Restaurants are adding what?

We all know the score. Many restaurants will not survive this. So one solution is?

And another idea:

Not to my mind.

We know things will not be as they were. At least not for a goodly while. Places that survive will have to increase prices to take account of what may been enforced fewer customers (if there is physical distancing) or fewer because folk are just nervous about going to restaurants. I don’t see a specific Covid charge generally working or helpful.

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The mannequin idea might be worth thinking about. It could go a little way towards dealing with the feel of an almost empty restaurant. Yes, I know restaurants could remove tables and chairs to allow for distancing - and that’s what most will do. I hate empty, or almost empty, restaurants - they always make me wonder if everyone else knows something I don’t. And, without doubt, they have none of the atmosphere of a full restaurant - although give me an empty restaurant any day, over one so busy and noisy that I can’t hear the person on the other side of the table.

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I don’t know about restaurants, as they will open in mid June here and not anytime earlier. I’ve heard hairdressers here have added a COVID surcharge of 3€ on the bill.

Maybe I prefer a more empty restaurant, mannequin is a bit spooky, it reminds me of horror films. LOL.

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1 July for the UK, at the earliest, for the start of the hospitality reopening. But absolutely no details as yet as to which aspects of the industry (bars, restaurants, hotels, etc) or how they might be allowed to operate. The “benefit”, such as it is, for the UK, is that we will have the experience of some other European countries, like France and Spain, to base our decisions on.

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Just announced that the date for opening of bars and restaurants is now 25 May for sector tourism for the green zone. Paris is in the red zone (more infectious cases), I guess that has to wait.

They also said now that we can buy air tickets to travel for July and August inside France, note that includes for example the Caribbean territory outside France metropolitan.

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Same here.

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I’ve long been impressed by the way France includes these islands exactly as though they were part of the mainland, electing deputies and so on. It’s something I wish the UK would do, although population numbers in some of these places are very small and the island very isolated. Pitcairn Island, for example, is our sole territory in the Pacific and has a population of about 70 (no, that’s not a typo). Pitcairn is primarily known as the place the Bounty mutineers ended up in 1790.

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Well I’ll tell you what, while I don’t personally agree with the covid 19 surcharge, I do understand it and can accept it. Especially if it’s as nominal a charge as it seems to be based on the examples given in the article.

The second option with the dummies…HELL NO. Listen in a perfect world with no covid 19 I have to deal with human dummies, I don’t need to sit next to crash test dummies. That’s just friggin creepy.

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I think dummies could work if they are creatively dressed. A seafood restaurant could put sailors’ outfits on them, a steak place could dress them as cowboys, etc. Then they become decor as well as enforcing social distancing.

I disagree with the surcharge because I think it’s time for restaurants to collectively stop screwing themselves over by keeping prices artificially low. It’s been good to see some chefs being so honest about how thin margins are. I’d like to see more transparency or at least honesty about how much food and labor actually cost.

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At this point I’d pay twice the usual cost to get my hair done. It was last done March 16 . . . it’s too long, it’s scraggly and the gray is taking over more than just the roots. I’m not a hat person, so I don’t even own one and it is finally getting warm enough here to make wearing a hoodie impractical for those of us who are heat-intolerant.

I gotta say, I think the dummies are seriously  creepy, to the point where I’d turn around and leave if I discovered them in a restaurant I went to. I’d feel like I was eating on the set of one of the more disturbing Twilight Zone  episodes or something…:wink:

As for the surcharge, I dunno. I get that restaurants have been hit hard, but a lot of businesses and a lot of people have been hit hard, and it’s not going to suddenly go back “to normal” when the initial restrictions ease up. I think there’s a good chance it’s going to hurt more than help. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I think raising prices slightly would probably be better than a “surcharge”…

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Besides that @gaffk, hoodies tend to give one that inimitable unabomber look :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: add a mask, and uh oh! Now I must come clean, and confess that I had my hair done last week at my bff’s house. Good old kitchen cosmetology; she used to do it professionally, but due to a chronic health condition, she just does it for a few clients. I hadn’t had mine done since mid-February, and told her I was comfortable with it, if she was. We’ve both been strictly socially distancing due to her chronic issue, and my recent one, so both felt it was acceptably low risk.

Anyway, a relief to get it done, no matter that I was admonished by the adult child I told! :upside_down_face:

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Totally agree on the dummy thing, as well as the Covid surcharge; I too would much prefer the higher prices just added into the menu items.
Mannequins would just be plain creepy to the max. shudder

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I’m all in on the dummies. Frankly would rather sit next to them than to many of the living, breathing dummies that have reduced the pleasure of eating out in the past.

I’m okay with the surcharge as long as I trust the restaurant. The surcharge covers the (with hope) short-term escalation of costs. Adjusting menu prices means we’re paying for increased supply cost AND increased printing cost.

Now that raises a thought.

From time to time I’ve seen signs in UK banks requiring folk to remove head/face coverings - like motorbike crash helmets. It’s obviously a security feature so that any would-be robbers are deterred because they’d be caught on CCTV. It has raised issues of racism for some Muslim women who choose to cover their hair/face with, say, a niqab or hijab. But I wonder if those banks usually so keen on full face recognition would require folk to remove their virus masks?

Pouring them wine? Bringing them basket’s of bread? Pretty sure I saw a horror movie about this in the 70’s. lol

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Much simpler explanation: staff get the wine at end of shift.

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If I have to dine next to dummies, I’ll take their wine damnit! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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