A North Wales restaurant chain has been forced to speak out over the "verbal and physical" abuse of its staff since reopening.
Dylan's has three restaurants in Llandudno, Menai Bridge and Criccieth and has served 175,000 customers since reopening following lockdown.
A vast majority have given "lovely feedback" to the hard working staff but a minority have been abusive.
It is a similar picture at other hospitality venues as businesses explain the current restrictions they have to work under to keep people safe in the pandemic.
This week, Dylan's - run by directors David Evans and Robin Hodgson - posted on Facebook under the heading 'Be Kind'.
They said: "At Dylan’s, we have never had cause to speak out like this before, but sadly we have also received both physical and verbal abuse from some customers.
"We have also had threats made to our faces and we’ve seen people walk out shouting and screaming, instead of speaking with us.
"Sadly, some of you will not be surprised, as it’s not just at Dylan’s.
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"We’ve seen friends in other small businesses and hospitality venues suffering too, both here in North Wales and further afield.
"We hope one thing is abundantly clear. We DO NOT tolerate abuse in our restaurants."
They asked everyone who came to them to remember these points:
- Our incredible team have had a hard year.
- As with many of us, their mental health has suffered.
- Also, like many of us, their physical health has suffered too.
- A few of us have lost relatives to COVID.
- Some of us are battling Long-COVID symptoms at work.
- All of us are working under challenging rules & new public health regulations.
- Not all of us have been furloughed all year. Many have been working harder than ever.
- For those of us who were furloughed, it’s not been a holiday. Lockdown brought its own challenges.
They added: "We’ve been busy. We turned ourselves into voluntary essential workers and helped feed our NHS. We fought hard to make sure Dylan’s diversified as a business too, so we could all return to our jobs. We succeeded. We did not have to let any of our colleagues go.
"Our suppliers have worked round the clock to bring their produce back to our kitchens. All the work we did meant we were able to welcome you back as soon as it was safe.
"Now we’re open, we are sometimes short-staffed as team members have had to isolate or fallen ill. All the regulations and policies - being cashless, masks, fewer tables – are to keep us all safe.
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"When we open our doors each day, we do it to welcome everyone, to help make memories, to bring smiles, share amazing produce, to celebrate the incredible offering we have in North Wales.
"Thank you to every one of you who have been so wonderfully patient and understanding as we get back on our feet and continue to do our best every day.
"Once again; we DO NOT tolerate abuse in our restaurants."
They signed off: "Be kind. Byddwch yn garedig.
"With love. Gyda chariad, - Team Dylan’s."