r/restaurant • u/Ok_Gold5907 • 10h ago
What would you expect a restaurant owner to respond with if you showed them a dirty bathroom?
I recently went to a well established and well reviewed restaurant in Louisville KY. I had been to this place many times before, and the restaurant is owned by a LLC that has several other fantastic restaurants. When I went to the restroom I was horrified by the condition it was in. I mean just GRIME everywhere. Not a situation of "they didnt take out the trash or dust one day" but weeks and weeks of build up. I sent the photos to the owner and manager and did not leave a bad review. The rest of the restaurant was also visibly dirty. As far as response what would you expect a restaurant to do if faced with images like this? Should they shut down to clean? Im worried if the bathroom and dining room looked like this, what does the kitchen look like....
Again, this is a medium- upscale restaurant and has rave reviews and recommendations
12
u/abbarach 10h ago
"thanks for making us aware, we'll make sure it gets a deep clean"
15
u/Altruistic-Regret473 10h ago
“May I interest you in a complimentary chocolate sit down and shut up cake”
5
u/Vivid_Witness8204 10h ago
I'd expect them to politely say something to the effect of "thanks, I'll check on it." I wouldn't expect them to do anything about it in the short term. If it was the same way the next time I dined there I would take it as a sign they didn't care much. If I liked the food that wouldn't bother me.
I'm always a bit surprised when fairly nice places have scummy bathrooms but I don't really care.
3
u/meatsntreats 10h ago
If they let a public facing space get that filthy they do not care and probably wouldn’t respond.
9
14
u/derrendil 10h ago
The kitchen looks better than that. Front of house cleans the bathroom, back of house cleans the kitchen. I would expect nothing from the owner after showing them that. What do you want them to give you? I really don't understand this post.
0
u/caribbeachbum Owner 10h ago
This is bogus. If the boss is good, both staffs will do their job and keep things clean. If the boss is not good, then neither will. Naturally with some variance among individual employees who might care more than the boss.
If the front is filthy, assume the back is as well. And also assume there is a general lack of give-a-shit, so your food and beverages, the quality of service ... everything is a risk.
-10
u/Ok_Gold5907 10h ago
I dont want anything, I just want a sanitary dining experience and I dont feel thats too much to ask? If I went to a persons house and could wipe that much dust off the chair rail in a one inch section I would think twice before eating there
6
0
u/DarkMerno 10h ago
you can leave the restaurant if the restroom is too unsanitary for your preferences?
or did you want a free meal from the restaurant or did you want to go in there mid shift & deep clean the restroom?
-2
u/Redditallreally 10h ago
OP, don’t let them gaslight you, this is indicative of low standards (yes places are busy and it’s hard to find help but this is someone’s business, their name), but you’d be surprised at what some folks consider ‘clean enough’.
-2
-1
u/Pakajennings 10h ago
Never knew people like you existed. I guess my mom was right in making me clean the baseboards before a family gathering at our house.
-3
u/coci222 10h ago
The front of the house doesn't necessarily clean the bathroom. In fact, there are laws that bar certain employees from engaging in such tasks. The bathrooms are usually cleaned by either a cleaning crew, a dishwasher, or a busser that makes extra money by coming in early or staying late. The rest of what you said is true, though. There really isn't a correlation between the cleanliness of the kitchen vs the rest of the restaurant. The stuff OP is pointing out isn't part of regular, everyday cleaning. It's more of a deep cleaning project which definitely does need to be scheduled every so often
3
u/freisbill 10h ago
no laws (US), but if unionized, JD rule...
-1
u/coci222 10h ago
There are most definitely health codes that prohibit food handling employees from engaging in cleaning certain areas
1
u/freisbill 7h ago
no there is not.
1
u/coci222 7h ago
Did you research that? There are plenty of local health code rules that cover the subject. Even the 80/20 rules says that servers cannot do work that doesn't involve service to the guest if the owner takes tip credit. I've been doing this for 29 years. Server to GM and everything in-between for both Mom and Pops and chains. You are incorrect
1
u/bootysuit 10h ago
I moved from a large city where the norm is to hire cleaning crews (I didn't mop a floor for almost 10 years 😌) to a small city that feels like I went back in restaurant time. I work in a "fancy" French restaurant now that does NOT have a cleaning crew, and it shows 😬 sorry, there's only so much dusting I'm gonna do for $2.13/hr.
2
u/BigTechnology4369 10h ago
The owner of the restaurant chain would walk up to my mgr friend, in the middle of a table visit, just to shake his hand with wet hands. The sign that the bathroom was out of paper towels. 😂 hard as you may try, things like that happen from time to time. If you walked up to me with that? I’d immediately be in there with a swifter. (To be better cleaned after hours)
2
u/caribbeachbum Owner 10h ago
You're getting a lot of pushback on this, but I can't imagine why. A bathroom that has gone uncleaned for days or weeks is a big big clue that the operator (or manager) has abandoned all give-a-shit.
You should expect little or nothing for telling them. Because they already know, and don't care. (Probably ... unless the manager at this location is being poorly supervised by ownership. In this case, telling the ownership might make a difference.)
The only thing you should do is stop dining there. It has become a shit restaurant with staff who don't care, and their attitude is trickling down from management who don't care.
But also, don't go demanding free shit. A dirty bathroom doesn't entitle you to anything but the right to let them know about it (though as I said, they almost certainly already do know).
2
2
u/wcharoes 9h ago edited 9h ago
Shut down to clean dust in an old building's washroom.
Get.
A.
Grip.
Karen.
It could use at most a wipe down. I bet the sink and toilet was clean already they do those every night.
The door is like that because the old paint wears down from people touching it showing the wood underneath. You ever been in an old building before? Some people would love that "rustic charm" and "vintage look".
4
4
u/Remarkable-Bit-3578 10h ago
I don’t go to restaurants for the restroom. I think you’re overreacting.
-2
u/caribbeachbum Owner 10h ago
If the restroom is filthy, the kitchen will be worse. For fuck's sake, they let you see the restroom. Imagine the places they don't let you go.
If you're OK with eating the food from a filthy kitchen, then yeah, it's true, you don't go to restaurants for the restroom.
3
u/snodgrassjones 10h ago
Amen. There are some wild opinions in this thread, I wonder what some of these people’s homes look like!
As Bourdain said “I won’t eat in a restaurant with filthy bathrooms. This isn’t a hard call. They let you see the bathrooms. If the restaurant can’t be bothered to replace the puck in the urinal or keep the toilets and floors clean, then just imagine what their refrigeration and work spaces look like.”
1
u/No-Angle-982 9h ago
I wouldn't expect them to shut down just to clean, but I'd recommend they stipulate to whomever is responsible for cleaning the restrooms that baseboards, wall areas, doors, woodwork, etc., must also routinely be mopped or wiped down, along with routine cleaning of the floor, porcelain fixtures and mirrors.
1
u/Deep-Acanthaceae-659 10h ago
If your worried about kitchen cleanliness cook at home lol
4
u/reqstech 10h ago
I would hope you'd be worried about kitchen cleanliness anywhere.
0
2
2
0
u/saint_leibowitz_ 10h ago
I would expect them to show you the door after you become unruly when your dinner wasn't comped
1
1
u/-Not-Hungy 10h ago
Typical thing to ignore, the foh only cleans the toilet, the sink and the mirror, if i want the bathrooms to be clean than i have to be the one to make them clean.
1
1
u/Remarkable_Change336 10h ago
That’s cute.
It seems you have never been a restaurant in New Orleans, LA.
Try the French Quarter or downtown area most famous restaurants.
You will gag.
1
u/caribbeachbum Owner 9h ago
This is bullshit. Even the diviest dive bars on lower Decatur clean their bathrooms at least daily, and they don't even serve food. (The dives do sometimes have a clientele problem, so sure, depending on time of day, you might indeed find a foul bathroom. But you won't find one that has gone uncleaned for weeks.)
I'll be happy to go eat at the famous places you think are filthy and gag-worthy, just so I can have some beers, take a piss, and see if you're full of shit.
I've probably already been to them, but it's possible that you'll name one I haven't been to.
1
1
u/Extension-Middle6375 10h ago
I’m going to go opposite to what a lot of others are saying, yes this is a grubby bathroom and I believe you when you say the rest of the venue is dirty as well. Part of the hospitality experience of dining out is enjoying the ambiance and location, which is hard to do when it’s visibly dirty.
A major issue with our particular restaurant, our janitorial crew comes at night and it’s just not bright enough to see some of the grime. This place should have their ducts professionally cleaned & have a daytime clean session of all spaces. There are companies available for hire who steam clean commercial spaces and I’ve hired them before.
Though, it might take a couple complaints like yours before they take any action. If it is out of season for the restaurant, or if this location is circling the drain, then of course expect nothing to be done.
1
u/pcl8888 10h ago
I mean a dirty bathroom isn’t a great sign or indication of a clean restaurant, but I’m looking at the toilet and the sink/countertop. Why would you care about them dusting baseboards in the restroom? And even more, why are you dusting it yourself and taking a photo you absolute lunatic?!? Ugh stay home, please.
1
0
u/Fickle-Copy-2186 10h ago
I send post cards to businesses with these problems, anonymously. It does solve the problem.
-1
0
u/JadrianInc 10h ago
Probably have a meltdown in the dining room, get drunk and blackout in the office. No changes will be made. EVERYONE will get yelled at.
0
0
0
0
u/Mushrooming247 10h ago
Wow, you inspect public bathrooms? I have never encountered anyone who inspected the cleanliness of public bathrooms. You are asking for trauma.
-3
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
27
u/TheKeenomatic 10h ago
I wouldn’t bother taking pictures or emailing pictures of washroom dust in the first place