Lax enforcement of SOPs putting off diners, say restaurants

 

Business has dropped by as much as 70% at one restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, according to the owner.

PETALING JAYA: Restaurant owners have called for stricter enforcement of Covid-19 rules, saying many of their customers no longer feel confident about going out for dinner, in the wake of the Omicron wave.

Ivan Chong, founder of Cotta KL in Damansara Heights said his customers have told him they do not feel safe because of the general lack of enforcement of SOPs.

“While the lockdowns suffocated businesses, it seems like now the authorities have completely set people free without proper enforcement of the rules.

“Coupled with the transmissibility of the Omicron variant, this has made my customers afraid of dining in,” he told FMT.

Chong said that since the Omicron wave started in late January, business has dropped by up to 70% as his regular weekday customers, who comprise mainly of retirees, housewives, and office workers no longer feel safe to leave their homes.

Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president Jawahar Ali Taib Khan shared similar observations.

“We have noticed a slight drop in dine-ins, especially among families who don’t want to risk their family members catching the virus by dining in,” Jawahar told FMT.

Just like Chong, he attributes this fear to the lack of enforcement of SOPs by the government.

“The authorities should enforce SOPS like before and remind the public not to be complacent. For instance, the authorities must conduct frequent checks wherever large crowds tend to gather, such as shopping malls,” he said.

Renyi Chin, co-founder of myBurgerLab, told FMT that while sales have not dropped, there has definitely been more deliveries compared to dine-ins across the brand’s nine outlets.

“About 70 to 80% of our sales now come from deliveries, and this affects our profits because delivery partners take up to 30% in commission,” said Chin.

He said that the government needs to curb misinformation regarding vaccines and booster shots so that more people will feel encouraged to take their third dose and hopefully find the confidence to dine in restaurants. - FMT