Please don’t take out your COVID-19 anger on the very person who’s trying to make your evening or your vacation a great experience.
On my job as general manager of a downtown Durango hotel, it amazes, angers and disappoints when a grown adult throws a temper tantrum or threatens violence because employees are doing their best to comply with the directives of their managers, who are following regulations they had no hand in crafting.
Angry, vein-popping, aggressive behavior directed toward frontline staff in Durango is not uncommon. I have experienced and have heard of stories up and down Main Avenue and across town regarding patrons threatening violence, disrupting the dining experience for others, and making loud, obnoxious statements about their rights being compromised for anyone within earshot to hear.
More than a year into coronavirus, we in the hospitality industry are still fighting with locals and guests who refuse to wear masks or comply with other pandemic restrictions. These regulations are set for our industry by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local officials, and San Juan Basin Public Health. Violations on our part could mean the loss of business licenses or other penalties which would cost many of our staff their livelihoods.
Compliance is a constantly changing, often confusing, conundrum. Local restaurants, lodging properties and attractions are doing everything possible to provide the best guest experience possible. Thousands of jobs are at stake. Like so many other Americans, hospitality workers have suffered financially and emotionally. No one wants the pandemic to be over more than we do.
It’s your right to voice opposition and demand reform, but not at a private business. Our decision to comply with regulations and recommendations regarding coronavirus is a result of many factors that we believe are in the best interest of our business, employees and guests. We received no “Pandemic Playbook” with all the answers to survive a worldwide contagion, constantly changing regulations, political backlash and related issues. We’re simply making our best effort to do what we can with the cards we were dealt.
If you’re of a mind to ignore or dismiss the regulations that coronavirus has thrust on our industry, do so on your own property and choose to stay home.
The decisions we make at our hotel, restaurants and bars aren’t a threat to anyone’s liberty, self-reliance, or integrity. Not once have we dragged a person through the doors and forced them to patronize our establishments.
The health and safety of our customers and staff is of primary concern. Compliance is one way that we believe that we’re giving our best effort. Since none of us are doctors, scientists or health officials, we are relying on those we believe have more authority and experience than we do.
Like so many others in the pandemic, our employees on the front line are heroes. They do not deserve to be yelled at or threatened or for you to cause a scene that disrupts the other people we are trying to serve.
For maximum enjoyment of your vacation or dining experience, research your destination, understand the rules and abide by them.
If you can’t live with that, stay home or find a place to visit that is more in line with your vision.
Tori Ossola is general manager of the Strater Hotel.
