Study: 28% of unvaccinated consumers would consider lying about their status in order to dine out

Dive Brief:

New research from technology platform Qualtrics finds that most customers, 59%, support business that require employees and customers to be vaccinated, while 21% do not support them. Forty-nine percent of customers feel comfortable in an establishment where vaccines are required for all customers and employees, while 25% feel uncomfortable.
Of those who are not vaccinated, 28% would consider lying about their status to eat in a restaurant where a vaccination mandate is in place, and 25% said they know someone who has lied or would lie to eat at a restaurant or do other social activities.
More cities and establishments have added vaccine mandates for dine-in business. New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco are among the cities that now require vaccination for indoor dining, while restaurants and bars in other locations have implemented such a requirement on their own.

Dive Insight:

Up to 70% of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated as of Nov. 1, and the number of those who could lie about their status in order to dine out is smaller than ever. But consumer non-compliance is an added challenge for restaurant employees tasked with enforcing vaccine and mask mandates and for operators tasked with additional training to make it easier for their employees.

Spotting a fake vaccination card could pose a challenge. Standard vaccination cards include an official CDC seal, as well as the person's name, date of vaccination and the site where they received the vaccine. However, not all vaccination sites use the standard CDC card, so it may be necessary to ask for another form of identification to match up the names. Restaurants also need to train workers to ensure the process of verification is consistent.

The added training can benefit customers and employees alike. In its justification for its vaccine mandate, King County, Washington, cited an analysis by the University of Washington predicting the vaccine verification policy at restaurants and other establishments could prevent between 17,900 and 75,900 infections, 421 and 1,760 hospitalizations, and 63 and 257 deaths locally over six months.

Making service employees responsible for enforcing public health requirements, while many consumers are willing to lie about their status to dine out, might also hurt the industry's recruitment efforts. Many employees are already leaving due the harassment they face for enforcing COVID-19 mandates.

Many restaurants are not enforcing vaccine mandates. Some businesses could also be worried about consumer pushback about the mandates and not want to put their employees at risk. Others might be worried about losing business, as 18% of consumers say they are less likely to patronize a business with a vaccine requirement, according to Qualtrics' data. Further, a New York State Restaurant Association survey found that 67% of restaurants have lost customers due to the city's vaccine mandate.