As restaurant dine-in service has been banned left and right, many restaurant owners are forced to quickly figure out alternative solutions to still serve their customers. What many restaurants are choosing to do right now is offer take-out and/or delivery service only. Some restaurants are even disallowing customers to come inside their restaurant and only allowing them to order and pick up food outside their building.
Although these business owners are being extra cautious and keeping their restaurants as clean as possible, many of them are losing a lot of money. And, many restaurant owners have no choice but to lay off some of their employees.
Fortunately, the community is still strong. People are choosing to opt for takeout or delivery when they would normally mostly eat at home. Like me, many people are reposting restaurants’ social media posts to help them get more business. And some people are even giving restaurants larger tips than usual.
A diner named Skillets in North Naples, Florida most definitely experienced the latter. This month, the restaurant received a $10,000 tip from a regular customer who was hoping to make their employees’ lives a little easier.
“He said ‘I want each person in this restaurant to get 500 dollars. The manager distributed it to all the employees,” Skillets owner, Ross Edlund, explained. “There was genuine concern from our guests for our staff, which is very heartwarming to me.”
And while the entire C*********s situation has been difficult, Edlund knows that his customer base and community are highly supportive. That became apparent after his restaurant received the massive tip.
“People come in and they become family. We know where they are from, we know how many kids they have, and we know what’s going on in their lives. They become a part of our team, a part of our restaurant.”
The owner of Skillets believes that positive acts like this are important, especially during a situation like the pandemic.
“It’s not the greatest situation, but if we don’t put a positive spin on it, we’re just going to make things worse. It makes me feel like we are doing more than just serving eggs and pancakes. That we’re offering a respite from the world,” he said.
While most of us will be unable to tip a local restaurant $10,000, it certainly made a positive mark on the staff at the North Naples diner.
“Thank you very, very much. You are a really decent person, and you have touched our staff deeply. Thank you,” Edlund concluded.
If we all stick together during this time, we’ll all be in a better place once we’re out of this situation. More than ever before is the time to show extra love and support to struggling business owners. Are you on the same page as me?
Hear Edlund speak in an interview about the tip below.
