The hassle of a coffee passport: reduced traffic and online complaints Business

Tighter restrictions went into effect this week for the catering, retail and events sectors, where no passport is required for customer or spectator opportunities. If you choose to operate with a passport of opportunity, these requirements do not apply to businesses.

According to data from the National Public Health Center this Friday at 4 in the afternoon, there are 617 companies operating with the opportunity passport, most of them -495- are hospitality establishments. 34 accommodation, 28 – beauty services, other activities – 60.

The vast majority of companies working with passports of opportunity are located in Vilnius (324), Kaunas – 62, Klaipėda – 31, Palanga – 21, Panevėžys – 20, Šiauliai – 16, others – in smaller municipalities.

Flows also fell 40 percent.

Most of the representatives of the catering establishments interviewed noted that the queues of visitors, with the passport of the opportunities in operation in the first week, were reduced somewhat. Nomeda Rimšaitė, director of the Akebas company, which operates the Misterija and Drops bars in the capital, pointed out that the flow of visitors at the Misterija bar, which is aimed at young people, was reduced by 40%. The interviewee attributed this to the fact that some young people were unaware that the passport of opportunity had become mandatory in some institutions.

“I think they just didn’t know that the passport of opportunity would be needed so soon. They are not against it, they simply do not know what is going on around them. We expect the flows to pick up over time. ” 15 minutes assured N. Rimšaitė.

Bar Drops said traffic was down 10 percent.

Audrius Žydelis, the owner of the BIX and Artistai bars in Vilnius Old Town, also noted that communication about the passport of opportunities is a problem. According to him, if the authorities had provided information on this in advance, the catering establishments would have been able to inform the visitors.

“The state should communicate more, it had to do it from the spring, from the winter. Gather what is most important, or invites, or some banks of colors. Then there would be no contradiction. Last year it wasn’t like that, it was much calmer. Nowadays, the government and the institutions communicate very badly, there is no simple, clear and understandable information ”, affirmed A. Žydelis.

He added N. Rimšaitė, stating that among the people who do not have the opportunity to have a passport, there are not only older people but also younger people. The flows, according to the interlocutor, decreased, but slightly.

“It just came to our attention then. Now, just a few days, it’s hard to measure. There is definitely a little decrease,” said the owner of the bar.

Arvydas Arlauskas, head of the Skaniai company, which runs the Vingio istorijos café in Vingio Park, pointed out that no significant traffic was received last week due to bad weather.

According to A. Arlauskas, there are no challenges for staff when verifying opportunity passports.

“Everything is going well, some people are in a good mood, they laugh and say: ‘When will you check our passports of opportunity?’ It is not very difficult for our staff. Young personnel work, they know how to use information and digital technologies ”, explains A. Arlauskas.

Raimondas Pranka, president of the Lithuanian Association of Bars and Cafes, did not dramatize the situation due to reduced flows; according to him, companies knew that would be the case.

“I went through the city, I heard, we don’t see big problems with passports. The weekend will show that the weather was worse last week and there were no large flows. Some reservations were withdrawn because, let’s say, 7 people go, 2 of them without a passport. You will do nothing, ”said a representative of cafes and bars.

However, not all catering establishments have faced a decrease in customer flows. Giedrė Šakauskaitė, the head of Verslo Mada, who runs the Meat Lovers Pub restaurant, pointed out that the number of customers has not decreased and the passport of opportunities allows to have a full visiting room. Without it, according to the interlocutor, only 8 people could be admitted.

Criticism in social networks

Interviewees said that conflicts in catering establishments over passport opportunities are rare, but some establishments have encountered a flood of negative comments on social media. A. Žydelis said that he understood that people who could not use certain services were dissatisfied, but there were also “a lot of inappropriate criticisms” on the Internet.

“It just came to our knowledge then. People seem to be criticizing for ideological reasons, not because they want to come and can’t eat, but because we are involved in segregation, in a fascist state, etc. Of course, it is not very pleasant to be in the first lines of battle ”, A. Žydelis evaluated the situation.

A. Arlauskas, the director of the Skaniai company, which runs the café in Vingis Park, described the situation in a similar way. According to him, there was no hostility and bad reaction from visitors, but there were bad reactions on social media.

“We checked which people had written us negative reactions, we looked at human history. There were some kind of special groups that go through all the pages, places that advertise to work only with passports of opportunity and leave bad marks. This is what we have had on social media, in popular words reportinti certain people, because we receive false comments about our catering establishment ”, – said A.Arlauskas.

R. Prankka noted that several companies had encountered angry commenters, mostly those who were among the first to announce their decision to act with a passport.

There was a guard of angry people who lowered the grades, but they are not worth fighting against, you have to work with your clients.

“There was a guard of angry people who lowered their grades, but they are not worth fighting against, you need to work with your clients,” believes R. Pranka.

At the time, Eimantas Trumpa, head of “Smurus šurmulys”, which runs Buon Giorno Trattoria in Kaunas, assured that negative comments had been avoided. The interviewee said that on social media, the company conducted a visitor survey about passport opportunities. The majority, he said, supported this choice, which facilitated the institution’s decision.

“Of course, our position from the beginning was that we are only going to work with passports, but if there are results that the majority do not agree with, it is also necessary to take into account our coming guest,” Trumppa said. .

It is true, he pointed out that while there are no conflicts, it is not a pleasure to give a passport to a visitor who does not have the opportunity.

“The excitement inside is really better when you don’t have to furnish tables where you can’t sit and control to keep people away from others seated within 2 meters. Feel free to serve everyone like 2 years ago. Hanging around people all the time is unpleasant. Probably everyone has gone to the club in their youth and if they do not let in for some reason, no one has fun, “summarized E. Trumppa.

Infractions: for not wearing masks

And how do catering companies follow the order? State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) 15 minutes reported that irregularities had already been recorded in the first week. It is true that they are few.

“This week, State Food and Veterinary Service inspectors inspected 101 public food establishments. 8 of them found violations. The most common violation is for employees not to wear masks,” said the SFVS Public Relations Department.

According to the service, infractions for not wearing masks are punishable by penalties ranging from warnings to fines (250 euros).

No passport, there are only two on the table

If the cafe does not choose to operate with a passport, as of Monday no more than two people or a family member can sit at the table inside the catering establishments and no more than five people or a family member outside. The masks should be used without eating.

In places of commerce and services, in addition to the passport, masks must be worn and the requirements for ventilation, disinfection and distances are maintained. With the passport of opportunities, the activities are carried out freely.

Events without the possibility of a passport in confined spaces must be carried out only with masks, people must be divided into sectors of no more than 500, it must be ensured that flows do not mix. Spectators must watch the event from their seats, the room cannot be filled more than 75 percent.