What Really Happened to Customer Service? A Post-Pandemic Look at Hospitality’s Soul
The pandemic didn’t just upend the way we live; it took a jackhammer to the very foundation of hospitality. Since the lockdown era, a steady chorus of customer complaints has emerged. You’ve seen the headlines, heard the comments: “Service isn’t what it used to be.” “Nobody wants to work anymore.” “It’s like they’ve stopped caring.”
But what really changed?
It’s easy to look at an under seasoned plate or a rushed server and blame it all on “lazy Gen Z workers” or “poor management.” But these surface critiques miss something much deeper, something far more important than whether the fries were crispy or if your cocktail arrived within six minutes.
In reality, what we lost was the connective tissue – the mentors, the teachers, the seasoned vets who shaped not just skills but values. We lost the long-standing rituals of initiation and guidance that, for decades, molded hospitality workers into stewards of warmth and presence. And in their absence, we’ve seen a cultural shift that no amount of Yelp reviews can reverse.
The Great Migration
Let’s be honest, a lot of us left the service industry. Not just cooks and bartenders, but trainers, lifers, industry “parents” who had quietly spent years passing down the unwritten code of how to show up for people.
When the lockdowns hit, a large swath of career hospitality folks took their talents elsewhere. Some were burned out. Others found new careers that finally offered benefits and stability. Many simply couldn’t wait out the storm and chose survival over passion. Who could blame them?
The loss wasn’t just numerical, it was emotional. Institutional knowledge and mentorship evaporated almost overnight. The torch never got passed. The folks who filled in the gaps weren’t given the same opportunity to receive it.
Mentorship Isn’t a Luxury
Mentorship was the glue that held this service industry together, it was never a perk. It was the late-night talks after closing. The gentle corrections on posture or plating. The knowing glance across a crowded room when someone was in the weeds. It was the deep pride in getting it right, not for that Yelp review or a tip, but because you respected the craft and the people you served.
Without it, new workers were thrown into the fire without a compass. Veteran guests, used to the old ways, sensed the difference in that energy.
It Was Never Just About the Job
Hospitality, when done right, is spiritual work. It’s about making people feel welcome, seen, cared for, often when they least expect it. But to offer that kind of presence, you need to feel it yourself. You need to be poured into, looked after, mentored. You need to know that someone has your back.
Post-COVID, too many workers have found themselves surviving in an emotional vacuum. If no one’s ever taken the time to teach you the why behind the work, it becomes very easy to just go through the motions. Especially when you’re exhausted, underpaid, and unsure if anyone really cares.
The False Narrative of Decline
Here’s the truth no one wants to say out loud: hospitality isn’t dead. It’s just hurt. It’s not lazy. It’s grieving.
We’ve had to rebuild without blueprints. We’ve tried to restaff without rest. We’ve asked the youngest among us to carry a weight they were never shown how to bear. Instead of asking how we can support that shift, society claps back with TikToks mocking the “worst service ever.”
That’s not how we rebuild.
So, What Now?
If you’re reading this as a guest, the next time your drink takes a minute longer or your server seems distracted, consider offering a bit of compassion. There might be more going on behind that smile than you think.
If you’re reading this as someone still in the game, especially if you’re a seasoned vet, maybe it’s time to step back into the mentorship role. Not because you’re obligated, but because you remember what it meant when someone did it for you.
If you’re newer to the service industry, keep going. You’re not broken. You’re not behind. You’re just working without a guidebook that used to be handwritten in the margins of every shift.
We All Still Belong Here
What hospitality needs now isn’t perfection. It’s presence. It’s leaders willing to teach. Peers willing to pause. A culture that stops measuring success solely by plate cost or speed of service.
Some of us stayed. Some came back. Some are just beginning. But if there’s one truth that still lives in this work, it’s that people remember how you made them feel.
We have a chance, right now, to decide what that feeling will be.
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I think about how many mentors I had and the “old “ ways. And the work it took. I am not going to romanticize the old ways as a black woman I endured some of the worst of it. But I love this industry and I want it to carry on and grow and reflecting and dialogue like this is the right way.
Thank you for sharing this- and for saying it so clearly. I couldn’t agree more. Those “old ways” held both the best and worst of what our industry can be. Like you, I saw and experienced how damaging parts of that culture were, and it’s on all of us to make sure those lessons aren’t repeated.
What gives me hope now is seeing people pushing for that balance- carrying forward the pride and craft, but leaving behind the harm. That’s how the next generation learns better than we did.