This is the latest of several stories on how businesses are responding and adapting to COVID-19. If you’re a business owner or employee in the county and have questions or updates, please send them to [email protected].
It’s been nearly a month since Virginia began ordering businesses to shut down to curb the spread of Covid-19, and those who have lost their jobs or had hours dramatically cut are feeling the pain more than ever.
More than 16 million people — around 10 percent of American workers — filed for unemployment in the past three weeks. In Rappahannock, unemployment insurance claims have more than tripled since March 21, reaching more than 150, according to the latest data from the Virginia Employment Commission.
Service industry staff have taken some of the greatest hits since they rely on tips for income. So when the idea of a virtual tip jar popped up on the Helping Hannock Facebook group, several people latched on to it.
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Among them was Liz Conley, a weekend resident and former server who now works in fundraising and had been looking for a way to help. Conley adapted a model that had been running in Charlottesville and created a Google document where servers and bartenders could enter their username or URL for digital payment systems Venmo, CashApp or PayPal.
The idea is that people who aren’t patronizing bars and restaurants can still be tipping their servers as they would on a normal night out. Participating businesses, which include Headmaster’s Pub, Griffin Tavern, Three Blacksmiths, Sperryville Trading and Little Washington Winery, say it’s a good way for the community to provide income to workers who may be struggling to pay bills and buy essential items.
“It’s a different way for people to donate,” said Jennifer Mello, front of the house manager for the Thornton River Group, which includes Francis and the Rappahannock Pizza Kitchen. She continues to place the wine order for the Sperryville Corner Store and helps put away deliveries after they arrive. But her hours have been cut from nearly 40 a week to just 10.
Most of the money she’s collected through the virtual tip jar has gone toward groceries.
“My heart just swells up when I check my Venmo,” said Mello, who often gets notes attached to payments from people thanking her for their virtual pizza or saying they wished they were sipping a Spirit of Sperryville cocktail with her at Francis. “I never thought I would be in this position but, my gosh, I’ve never felt so appreciated.”
Mello has also been sharing her tips with other staff at the Thornton River Group and some service industry folks around the county since she knows she is more visible than those who could use the money just as much if not more.
Some virtual tip jars allow for donations to a pool that is then divided among participating service industry staff. But Conley and other early adopters liked the more personal approach and the fact that the Rappahannock tip jar requires less management.
It’s not a perfect system, particularly in a place where internet connectivity can be patchy or non-existent. Griffin Tavern owner Debbie Donehey, who had been looking for a way to support her employees and worked with Conley, Mello and Mia Grisham at Francis to get the tip jar going, said it isn’t particularly user friendly, since people can’t just click on a link and be directed to a payment page. She also worries that those who want to tip but don’t use the digital payment systems available aren’t able to do so.
Conley recognizes those limitations but says there is no easy work around. She considered having people offer checks to business owners like Donehey who could then share that money with staff, something Donehey is already doing with the occasional donations she receives.
For now, however, Conley welcomes any ideas that may make the exchange better or more user friendly.
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Francis Bar and Rappahannock Pizza Kitchen remain closed, while the Corner Store stays open to provide groceries.
A community in need
Apart from having spent a decade as a bartender, hostess, server — Conley said the main thing driving her to support Rappahannock’s service industry workers is that they were the first people in the county to warmly welcome her and her boyfriend.
“I feel like our whole community out here sort of grew out of the folks that we met who were our bartenders or our waitresses,” said Conley, a regular at Francis on Fridays.
She’s now reaching out to those friends to remind them that the virtual tip jar continues to operate and people should use it just as they would tip any weekend they’re dining out.
“It’s not just a one and done,” Conley said. “Every single week that [these servers] are out of work is a time that you should be tipping them.”
Mello said tips have fallen off a bit now that the system has been up for several weeks, something Conley was concerned would happen.
“I do worry that the longer we stay socially distanced, we start to forget … because we’re all feeling anxious and you get caught up in your own day to day, and I worry that out of sight, out of mind,” she added.
A little goes a long way
Mello recently filed for partial unemployment after holding off initially. But when the stay at home order came into effect until June 10 she realized the little bit of savings she had tucked away wasn’t going to last. On top of that, she’ll lose her parent’s health insurance coverage when she turns 26 in June and says it’s a scary time to be on the hunt for insurance when you don’t have a steady paycheck.
While having a cut to her pay check has been tough, however, she finds social distancing the biggest challenge. Mello, a bubbly extrovert always present with a smile, says she misses her routine, visiting with regular customers and the bad jokes told by colleagues.
“I would love to think that come July we might be able to find some sort of normalcy again and get back to what we were doing,” she said. “I’m not holding my breath, but I’m still in good spirits. I’m optimistic.”
There are currently 42 service industry workers participating in the tip jar, some of whom have had their hours cut like Mello and others who have stopped working completely because their businesses have been shuttered.
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Sperryville Trading Post is among the local restaurants that have temporarily closed.
Jordan Lysaght, 29, and her husband, Eric Ralls, co-managers at Headmaster’s Pub, helped close the business on March 23, putting together care packages of perishable items for the staff and donating the rest to the food pantry. They’re currently taking on landscaping work and other odd jobs to bring in some income.
“Of course the tip is appreciated because seeing a tip from someone who you didn’t expect is really a beautiful thing, and I’m very grateful,” said Lysaght, who is using the money to cover expenses, such as groceries.
And while there is no way to aggregate how much money has moved through the tip jar or how much each server is getting, Conley said she has had beneficiaries reach out to thank her for the effort.
One woman she has never met sent her a message saying she was at home and unemployed for the time being. “But, I just received my first tip because of your fantastic idea. So thank you,” she wrote.
Mello shares that gratitude for everyone who has reached out to help, saying she has seen the best in people recently. Efforts like the virtual tip jar are just one way of giving back to the community.
“It’s going directly to people who are the backbone of the service industry around here … the people who provide so much for us that we don’t even realize,” she said. “Even just $20, that’s dinner for a couple nights. We’re counting our dollars like that now … it sounds over dramatic, but it’s true.”
Learn more about Venmo here (https://venmo.com/about/product/).
An overview of PayPal, Venmo’s parent company is here: (https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/how-paypal-works/overview).
You can sign up for either service for free.
Link to ‘Virtual Tip Jar’:
By Sara Schonhardt — For Foothills Forum
