Gold Coast business: ‘New hospitality world’ extremely labour intensive and confusing

Gold Coast waitress Kimberley De Snoo says she’s never worked harder than during stage two COVID-19 restrictions.

WAITRESS Kimberley De Snoo says she’s never worked harder due to stage two COVID-19 restrictions.

Ms De Snoo, 21, says she enjoys now being able to serve customers at Surfers Paradise Beach Cafe the past few weeks but the “new hospitality world” is extremely labour intensive and confusing.

Beach Cafe waitress Kimberley De Snoo flat out at Surfers Paradise Beach Cafe amid stage two COVID-19 restrictions. Photo: Glenn Hampson.

“The really big struggle is counting heads,” she said.

“You have to be good at maths and keep track of everyone while doing 100 other things.

“Getting patron details isn’t easy, not everyone is nice.

“We also had to transformed our whole ordering system which has been a mammoth administrative task.

“The rules change continuously, so we have to be on our game.”

Queensland cafes can now provide table service to 20 people per designated area.

As of last week, customers can drink alcohol without ordering food, but must be seated at a table.

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Surfers Paradise Beach Cafe owner Arthur De Snoo said: “The hospitality restrictions, in comparison to other countries, are a joke”. Picture: Jerad Williams

Cafe owner Arthur De Snoo said their venue can only seat 80, compared to their capacity of 230, but he needed more floor staff than before to keep up with the new requirements.

“COVID-19 restrictions require intense labour but revenue has plummeted, so it’s not viable long term,” he said.

“Without JobKeeper or rental assistance, we would not survive.

“The hospitality restrictions, in comparison to other countries, are a joke.”