May 2020

about their personal safety and
teaching them how to use [the
apps]. So, while they weren’t
technology adopters before, [this
was the] tipping point for them
as well.”
CHANGING PERCEPTIONS
McArthur says post-COVID-19,
the transparency diners have long
demanded in terms of their food
will now extend to treatment of
workers — especially third-partydelivery
staff. “There’s going to be
a questioning of the gig economy,
because a lot of people [who
work in it] don’t have a social
safety net,” adds McArthur. “And
we know the average person is
one paycheque away from not
being able to make their rent.”
She adds the gig economy,
which includes third-partydelivery
employees, “while
responsible for creating flexible
employment opportunities for
many, has inherent risks and
lacks a social safety net. One of
the things we’ll see [once we get
back to normal] is a reckoning
around the whole gig-economy
model,” says McArthur. “It’s been
starting to move to more of a
collective, potentially unionized,
model and you’ll start seeing
that as well. [People will gain an]
understanding that these workers
are incredibly vulnerable.”
She says operators and customers
will also be taking another
look at the role of sustainability,
adding an increase in single-use
plastics could be seen very early
on in the COVID-19 crisis. “Short
term, it’s got to be personal safety
over planet safety,” she says. “And
also, [restaurants] that accepted
bring-your-own-cup or bringyour-own-container
stopped all
of that because they didn’t want
to put their staff at risk of touching
something that may not have
been thoroughly cleaned.”
In fact, in the early days of
COVID-19, reusable cups were
one of the first causalities of
increased health-and-safety measures,
with large chains such as
Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Second
Cup and McDonald’s imposing
temporary bans on their
use. And post-COVID, says one
industry analyst, green restaurant
practices are likely to continue
to take a hit as customers choose
safety over sustainability.
“The COVID-19 crisis will
thrust reusable takeout containers
and cups into the trough
of disillusionment,” says Vince
Sgabellone, foodservice industry
analyst with Toronto-based NPD
Group. “This was a great idea
when everybody was worried
about saving the planet for our
grandkids. But, now everybody is
so focused on their own survival
for today that protecting the
future will likely take a backseat
for a while.”
Moving forward, McArthur
hopes people will continue to get
behind the hospitality industry
“because it always suffers more
than any other industry [during
a crisis].”
After working on the frontlines
of the SARS crisis in 2003,
she recalls that good can come
out of bad times.
“Out of crisis usually comes
something really disruptive in
terms of technology. In 2003, it
was (e-commerce and technology
company) Alibaba [out of]
China,” she recalls, adding post-
COVID, “touch [technology] is
going to be a real issue, because
at a lot of quick-serve restaurants
you have to use touch for kiosks
and such. So, I wonder if [the
industry] will move more towards
voice [-activated technology]?”
“Something will come out of
this,” she predicts. “I don’t know
what it’s going to be yet, but it
always does — and it’s going to
be super cool.” FH
We salute the
resilience and
ingenuity of our
foodservice
and hospitality
community.
We’re in this
together.
YOUR HOSPITALITY
BUILDING PARTNER
info@bltconstruction.com
TORONTO | 416.755.2505
VANCOUVER | 604.563.2505
20 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY MAY 2020 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM