DES MOINES, Iowa — With people staying at home and social distancing, many restaurant workers are getting fewer shifts during the pandemic. People in the hospitality industry tell Local 5 they're relying on the generosity of guests now more than ever, but a new survey shows that approximately four out of five restaurant workers report getting lower tips.
The report was conducted by the UC Berkeley Food and Berkeley Food Labor Research Center and the non-profit One Fair Wage. It finds that, in addition to 83% of restaurant workers reporting lower tips, they're also facing increased harassment.
Sarah and Toney Chem own 5 Borough Bagels in Clive. They say while the majority of their guests have been loyal and supportive, there are more frequent incidents of customers who are agitated or even unruly.
"People just got over this pandemic and didn't know how to react," said Toney Chem.
"[They'd] take it out on food workers," said Sarah. "So we've actually had to have multiple meetings with our staff on how to handle that.
Sometimes, it's just the simple task of asking a guest to wear a mask, which the owners do for the safety of their other customers.
"There's been incidents where a customer would refuse to and become belligerent and made our customers feel uncomfortable," said Toney.
The Chems said at the beginning of the pandemic, however, people were in a very giving spirit--calling in "orders" just to give a tip. Around late summer, however, it began to drop off.
Riley Germann, a food delivery person, rides his bicycle all over Downtown Des Moines to get people their lunch "freaky fast."
He, too, has faced a pandemic tip slump.
"I went on partial unemployment, and I've been just hoping that something bounces back," said Germann.
Germann says he's making about a third of what he made in the first quarter of the year, and about a fifth of what he'd typically make around the holiday season when people are usually very giving.
"People just have less money to give right now, and I understand that," said Germann. "But it's affecting me, too."
The director of Food and Beverage at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center in Cedar Rapids, Kasi Tenborg, says it's challenging to motivate students to join an industry that's suffering.
"It's heart-wrenching," said Tenborg. "There's days where my kids leave and they haven't made any money. They haven't made a single tip. So then as an employer, what do you do?"
Tenborg, who's been in the industry for decades, says restaurants typically survive on eight percent profit margins. However, noawadys most restaurants are running about 1-3%, or even dipping into the red to make sure their employees still have jobs.
"It's frustrating on all ends, and you are digging into your leadership morals and saying, how do I motivate this team, and how do I keep them here everyday, coming back, and wanting to serve the community?" said Tenborg.
Tenborg says the students are staying positive, even finding ways to innovate before they've fully jumped into the industry.
"The students have been amazing, and their minds are fresh," she said. "They have new ideas and they get so excited when they come up with an idea, and we're like, that is it. We're going to use that."