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mlkellogg's avatar

Made a trip to Santa Fe about six months ago. Super crowded 1.5 hour wait for every restaurant we went to. Actually gave up and went to Chikfila. After waiting in line 45 minutes, we gave up again and went to Sonic. Not exactly the dining experience we had hoped for. Left a day early. Oh well.

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Ruth Stroud's avatar

Thanks for sharing your experience. If you went in May or June, the city’s restaurants may have been just opening up after being closed and might have had even worse service issues than now, plus the press of crowds of tourists eager to dine out after a year of pandemic shutdowns. October/early November turned out to to be a pretty great time to visit, with far fewer tourists and mostly good service despite the worker shortage—and great local food. I hope you visit Santa Fe someday and have a happier experience.

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Gayla Gray's avatar

I enjoyed the article. I experience this everywhere I go and the way some people treat the remaining service people makes me wonder why they are staying. In my experience the majority of people used to just be ugly behind the screen where they could be nameless/faceless, but not anymore.

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Ruth Stroud's avatar

Thanks, Gayla! I agree completely with your assessment. Knowing how understaffed so many places are, we’ve tried to be more understanding travelers, but I have witnessed bad guest behavior that makes me cringe. Most of the time, the workers are doing the best they can under trying circumstances. I don’t know how they keep smiling, but most do.

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Rena Kleiman's avatar

Love the story, Ruth. You guys are such amazing travelers.

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Ruth Stroud's avatar

Thanks, Rena! Miss you guys! 💕

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Jolene Handy's avatar

Excellent reporting, Ruth—it’s such a tough situation, all ‘round.

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Ruth Stroud's avatar

Thanks, Jolene! It is tough, but somehow we've been well cared for anyway!😘

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