Service in the age of social distancing

I want business as normal to resume as much as anyone else. I also have a renewed sense of fear about being immune compromised in an industry that I love working in. I want my kids to start back to high school in the fall. And I want to not be paranoid about hugging them after school. There is a fine line between fighting to have back our “normal” and realizing that normal is gone.

And maybe normal wasn’t all that good for us. Maybe we are learning what we should have been focusing on all along. Less activities, more time at home, less running around and more helping our family and friends.

In hotels, if you are still working- you appreciate your job more than ever. You are likely offering to do more, asked to do multiple roles or in general working a more challenging schedule. If you have been laid off, furloughed or terminated – you miss it, want to go back to work as soon as possible and are figuring out next steps on how to take care of your family.

So, I think a lot about next steps and businesses that I love to spend money and time at- with my friends, family and husband. What does this look like when we achieve this new normal? If I was a business owner- what are my concerns about re- opening to dine in / bar business? Maybe half to 3/4ths of my staff got other jobs during this time and I don’t have my crew. Maybe my vendors are wanting paid in full and “caught up” in billing before they give me the supply I need. Social distancing means less seats, tables and less revenue potentially. Can I start back small without making my customers mad?

Yessss, we should be patient as customers and hopefully we will. We should because we know business as usual is a thing of the past. We should wait for tables again if needed, and realize what we have missed during this time. Take away half the tables and barstools, and focus on quality not quantity. We should appreciate that. We have an opportunity to slow down and experience hospitality again, maybe as it should be before it got so very “turn and burn”. We have an opportunity to stretch our thinking, consider service opportunities we never had to before. Making travel and dining out the experience that we have taken advantage of – because we want everything now.

I am very okay if the person opening my beer, fixing my food – wears gloves, uses hand sanitizer and washes hands frequently. I also will appreciate not being crowded into a dining room or bar where I am so close to strangers that I can hear their conversations or see what they are eating or drinking. Give me space, space is luxury. And now space can mean health.

For the workplace, space means people staying home when they are sick and not feeling bad about it. That will be a new skill for me as well. “Powering through” the day for us workaholics is no longer something to be proud of. Good health is.

I was going to end this another way but things happen and you realize what needs to be shared. I have been struggling with shortness of breath for the last week with no other symptoms. I have seasonal allergies and asked my doctor for an inhaler to help with breathing. After a few more days, with fatigue and shortness of breath- she was able to order a Covid test from the drive thru Lilly site downtown. I was impressed with the process, quickness and how nice everyone was during that test. Even more, when I got the results 24 hours later and I tested negative for Covid 19, I was relieved and grateful.

But the shortness of breath continued and got bad when I would go outside for a short time. The inhaler was less effective and I got scared. I contacted my doctor and she said even though I got a good result from the Covid 19 test, there is false negatives possible. She suggested I go to the ER, which was the farthest thing from what I wanted to do. But they could do a thorough check with a chest x-ray and that was the next step

I waited until I left work, and decided if I got scared on the way home, I would go to the ER. The very thought gave me anxiety and my breathing got worse. I drove to Community North ER and experienced a far different emergency room visit than I ever had. The waiting room was practically empty. I was asked to take off my mask and put on one that was provided. I was asked a few short questions and immediately taken back to an exam room. A few more questions and I was given the normal exam garment to change into. Two nurses returned fast and had me hooked up to wires, machines and drawing blood. The ER doc stopped by and asked a few questions, said they would run labs, get an x-ray and take care of me. It was so fast and efficient, it scared me that there must be something wrong.

But by the time I had texted my family to update them, I was being told that the x-ray was coming. They brought a portable x-ray machine in, slid something behind my back and asked me to hold my breath. And it was over. They reassured me that it was good I came in and maybe it was a bad allergy attack but they had to be sure.

Before I had time to worry more, the ER doc came in to tell me that my heart and lungs were good, my blood work was good and the chest x-ray was clear. He was releasing me soon and was glad to give me good news. I was shocked, when I realized that in 90 minutes I had an ER visit that ended great and I was going home. I started to thank them and apologize for wasting their time. I was told no, they were glad I came in as those symptoms can mean Covid and they don’t want people to hesitate to get checked out. They have followed up with me every day since then and I have never been so impressed with our local healthcare providers. They are heroes and were nice during a very stressful time for me but more so for them. I don’t get emotional hardly ever but I got choked up the moment they left so I could change and call my husband.

As a hotel employee, we can face risks as we work with the public but we take precautions. It can be scary, but when I think about the employees at hospitals – it’s not near what they face. I am grateful to them in ways I can never repay. I am grateful to have my job and work with my coworkers and that we have guests to take care of. This is the most difficult time I have experienced in the 20+ years I have worked in this industry but more sure every day that it is where I belong.

Stay safe and if you are a healthcare provider or live with one – please give them a hug long distance from me ❤️.

Looking forward to future plans and travel,

Jill

How do you give a title to the last month?

This last month had more mood changes than a teenager. Or a 45 yr old woman deciding what she wants. Or… Well I could add many cliches but I won’t. I can’t. The rollercoaster we have all been on and continue to be on cannot be rolled up into one blog with any solid conclusion, plan or teachable moment. People died, are still dying, thought they were dying but recovered, some were paranoid about dying but were mildly sick and never know why because they weren’t sick enough to be tested. Yep, I was in last catagory and still don’t know what happened. But I quarantined, my husband quarantined separately based on medical advice. I have gone from missing work to realizing work is not worth my health to being grateful I still have a job to now- which combines those feelings daily. I worked from home enough to know that I miss my colleagues and guests. I worked enough from home to be really annoying and eager when I came back. And I almost go into a full on cheerleader moment every time we get a new reservation.

I wear a mask and gloves when I should, freak out a little when I think I could forget to and then realize all my fear won’t prevent the worst. This health crisis hits us all at gut level. Whether it is our own health, job loss, health of family and friends or being a business owner unsure about the future – it has affected us all deeply. I haven’t said much about it, as I have been well wrapped up in fear. Hard to admit but true and I have to work through those fears daily. I fear for my co-workers, guests and yes, myself and my family & friends but there is no other place I would rather be.

Okay, that’s not true. I would rather be on a beach, with sand under my toes and a bucket of beer on ice close by. But my work life has been and will likely be hotels for a long time. And I understand this investment may not be paid back- as my time and passion is priceless. When you love something or someone this much, it is never about the money. It is about enjoying your service to others, being good – really good at it and being able to share it with others.

So yes, I will be better at taking care of myself, my family and time with them while taking nothing for granted in this business. And when travel resumes to where I can enjoy the sand in my toes on that wonderful beach, I will take my time and enjoy it fully.

I will appreciate even more taking my 95 yr old grandmother to lunch and navigating through political discussions I don’t want to have but will. Because I appreciate her “no filter, no nonsense” way of looking at how people behave. It is important. I will listen as she says I work too hard and need to take better care of myself.

I will appreciate church and the way my time in the baby nursery reminds me that it is not all about business – and sometimes I just need to hold a baby. I will also catch the sermon more regularly, as the online services now give me a chance to just listen and learn. And I need that.

Oh gosh, this is all becoming teachable moments. You have my apologies, as I wasn’t going to end it this way. But stay tuned, I have a lot of thoughts about the restaurant and bar side of hospitality and how that recovery will change how we serve. Maybe next blog, just depends where the rollercoaster goes next.

Stay home if you can, stay safe, relive past travels and plan your next ones,

Jill