"We see a lot of people take a lot of things personally. It could have been just a mistake. It's an easy fix," said Spoonie O'Neal, owner of O'Neal's Pub. "I think a lot of people's tempers have gotten way short."
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Spoonie O'Neal, owner of O'Neals Pub on the corner of South and 3rd streets, said customers have been behaving in ways he hadn't seen before the COVID-19 lockdown.
"Totally obnoxious and unruly, going to our kitchen window and try to order food," said O'Neal. "You don't do that at restaurants."
Ben Fileccia, director of operations and strategy of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, said there's been an uptick in aggressive guests, with more and more restaurants asking for tips on de-escalation as they struggle to hire enough staff.
"Guests are ready to fight and just pushing and shoving. Just completely unruly," said Fileccia. "It's just so unfortunate for these operators and servers that have been through so much this past year."
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Marcella Rolle, therapist and assistant professor in the department of counseling at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine's School of Professional and Applied Psychology, says isolation during the pandemic caused people to forget what is socially acceptable in public situations.
"There has been friction and kind of butting heads of vastly different acclimated settings and social desires and norms that have just changed over time," said Rolle.
Restaurant operators say the best thing customers can do is be patient.
"Maybe adjust expectations and realize that we're in a people business and these servers, they work hard and so do the bussers and runners and bartenders, so everyone is working to have a good experience for the customer," said Kate Wilkin, general manager of The Olde Bar.