Short Staffed

Trigger Warning: There is a good possibility that I’m in full Karen mode.

It is the best barbecue joint in the area and I won’t be going back.

Have you ever been built up just to be torn back down again? That’s what the sign did to me.

“We are short staffed.” As most places are right now, to be clear. With everything opening back up at breakneck speeds (much to quickly, in my opinion, but that’s neither here nor there), there’s a rush to refill all the positions that were demolished when the panorama started.

“Please be patient with the staff that did show up.” Absolutely! Finally, a business that’s trying to take care of its employees by reminding its patrons to pitch in! I love when a business values their employees!

“No one wants to work any more[sic].” What the frack kinda bull-

What started as a message I could cheer had suddenly become a passive aggressive aimed against me. Or, at the absolute best, a desperate attempt to seem depressed to earn the business sympathy. Do they think this is going to draw people in to ask for employment? The whole thing reeks of a toxic work environment. The hostess barely pointing me towards someone else who rolled her eyes as she looked at me agrees with that sentiment, but I digress…

There are people out there that don’t want to work. The state of affairs, at least in the US, may have made that a possibility for some. There have always been and will always be people who don’t want to work.

In all honesty, I’m also one of those who don’t want to work, but I do and I do what I do during the day well. Would I leave my day job to work in a restaurant? Sure, if the price was right. For this particular restaurant? Not. A. Chance. In. Hell.

You see, the issue here isn’t that no one wants to work. The same people who didn’t want to work before the rona don’t want to work now. Nothing has changed in that regard. People want to make what they’re worth for the job they’re doing. If people are making more money on unemployment (enhanced or no) than they would working a full time job, the issue is the job.

“People are just taking advantage of the system.” Perhaps. But businesses have been taking advantage of the system and employees for decades. You can’t fault the workers for finally getting that same opportunity.

But Jay!” I hear you say. “Locally-owned businesses can’t afford to pay fair wages. We have to protect our small businesses!”

To that, I say that you are wrong. This is business. Big or small, if a business can’t find a way to be profitable without taking advantage of people, then it shouldn’t be in business. You wouldn’t let a company take advantage of you as a customer with shoddy products or poor customer service. So why is it so fine for the same people as employees to be taken advantage of?

I won’t get into the politics behind all of these issues. There are plenty of ways that they could help, but it’s shameful that the government should even need to step in for employees to not get trampled over as much as they used to. Companies should want to take care of their workers, possibly even more so than their customers.

In the meantime, I hope this particular small business closes its doors for good. I’ll make sure they remain closed for me from now on.