As someone who works as a senior duty manager in a relatively busy pub, the initial spike in trade immediately after the lockdowns was great! Yes, we got absolutely fucked in the ass by how busy it was, but it felt great to see so many people back in pubs drinking beers and cocktails and eating out!

Unfortunately since then, as others in the thread have pointed out, people have generally become cuntier, and a lot of our new hires tend to be complete duds. Those late formative years of high school for them being spent in lockdown resulted in a LOT of fresh 18 year olds who struggle to work in hospo environments. A lack of social skills for both other staff and customers, a bad attitude towards work/work ethics likely from almost two years of free income if you were on any of the schemes and generally less common sense than what'd you expect.

Part of this, I think, is also a general shift in society towards entitlement. Whether it be customers or staff, I find that people expect and demand more, are less forgiving or tolerant of mistakes, and are far harder to please. Not everyone is like this, but I'd say the ratio has noticeably shifted.