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!

Oh yes I understand it can be annoying. Maybe call them up before visiting to make sure the restrictions are still in place and why.

(that was 'boak', not 'envy' btw....)

No problem with this at all, the idea of a salad bar seems quite grim these days.

Let us know how that goes.

Yes, "because of Covid" isn't synonymous with "as a hygiene precaution". I was recently reading that the Royal Academy of Dance had relaxed the requirement for a particular type of shoe to be worn in some of their exams during the pandemic and was confused, thinking "what on earth is so unhygienic about demi pointe shoes?" But it isn't hygiene at all. Apparently it's a supply thing - output from certain factories dropping and deliveries not being made or something like that. As significant numbers of students were unable to source the prescribed shoes the rule was relaxed. So Covid did cause the change, but not in the way that first comes to mind when we think of covid restrictions. The absence of large numbers of people from the workforce has had lots of less obvious effects.

Surely it's less Covid-safe to deploy a member of staff standing there BREATHING by the salad and customers???

(Remembers the Great Capital Letters Pandemic of 2020 😂)

Many mid-price restaurant chains have gone bust or downsized significantly in the past 5 years or so. There are enough people prepared to risk their health and stomach contents on the USP of a self-service salad/buffet and it's a folly to lose that USP where people can easily find better restaurants on the same budget. Most restaurants are table service so people that want that are already well catered for.

Where companies/ organisations continue to impose impractical conditions, especially if window dressing it as Covid theatre, I vote with my feet and find better alternatives.
I don't want to pre-book the dump, I drive the extra miles to the neighbouring local authority.
I don't want to buy ill-fitting clothes and do returns, I find sensible shops or just keep hold of my money.
I don't want to tediously book 3 seperate transactions for a 45 minute swimming window, I turn up and state that the website isn't working properly (true, it's not designed to work properly) or I go to another venue. Pre-booking is a bitch because it's good to have some spontenaity and a lot of people pre-book and waste slots/ capacity.

And if your business is still posting outdated Covid measures on your website nearly a year after things like social distancing were dropped, I move on and book elsewhere. That filtered out quite a few campsites for this years holiday. Update the bloody websites and remove outdated signage.

It isn't a covid restriction but they're continuing to use covid to their advantage for more profit, same as loads of other places.

You earlier said it's a covid restriction now you are saying it's about money... make up your mind!

Well yes, but hospitality was hit hard through covid, these businesses have to recover somehow or there will be no places to take our families to in the future

Companies brought these restrictions in for Covid, they say they're keeping them to 'keep people safe' but it's clearly inconsistent so that isn't true.

As pp have said, it is financial but they're not saying that! At best they're claiming people prefer it (probably again under the guise of safety). But I'm sure most people don't prefer it.

I know I don't for one. However there are no other establishments locally where I can get something similar. If there was somewhere else to have a self service salad, I'd go there instead. However there isn't so my choices are have salad portioned for me by the Harvester staff or go somewhere to eat something different (which doesn't fit with us as well). Both options are not great.

Probably, but private business can do what they want really can’t they? They exist to make profit so if they’ve found a way to stretch their stock further it’s not a surprise if they continue to do so.

You’re taking it very personally @gvdv . If you’re not happy with what’s on offer then you don’t have to take it or you can complain to the actual company.

Tbh I suspect that for a company of Harvesters size that if the salad bar was considerably more profitable as a staff served option then they might be more inclined to bin it off altogether over getting into any row that might take off from it.

I've stayed 3 premier inns recently that were all doing buffets. Some always do breakfast to order rather than as a buffet.

Well that's odd as we stayed in one last July at Manchester Airport and it was help yourself at the buffet. Same in March in York

I wonder if it is more to do with making sure they don't run out rather than saving money? Salad veg are amongst the most commonly out of stock items in our local supermarkets at present. I mainly order from Tesco and for months now salad is frequently unavailable or I get a substitution, and our local Sainsbury's had no fresh tomatoes of any description at all last week.
I know the Harvester staff don't nip down to the shops for their stock, but if they use the same suppliers as the supermarkets then they might have the same problem, hence the need to ration what each customer gets? Agree they should be honest if that is the reason, but it is technically due in part to covid.

I agree. It's amazing how many shops still have their windows entirely covered in posters about masks and coronavirus - but don't require masks or any form of social distancing when you get in there. Presumably it's because they haven't bothered to take them down (or have stopped seeing them) rather than because customers are still unwelcome.

Quieter Premier Inn’s have always done cook to order breakfasts

That's true, but the poster said the restrictions introduced during covid are still in place, but there's nothing to say they are still there because of covid. If it works out better for their business, I can't see why anybody is surprised that they kept the system.

I can't see the part on their website that say they are doing this for covid reasons.

I agree. It's amazing how many shops still have their windows entirely covered in posters about masks and coronavirus - but don't require masks or any form of social distancing when you get in there. Presumably it's because they haven't bothered to take them down (or have stopped seeing them) rather than because customers are still unwelcome.

That annoys me soooo much. An incorrect sign is far worse than no sign at all. What would they do if (pleeeease, no) we had mandatory mask-wearing again at some stage? Now that all their regular customers know their sign is just crying wolf and can be safely ignored, how would they then communicate the requirement to shoppers?

It always makes me think of the small shops you used to see (that didn't open 24/7) that would often have their 'OPEN' sign painted or fixed on the door. Every one of those: somebody saw those simple, cheap practical signs with 'OPEN' on one side and 'CLOSED' on the other, that you just flip around as appropriate, and thought "No, I have a much better idea!"

I've noticed in my town that barely anybody wears masks in shops anymore, as you don't have to, of course - and most of those who do only have them over their mouths with noses exposed or otherwise hanging loosely and ineffectively; but I see quite a lot more people walking through the streets or (alone) in their cars who do wear them. I never quite understand that, personally. It looks like they've deliberately adopted it as a a new token culture/fashion accessory rather than as any kind of effective preventative measure.

Why was that post removed MN? I did not say anything bad about people with Down Syndrome. I have a sister with downs. I was just stating the fact of what happened and thought it added relevance to why the food might be being touched.

Covid is still here. Sir Jonathan Van Tam is not receiving his knighthood today as he has tested positive.

People are litigious or try to get freebies blaming it on food served. Harvester have made their choice and it should be respected.

Just because we don't have legal restrictions doesn't mean that we shouldn't have restrictions.

Businesses who are maintaining a covid as safe as possible space are being eminently sensible.

Covid is still very much around and the risk of mutation is real.

Covid is still going to be ‘very much around’ tomorrow, next year, and 500 years from today. What Harvester choose to do with their salad bar is unlikely to have much impact on it.

My post office are still doing various restrictions because of covid - masks, distancing, capacity limits (you have to peer in through the windows to count how many are in there already), distanced queuing outside. Until recently, they had a sign up saying “while Covid’s still out there, we’re still taking care in here!”. They can do what they like I suppose but I think someone should gently break it to them that Covid is going to be “out there” forever.