PennLive recently ran a story where some local restaurant owners related how they are finding it hard to hire wait staff. Most said that the problem was due to former employees finding better jobs during the pandemic: better wages, better benefits and no dealing with impatient and rude customers. One or two blamed the continued reliance of former employees on unemployment benefits, despite the fact that the enhanced benefits ran out in early September. WHTM had an interview recently with the owner of Mangia Qui, who also expressed the opinion that the problem was no longer unemployment benefits, but people migrating to better jobs.
There are a couple of steps that could help solve this problem, but they probably will not be taken. Universal health care would help here by providing good medical benefits to employees of small businesses, including restaurants, that cannot afford to provide them.
The food service industry could move to the model used in Europe and other civilized countries where restaurant employees are paid a living wage well above the minimum and not forced to rely on tips. In many countries, tipping at restaurants is unnecessary, but it is customary to “round up” the bill when paying. For example, if your bill is 9.75 (dollars, Euros or whatever), you would leave 10, thus giving a tip of .25. Theoretically, a restaurant could adopt such a system and raise its prices by 15-25% before anyone noticed a difference, except the lousy tippers.
In the words of Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changin’. The economy is changing; we can adapt, or ride an ideological high horse, in which case be prepared to watch a lot of small businesses disappear.
Michael Schnierle, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
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