Malls, Tipping Culture, and Social Interactions — Oh, Just a Few Things the Pandemic Ruined!

The COVID-19 pandemic flipped our world upside down, and it hasn't been the same since. Sure, we can blame technology (side-eye to Amazon, even though we love their low prices) for the decline of brick-and-mortar stores and social skills (social media, we're looking at you), but the pandemic took everything to a whole new level, sending it all into chaos. Some things recovered, but others...tear...may never bounce back. Here’s our list of the top things the pandemic ruined.

“Man I miss the 3am walmart runs. no one was there except Sam, the crazy guy," said plowerd on Reddit. Sorry to burst your bubble, but those rumors about some Walmart stores returning to 24-hour operation? Yeah, those are false.

"Genuine human interaction feels weird and technological now," said Redditor carrovinc. Perhaps all those months cooped up at home away from work, friends, and family had a bigger impact than we thought! And this Redditor is proof: "I feel like I lost all of my social skills after the pandemic. Especially in conversations and things like that. I feel like I don't know what to say."

We can all agree that customer service has taken a nosedive, but customer entitlement has skyrocketed. So maybe both sides are contributing to the mess?

If your local mall's last survivors are a Bath & Body Works, Auntie Anne's, and a JCPenney, you’re not alone, friends. Sadly, you’re not alone.

"COVID ruined the tipping culture. Now I'm expected to tip everyone, everywhere. I'm so sick of having a tablet shoved in my face with tip choices at fast food places." — @anonymousanomoly83 on Reddit.

"The health system is wrecked. Way too many nurses got burnt out and left the profession." — @randomredditor0042 on Reddit.

"Former teacher here. My students went from cooperatively working in groups to solve problems... To playing fortnite on their second monitor while they were in class," a former Reddit user divulged before deleting their account.

After COVID threw a wrench into the supply chain, causing factories to shut down and leaving us short on parts, car prices shot through the roof.

Don't get us wrong, we love a good buffet, but we'll always have that little voice in the back of our head wondering if the food was properly changed out (let's be honest, workers are lazy or overworked) or if some customer sneezed near the trays (ah, germs!).

"Dude people treat movie theaters like their living rooms now, it's absurd. And it's all ages too." — @reecord2 on Reddit

“Dining out. The bar is so much lower for good food and service now,” according to one Redditor. Be honest, how many times in the last three months have you eaten out and felt that the food quality, service, and price were actually worth the trip?

"Here in Texas, we have idiots who will scream at you for wearing a mask. Dude...I'm trying to not get YOU sick. I'm trying to be considerate, but somehow we've made that into something political." — @GamingTrend on Reddit

"My sense of time. I'm at a point now where I'll be thinking of something from a couple months ago and then I'll be corrected that it actually happened nearly three years ago." — @pizza_who_26 on Reddit

"I’m working at a free clinic and let me tell you, we’re stretched so thin. Funding streams are drying up faster than we can find replacements." — @bit-o-nic on Reddit

At least for some. "Everywhere is dead after 7 p.m., and closed at 9 p.m.," complained @DEADtoasterOVEN (and plenty of others) on Reddit.

Did we cover all the bases, or did the pandemic leave a few more things completely ruined that we missed?