Webinar shares tips for service industry workers to deescalate mask situations

HAZEL PARK, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association (MRLA) hosted a free webinar Thursday to talk about de-escalating difficult situations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The webinar, designed for restaurant and hotel owners and management, shared basic skills to identify an escalating situation with a guest and diffuse the situation. 

FOX 2's Charlie Langton heads to Brayz Hamburgers in Hazel Park to talk to them about the latest climate in their restaurant. You can watch in the video player above.

"They think it's our fault, and it's not our fault. We just do what the governor tells us to do [about wearing masks]," says owner Paul Mirdita.

In fact, that's exactly what the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association recommends.

"This is the state policy, this is the law. Don't you say, 'You got to wear a mask, I told you to wear a mask.' It's a state law," John Harris, a security consultant, said Thursday at the MRLA's webinar. 

"They leave, they go get a mask, they come back," Mirdita says of most customers. But for those who are able but not willing to wear a mask, the MRLA shared some tips to de-escalate the situation.

Listen. Appear calm. Control your emotions and remember you cannot control what other people say or do.