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Staffing shortages fueling frustration among restaurant customers

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Tempers are flaring at some restaurants as customers deal with staffing shortages and changing hours. One restaurant in Brewster on Cape Cod posted about the rude behavior their waitstaff is seeing.

Lobster Hut in Plymouth, like many restaurants, has been juggling staffing shortages and supply chain issues. 

Kaisang Ghale says it has been a difficult year. 

“Just treat everybody with a respect as a customer and employee. It goes back and forth. We appreciate the customers being here and I’m sure they appreciate us being here,” said Ghale.

Some businesses say their staffs are being treated harshly. The restaurant owners at Apt Cape Cod in Brewster posted on Facebook that some customers are “Swearing at us, threatening to sue, yelling and arguing at my staff, making team members cry. This is an unacceptable way to treat any human.”  That restaurant decided to close for a day to give their employees a break.

Cabby Shack in Plymouth has seen some complaining from customers but they have been working to solve potential issues before tempers flare. Manager Gene Dupuis says being mean to your server is not going to get you anywhere and a for a lot of these kids on the waitstaff it is their first job.  

“We just try to be proactive and try to work the problems out while people are here,” said Dupuis.

Melissa Houston was out for a birthday lunch with her girlfriends. She says a 20-minute wait for a table is a perfect excuse to take in the view.  

“Just for people to be patient with the waits, be patient sit back and have a drink, enjoy the the weather,” said Houston.

The Massachusetts Restaurant Association also shared with us they are seeing similar customer complaints across the state. It’s not at an alarming rate, but they are urging people to just try to understand because there are lot of moving parts as the industry returns to 100 percent.

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