Leftover Covid policies that make no sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting asked for a tip for pretty much anything I pay for.

That’s completely unrelated to covid what are you talking about

Tipping 20% for takeout started in 2020
-DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No physical menu. I don’t want to pull it up on my phone, thank you.

YES! The last thing I want to do at a restaurant with friends or family is have everyone stare at their phones. But thank god we’re not getting Covid from touching a menu….

+1,000 We were at a restaurant with a very long, complicated menu, think multiple pages almost like Cheesecake Factory type length. We begged for a physical menu. Restaurant doesn't have them anymore.

I tend to think of more things moving to QR codes/online as not "leftover" but a lessons learned....along the lines of the continued use of video conference to enable hybrid work and meetings.

It isn't so much about it being COVID related, but something we learned that we should incorporate and continue moving forward.

Printed menus get dirty and spread germs, ANY germs. Printed menus need to be replaced every time a menu item changes. Printed menus are just another THING that the establishment has to distribute, collect, and store.

Sure, I don't alwats love having to pull it up on my phone, but I think that is more rooted in habit and my resistance to change than the printed menu being in any way better.

Phone menus are the only one I really dislike. A well designed e-menu is OK, but not great - but it has to be designed for mobile. Daily housekeeping seems really unnecessary at hotels, and I often refused it even pre-covid (stay out of my space!).

Hybrid meetings are a life saver in a pinch. I generally prefer in person personally, but when I had to lead a meeting when my kid was sick and spouse & backup care unavailable, I was super grateful it had been as "figured out" as possible.

My other favorite COVID leftover policy is no change fees for airline tickets. Thank god.

[Anonymous]

It’s definitely annoying when places have clearly adopted policies that make their lives easier or save money and still blame it on Covid. We were in New Orleans at thanksgiving and the St Louis cemetery is still closed for “Covid.” Gurl please, it’s outside and everyone in it is dead, we aren’t getting Covid there. Be real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting asked for a tip for pretty much anything I pay for.

That’s completely unrelated to covid what are you talking about

It started during Covid and people felt obligated to tip non-tip wage employees who were doing “essential” work and now businesses are taking advantage of it left and right. It’s not related to Covid NOW but that’s how it started (like most of this policies and practices).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s definitely annoying when places have clearly adopted policies that make their lives easier or save money and still blame it on Covid. We were in New Orleans at thanksgiving and the St Louis cemetery is still closed for “Covid.” Gurl please, it’s outside and everyone in it is dead, we aren’t getting Covid there. Be real.

Lol!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walmart only staying open until 11 pm instead of open all night.

I guess this is a decision by them based on profits but I just wish at least some Walmarts were open all night. Where I live there are three super Walmarts and numerous Walmart Marketplace grocery stores within 20 minutes of me, why can't even one of them be open all night?

For years I had done my grocery shopping late at night to avoid crowds and shop in peace and quiet, and also loved being able to pick up random stuff at any hour, especially great since I'm a night owl.

Oh well, I guess it's not coming back.

It's an issue of staffing. They can't find enough people to work those shifts. I suppose you could say that's a profit issue in the sense that if they paid a lot more, they could hire more staff. But I'm not sure why you'd expect a for-profit business not to make biz decisions based on profit?

There is a great way to fix this and it's to allow more immigrants in the US.

[Anonymous]

One thing that annoys me is that water fountains are still turned off a lot of places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No physical menu. I don’t want to pull it up on my phone, thank you.

YES! The last thing I want to do at a restaurant with friends or family is have everyone stare at their phones. But thank god we’re not getting Covid from touching a menu….

+1,000 We were at a restaurant with a very long, complicated menu, think multiple pages almost like Cheesecake Factory type length. We begged for a physical menu. Restaurant doesn't have them anymore.

I tend to think of more things moving to QR codes/online as not "leftover" but a lessons learned....along the lines of the continued use of video conference to enable hybrid work and meetings.

It isn't so much about it being COVID related, but something we learned that we should incorporate and continue moving forward.

Printed menus get dirty and spread germs, ANY germs. Printed menus need to be replaced every time a menu item changes. Printed menus are just another THING that the establishment has to distribute, collect, and store.

Sure, I don't alwats love having to pull it up on my phone, but I think that is more rooted in habit and my resistance to change than the printed menu being in any way better.

