Florida server nails it: ‘The people begging us to open are the same people complaining about masks’

A Florida restaurant server has noticed something about the customers who complain about the mask she's required to wear while bringing them food and drinks.

Skye Horgen, a 21-year-old waitress at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Clearwater, continued working when the eatery was open for carryout and curbside pickup only, and she's happy to be earning tips again -- but fearful of confrontations with stubborn customers, reported the Tampa Bay Times.

“It’s hard for us servers to run around wearing masks and be hot, and some customers had sympathy," Horgen said, "but there were other people who were like, ‘It’s a hoax, it’s so dumb you have to wear that stupid mask and gloves, they don’t do anything anyways.’”

Pinellas County requires patrons to wear masks walking into restaurants or getting up to use the restrooms, but Horgen said many customers have complained that she and her coworkers are “infringing on their American rights and freedoms” by enforcing the local order.

“It’s like they haven’t seen anything that’s been going on in the news,” she said. “It’s kind of shocking.”

Horgen wished customers appreciated how much work employees put in to make the restaurant safer, and reminded them that restaurants could be shut down again if they don't cooperate.

“At the end of the day, we’re just trying to do our jobs," Horgen said. "It’s a shame because a lot of the people who are begging to have us open for dine-in are the same people who are complaining about having to wear masks. They want to reopen but they don’t want to do the things required for us to stay open in these times.”