TULSA, Okla. — As COVID-19 restrictions have allowed people to return some a little bit of pre-pandemic life, businesses around the country have reopened.
With the Delta Variant surging, businesses have had to make some important decisions about safety and staying in business.
At times, their efforts are met with negative reactions from potential customers.
Mercury Lounge — a gas station turned bar in downtown Tulsa — is feeling so much pushback from customers that they have taken extra security measures to keep staff safe. For the bar’s co-owner Bobby Dean Orcutt, it’s important that businesses do what they can to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re not scientists, we’re bartenders,” Orcutt said. “And we’re trying to figure out how to stay in business and provide a safe environment.”
In an effort to keep staff and patrons alike safer, Mercury Lounge has implemented more policies to combat the pandemic.
“We’re following a lot of music industry standards,” he told FOX23. “All of our staff is wearing masks. One hundred percent of our staff is vaccinated.”
Additionally, Mercury Lounge is asking guests to wear a mask while inside, by the door and on the patio.
These efforts have recently received some pushback from patrons.
“Just last night, [a customer] stood right there in the parking lot and lost it, screaming,” Orcutt recalled. “They were really mad, but that doesn’t change the fact that we have to do what we have to do to stay in business.”
Orcutt told FOX23 that the Mercury Lounge has increased security measures to keep staff members safe.
“We have additional security staff. We’re all on heightened alert, extra lights around the building,” Orcutt explained.
Nationally, the hostility towards restaurant workers due to these protocols has only gotten worse.
Earlier this month, a restaurant hostess in New York City was physically assaulted by a group of patrons after she asked for their vaccination cards before they could enter the establishment.
According to a study from One Fair Wage, 54 percent of workers in the service industry have reported an increase in harassment due to COVID-19 protocols. Seventy-five percent of workers have reported a decrease in tips since the pandemic began.
Additionally, a report published in Science Daily explained that servers and bartenders have experienced a higher level of psychological distress, as well as drug and alcohol abuse.
All of these factors have contributed to more than half of all workers deciding to leave the service industry for good.
“We want to create a space where everyone feels welcome, but there’s also a hard line in the sand as to what’s acceptable behavior and what is not,” Orcutt said.
Despite this uptick in negativity from patrons, Orcutt said that they have received support from the establishment’s regulars.
He emphasized that kindness and understanding goes a long way during this time.
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