Disagree. There's something nice about a printed menu. Particularly for long or complex menus (like what PP mentioned), it's onerous to click between tabs. What about long wine menus? It's easier to digest as a printed document than scrolling endlessly.

Also, it kind of kills the ambience. I don't want to have to pull my phone out when I sit down for a meal. I think it's totally reasonable to want a physical menu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walmart only staying open until 11 pm instead of open all night.

I guess this is a decision by them based on profits but I just wish at least some Walmarts were open all night. Where I live there are three super Walmarts and numerous Walmart Marketplace grocery stores within 20 minutes of me, why can't even one of them be open all night?

For years I had done my grocery shopping late at night to avoid crowds and shop in peace and quiet, and also loved being able to pick up random stuff at any hour, especially great since I'm a night owl.

Oh well, I guess it's not coming back.

Who is willing to work at them for minimum wage? You aren't, so why should someone else so you can shop at 2 AM?

Whatever. They were open 24 hrs a day for many years pre-covid.

Tough titty. Shop at a normal hour, you’re not a freaking vampire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No physical menu. I don’t want to pull it up on my phone, thank you.

YES! The last thing I want to do at a restaurant with friends or family is have everyone stare at their phones. But thank god we’re not getting Covid from touching a menu….

Yup. This bothers me so much. Feels so rude to stare at my phone. I want to talk to the people I’m with and not have everyone’s phones out. I now ask for paper menus when I walk in.

How is staring at your phone to look at a menu rude? Is staring at a paper menu rude? I don’t get it.

[Anonymous]

I don’t need or want housekeeping every day in a hotel. Fine with me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vaccine requirements.

Only for non-citizens coming to the US

And what do they matter, right? My dad doesn’t want the vaccine. It doesn’t make him dangerous to others, yet I can’t see him. Others are smarter than me, they buy certificates which aren’t properly checked anyway. It’s just theater.

Traveling to other countries isn’t a right. You can see him, he just needs to get the vaccine. This is something you can both fix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To name a few:
(1) United airlines (and probably others) not accepting credit cards and only allowing passengers to purchase items if their credit card is on file in the app.

This is a lot faster, and more sanitary for the flight attendants. It's a lot more human-centered.

(2) Hotels offering minimal housekeeping service. Makes me just want to always use Airbnb.

This is related to a labor shortage, and it cuts costs.


(3) Reduced flight schedules. People are traveling in droves and there’s a need for more flights!

Again, related to labor shortages, and ensures flights that due run are full, and increases demand which increases price.


I understand that 2 and 3 are in large part due to the labor shortage that will take years to come back from, but 1? Come on. The flight attendants can use a square and charge credit cards. Shit, they can add a little tip option like everywhere else these days. Way to leave money on the table.

COVID revealed a lot of new ways to capitalize on things. Businesses are businesses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To name a few:
(1) United airlines (and probably others) not accepting credit cards and only allowing passengers to purchase items if their credit card is on file in the app.

This is a lot faster, and more sanitary for the flight attendants. It's a lot more human-centered.

(2) Hotels offering minimal housekeeping service. Makes me just want to always use Airbnb.

This is related to a labor shortage, and it cuts costs.


(3) Reduced flight schedules. People are traveling in droves and there’s a need for more flights!

Again, related to labor shortages, and ensures flights that due run are full, and increases demand which increases price.


I understand that 2 and 3 are in large part due to the labor shortage that will take years to come back from, but 1? Come on. The flight attendants can use a square and charge credit cards. Shit, they can add a little tip option like everywhere else these days. Way to leave money on the table.

COVID revealed a lot of new ways to capitalize on things. Businesses are businesses.

Your reasoning for number 1 makes no sense when the end result is a large percentage of people not purchasing anything because they didn’t preload the app and a credit card. More sanity for flight attendants? Honestly give me a break.

[Anonymous]

I was at a restaurant last night (in the District), and when I asked if they had a bread basket, the waiter said "we aren't putting anything communal on the table because of Covid."

Nevermind the fact there were printed menus, salt and pepper shakers, and no ban on food sharing.

A few months ago, I asked a theatre (in the District) about a coat check and again the answer was "it's closed because of Covid."