To not understand why Harvester STILL have restrictions 'for Covid' ?

[gvdv]

We're going out for a family birthday this weekend to our local Harvester. Whilst I appreciate it may not be everyone's choice, for those of us going it suits us well, everyone likes something on the menu and we feel it's reasonably good value.

However in just speaking to a colleague who went last week, she informs me that the restrictions introduced during Covid are inexplicably still in place, and you have to have someone serving your salad at the (serve yourself) salad bar...!

I mean what is the point of this? We have zero restrictions now elsewhere aside from in a medical setting. I just don't get it. I'm quite particular about how I arrange my salad, as I'm sure are others, and having someone dish it up for you just isn't the same!

Covid isn't a valid reason - obviously.
But businesses are using it as an excuse to retain/bring in measures which keep them financially viable. That's fine, they need to make money, but I wish they would just be honest about it & ditch the Covid nonsense.

Also they're far less likely to put the spoon from one into another, or drop bits all over the other tubs - things that lead to waste as cross-contamination is removed with a clear margin

Food prices are going up - you'll still be able to get plenty, but in ways that decrease costs to the business. That or prices up. I know which I prefer (and which I can afford)

I would imagine it was noticed by accountants that cost reduced significantly with this approach so it was kept. Also more hygienic.

OP (and the poster moaning about restrictions at their tip), are these companies stating that these 'restrictions' are covid-related and temporary? Or have they possibly just found a system that works better for them?

See also Tesco changing rooms so you can't try on clothes!!
I stayed in a Premier Inn a couple of weekends ago and the hot breakfast was still waitress service and cooked to order. They clearly haven't increased the number of staff though, we must have waited 40minutes for our food. I suspect they've found it saves money.

You know Covid hasn’t miraculously disappeared, right? We’re just pretending it has.

But I'm not convinced it's more prevalent near salad, or that the spread was due to more than 3 cars being allowed at the tip at any one time?

The tip in particular seems ridiculous when the very nature of it would be fairly difficult to get people close and personal to each other? whenever I've been to the tip the only contact I had with someone else (pre covid) was one if the tip staff shouting (from a couple of meters away) that my child was not permitted to get out of the car.
When you can travel unmasked on trains and have packed football stadiums and concerts, it seems strange to limit cars at the tip or restrict salad, but not bread or drinks...

@Thedogshouses you've not explained what the distinction is between a self service drinks machine, or bread baskets, and salad? Because only one of those is restricted.

If it's fine to sit on a Tube train with no one wearing a mask and people coughing, sneezing and spitting freely, then why are companies pretending that restricting a salad bar is for our own safety.

If it was for our protection, then surely no element of your meal would be self service. As it is, it's more likely about the £££s, but hidden behind a 'for your protection' excuse.

I stayed in one about a week ago and it was help yourself to all breakfast items.

I notice that a lot of "extra covid measures" = extra duties/increased workload for (usually faitly poorly paid) staff

The self-service drinks machine at our local 'Brewers Fayre' chain restaurant didn't come back after Covid.

The tip rules doesnt surprise me. However I like the idea of someone serving you rather than you serving yourself. I dont like eat as much as you like anyway - so many times people pile their plates higher and higher and they never eat it. They just want to get 'their monies worth'! It makes me feel quite sick to see it.

People who aren’t acting the way you want them to regarding covid aren’t “pretending it’s gone away”, ffs. They know it hasn’t gone away, they just disagree with you on how to live their lives in light of that knowledge.

The premier in at frome was still help your self on the may bank holiday .

I think "because of covid" is just an excuse these days

I think most restrictions cost companies money and therefore they have removed them as soon as they could which is understandable. Not letting everyone loose at the salad bar probably saved money so that restriction is staying. I prefer it as it's more hygienic.

I stayed in 4 PIs in 4 days recently. The first one did this, (Exeter) None of the others did. It was back to normal.

Its true it hasn't gone away but it's much more under control now.
I wish somebody would remind GPs of this small fact !!

We went last week and they claim it's what people want. It's not just the salad it's the bread too.

You know we're not actually living 'after Covid' right? We're not in a post-Covid world and it hasn't gone away. As above poster said, we have just closed our eyes.

I completely understand this frustration. I had a rant last week as my local big Sainsburys still hasn't opened their fitting rooms. I had an armful of nice clothes but had to ditch them all as I wasn't schlepping back with them if they didn't fit. Why have a third of your store dedicated to clothing and then not even offer a fitting room. Sainsburys fitting rooms were never manned so its not even like its a staffing issue of having someone standing there all day. Covid has long been getting used for poor customer service and I'm personally sick of it.

Sorry, what I meant was 'after the ending of most formal Covid restrictions in the United Kingdom'.

We stayed in a Premier Inn last Monday night - self serve buffet! We stayed in a different Premier Inn on Wednesday night, and it was waitress service only for the cooked breakfast!

I don’t like the waitress service, because apart from the things you specify like how many rashers of bacon; they give me too much of the other stuff I order - like I might only want one egg’s worth of scrambled egg; not two!

Practically everywhere people go in public indoors, apart from health settings, the vast majority of people don’t wear masks, or keep their distance; so the efforts of a restaurant to reduce Covid transmission are, I would have thought, immaterial in the context of people’s potential exposure everywhere else?

@Ginandslippers

Premier Inn have done this for years. It's decided at kitchen level whether to serve buffet or at table so it could be simply the chefs preference. There are many PIs across the UK serving buffet breakfasts and they have been for quite some time. It's definitely not a new measure although since it was a blanket rule during covid it is entirely possible that more kitchens have found that way works better for them and simply not returned to buffet.

I often stay at Premier Inns and love this change. Pre covid always hated imagining all the hands that hadn't been washed after having a shit touching everything.
The changing rooms in some shops is just annoying and have lost my business.

I was standing by the chocolate fountain in Cosmo, a young girl stuck her fingers in the chocolate, licked them all and repeated numerous times, it’s grim watching what some people do. 🤢

Do you know if they are doing this to continue covid restrictions? Could it be that, as some have suggested, they have found this to be more cost effective? Or it might even be the result of customer feedback.
As someone who won't touch self-service anything with a barge pole I'm all in favour. Many people have shocking hygiene standards, particularly when they aren't bothered about who is coming along after them. Sit and watch a self-service salad bar on a busy service and you'll never use one again.