Day by day, life is getting a little more back to normal. Or at least what I am hearing people call the “new normal” or the “next normal.” After weeks of being stuck at home with nowhere to go, businesses are opening up and people are starting to venture out. Our school in Iowa even decided to hold the summer baseball and softball seasons, much to my daughters’ delight (and mine).

But now, there are rules — so many rules. Social distancing. Masks. Breaks for hand sanitizing. Individually marked stations for gear. No high fives. No (insert gasp from my 17-year-old) sunflower seeds to spit in the dugout. No dugout, for that matter.

When the girls got off the Zoom call where their head coach announced all these requirements, I could tell their bubble had been burst. They have — and rightly so — a genuine concern for whether the game they love would be the same. Their questions were valid. “How do they expect us to play in masks?” “Will softball even be any fun with all these extras steps and rules?”

Ball players and parents aren’t alone with these questions. Consumer data is showing many people have anxieties about dining out. Safety concerns are expected, but what’s bothering a lot of consumers is how this will impact much of the spontaneity of the experience. According to a recent Datassential survey of approximately 3,000 U.S consumers, 62% said they now have to plan ahead whenever they want to eat out. And while half of consumers say it’s still worth the trouble (an even higher 57% of households with kids are in this camp), 27% say it’s too much work to dine out. This number goes up (33%) when we look at households with an income of less than $50,000.

For now, I am one of the 27%. Even though I am anxious to try several highly recommended places in my new hometown, I haven’t. For some reason, the idea of dining in is intimidating to me. How do I know if a restaurant is open for dine-in? Are their hours different now? Do I need a reservation? Can I seat myself? Will I get my temperature taken? Do I need a mask? Is it worth it? As I write this out, I feel a heavy sigh coming on and it’s easy to see why the answer to the final question, for right now anyway, is “no.” Because, after weighing everything, it just seems easier to expand the repertoire of meals I cook at home. Now that life is starting back up though, I know I need to figure this out.

I’m not used to needing instruction for something as innate as dining out. But seriously, knowing the rules up front would make a big difference. Clear direction on a Facebook page or website about the expectations would go a long way toward getting me back in the door. Knowing someone will be there, to greet me and explain the rules would help too. Along with a bit of grace. I want to know places are taking safety seriously, but at the same time, don’t want to fear being shunned for not knowing the hand sanitizer protocol. I expect many consumers feel the same. After all, there is no consistency to the rules from restaurant to restaurant and what we used to be able to rely on as social norms are no more.

My girls have discovered over the past few weeks that while softball is a little different right now, they are still really enjoying being back on the field. So, I’m hoping I will be similarly surprised and delighted by my first post-COVID dine-in experience. Until then, I can always grab take out and eat it in my car. (Yes, this has become a trend!)

What about you? Have you ventured out to your favorite restaurant? I would love to hear what your experience has been and how you are navigating the situation.

Is this really the next normal?

Join for free* to continue reading.