle up, these stories are just as crazy!
Doordash Rage
At this point when this story takes place, we were already months into the pandemic and masks are well beyond established. For me, it was just another busy night hustling through all the orders and working hard to keep up. It was the midst of a huge evening rush and this Doordash driver tried to enter the store without a mask and when he was asked to either put one on or wait outside he refused! (Typically if people who didn’t wear masks, we told them to wait outside then when their food was ready, we would just crack the front door open and hand it to them). What happened next at the time was just so insane to me since this job was my first real taste of the craziness the hospitality industry brings daily. So the dasher started screaming, yelling and cursing to the point where one of my managers had to tell him to leave. When my manager kept repeating himself over and over again, the last time he told him to get out and never come back. Needless to say we never saw that Doordash driver ever again.
Sticker Madness
Everytime we boxed an order, we had to use these rectangular stickers that sealed the boxes shut to prove the food went straight from oven to box and wasn’t tampered with. Now the crew I worked with was all guys… So of course if you give a bunch of guys a roll of stickers, you can’t expect them to not mess around with each other.
See! What did I tell you! We not only did this to mess with each other, we also would do this to any food we would make for us (yes, we got free food). Say for example if someone got a small pie, we would take the stickers and cover every square inch of the box so it was impossible to open. It was always funny to be on the pranking end and not the receiving end. It was stupid little things like this that prevented us from going crazy and staying positive during all the craziness.
Supply Chain Struggles:
Of course it’s to be expected there’s going to be disruptions when everyday life comes to a stretching hault. I remember us not struggling too much with supply chain issues. However, we did face some problems once and a while. There were a few times where getting Pepsi products was a struggle. For example there was one period of time where we actually had to go to the supermarket to buy pepsi products since we weren’t getting any in at all. You may be asking why we didn’t just order larger quantities of this was an issue. Unfortunately it wasn’t that easy although I wish it was.
The only other major supply chain issue I remember facing was when there was a national wing shortage and getting wings in was very difficult. This became a challenge for us since we were seeing higher volume in orders, this meant we were going through things faster than normal. At one point I remember it was only mid-week and we almost ran out of wings. There were a few times we actually did run out of wings. I remember when we were able to get wings in, they were more expensive to get in since demand was high and supply was low. As much as we didn’t want to, we had to at some points only offer the 6 and 8 piece wings instead of offering all the larger sized orders like the 16pc, 32pc, and 60pc.
Final Thoughts:
Overall the pandemic was a very crazy time yet also an interesting time. We saw the world change right before our eyes with the snap of a finger. I think one thing everyone got out of the pandemic was reflecting on and being more thankful for the everyday things they had. I know I definitely became more thankful for the little things.
I hope this post gave you a brief look into what my experiences were during the pandemic.
Touristician 