The Importance of Hotels Showing Corporate Social Responsibility During Hurricane Sandy

After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, many people were unable to prepare food in their homes due to lack of power. As such, the restaurants that were willing and able to open were very busy. Working at T.G.I. Friday’s in Brick, NJ, I can say that we were busier in those few weeks than we perhaps ever have been on a consistent basis since I started working there. Many restaurants stepped up their game to be socially responsible in Brick.

“Shore Good” Pancake House, right on Chambers Bridge Road, gave people without power (most people) 20% off their bill. They policed this by not advertising the special and simply asking people as they walked in if they had power. The owner even gave some people discounts of 75% or sometimes 100% off if they had lost their homes. This is definitely a business owner meeting an ethical and philanthropic obligation because he is using his increased revenue to help people that were more devastated than him by the storm.

At Friday’s, we saw a lot of traffic from people that were brought in from other states, e.g. Alabama Power. We also met people from Indiana, Michigan, Montana, and other states that were brought in to clean up debris and the like. My manager, John, gave a lot of these men free coffee. Not only was this a nice gesture, but since most of these people were paying for their meals with company dollars, this was helpful to companies that were operating in the area. By keeping their expenses just a little lower, they were able to be just that much more helpful in the clean-up.

Overall, Hurricane Sandy did a great deal of damage to the Jersey Shore but in many ways brought out the best in its people. Many people who would have complained that their burger was slightly undercooked or overcooked the previous week were overjoyed to have a hot meal in front of them. Now, in the wake of Sandy, people have continued to be generous with power, internet access, etc. so that we can return to “normalcy” as soon as possible.