The worst time of the year for hospitality workers is among us: the holiday season. And as soon as you reached the end of that sentence, I lost you.
I must be completely out of my mind to think that the time where people are spending more money, traveling to be with family, and going out for lavish dinners would be the best time of the year for fancy restaurants and beautiful vacation destinations. Yes, people are spending more money and going out more. Yes, the hospitality business is booming around this time. And yes, hospitality workers are up against the worst of the worst customers of the year.
If you work in the hospitality industry, you know to brace yourself for December. Venues are booked and the workload gets heavier, yet, neither of those things are the point of issue.
The problem with the holiday season lies within the attitude of customers.
When holidays come around, people really feel the pressure to please their family and to try to impress others.
Holiday season means holiday stress!
Being apart of the hospitality industry and really wanting to make every guest feel like a VIP is an all-year job. We want everyone to have the best experience that they can and provide something that speaks to every group member in a party.
I'm by no means saying that our quality of service goes down during the holiday season, but I am saying that making people who are already highly stressed happy becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible for certain bah humbugs.
When the holiday season comes around, people are way-less jolly than you expect them to be.
Customers may be grumpy from all the stress and come off as rude. Customers may take their family out to an expensive dinner and offer to pay for everyone saying things like "get whatever you want," not realizing how much it would total to and then in return, not leaving an appropriate tip. Customers might be running way late to reservations because they don't want to rush their extended families on their travels.
The list goes on, but the bottom line is that people become less considerate of those serving them and tend to become and act more arrogantly.
I urge consumers to remember this season, people are taking time away from their family to make the time you are spending with your family more special.
Remember what the holiday season is about: joy, love, family, and blessings.
We are all feeling the stress, let's handle it in a way that keeps everyone happy!