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Author Topic: If you owned or managed a restaurant...
maui babe
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which scenario would you prefer?

I work as an epidemiologist for the department of health, and one of my responsibilities is to investigate food borne illness complaints and determine whether a complaint is credible or not, and whether to send a referral to the sanitation inspector for further follow up. As a result, I have a close working relationship with all of the inspectors, and since it's a small island/office, we're all fairly friendly as well.

Here's the story. There's a restaurant down the street from my office that I frequent for lunch. They serve 'cafeteria' style. That is, they have foods ready made on a steam table, that you can choose from. They always have rice (that's a given here), a noodle dish, several meat/chicken/fish entrees to choose from. It's very popular and always very crowded at lunch time. They also do a lot of catering.

There is an older woman who works there who is the problem. She usually runs the cash register, but if a long line forms, she'll leave the register and serve the next person in line to make things go smoother (it really doesn't because the line just gets really long at the register, but that's not my problem). The problem is, she doesn't wash her hands between the register and the food line, and her food handling protocol is abssymal - she licks her fingers if she gets gravy or sauce on them; if some noodles are hanging down out of the styrofoam container she's serving into, she'll use her bare fingers (that she's been licking) to push them up; she also licks her fingers as she handles paper money at the register.

Now, this is very unappealing to me as a customer, of course. In the last week or so, when thinking about where to get lunch, I've been avoiding this place, and to be honest, there aren't a lot of other places to choose from in this area, and I do like their food. And as a public health professional, it's even worse. I know what the law is concerning hand hygiene and food handling protocols (although I'm not an inspector and don't have any authority in the restaurant myself).

I've been agonizing over how to deal with it, so I put it to you folks. If you were the owner or manager of this place, would you rather get:

A) A phone call from a dissatisfied customer who has been avoiding your establishment for a cause that could be easily remedied (if this woman just stayed at the register and didn't try to serve food, there would be no problem. Also, with a little bit of education, she could probably even serve food safely - if she washed her hands between the register and the food line (there is a sink in plain sight) or put on disposable gloves.

B) A visit from the sanitation inspector who has jurisdiction over your restaurant. As the epidemiologist, although I don't usually refer cases to sanitation if there's no illness reported, it's well within my job description to pass on this kind of complaint. Since no illness has been associated with the restaurant, most likely the inspector would just remind the manager of the food code statute pertaining to hand washing and bare-hand food handling and that would be the end of it. No sanctions would be involved (unless of course, the inspector decided to conduct a full inspection, and he found some other egregious violation).

Okay, so of course, the call from the customer is preferable... but would a single customer complaint be enough to cause you to keep this woman at the register (This particular restaurant is family owned and operated - I'm fairly certain she's the wife/sister/possibly mother of the clan).

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Dagonee
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quote:
Okay, so of course, the call from the customer is preferable... but would a single customer complaint be enough to cause you to keep this woman at the register (This particular restaurant is family owned and operated - I'm fairly certain she's the wife/sister/possibly mother of the clan).
If the customer call fails, you can proceed to plan B.
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erosomniac
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I'd voice the complaint as a customer, reminding them that you really like their food, and specifically mention that you're a public health official and don't want it to be a big deal.

That would seem clear to me that you're very serious and expect changes, but are trying your best to not get anyone in any actual trouble, which is in keeping with the kama`aina spirit.

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ketchupqueen
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What they said.
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Lyrhawn
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Agreed. I don't know what kind of place it is, but I know at the restaurant where I work, they take letters written to the corporate office VERY seriously. Managers get reemed out for complaints made to corporate.

I'd start with what eros said. Call them and give them a friendly warning that as a public health official you see violations and you'd like them fixed but you don't want to make an offical problem of it. Check back with them and see what they do. Even if the woman wore gloves and changed them every time she went from station to station it would probably satisfy the rules.

If they ignore you, make an official complaint and they deserve what they get.

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aspectre
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What erosomaniac says, along with a suggestion that the cashier keeps a box of polyethylene disposable plastic gloves nearby (not latex, too much trouble donning&removing properly).
Make it very clear that you like their food and their cashier (to prevent an unwanted firing). But that someone sooner or later is bound to file a complaint, and you just want to head off any future trouble.

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ClaudiaTherese
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A pet peeve: food handlers who put on a pair of disposable gloves and then just proceed to touch anything and everything. Food, door handles, delivery boxes, implements, more food, take money, yadda yadda. But they are wearing gloves, so at least their hands are protected!

*facepalm

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Storm Saxon
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quote:

The problem is, she doesn't wash her hands between the register and the food line, and her food handling protocol is abssymal - she licks her fingers if she gets gravy or sauce on them; if some noodles are hanging down out of the styrofoam container she's serving into, she'll use her bare fingers (that she's been licking) to push them up; she also licks her fingers as she handles paper money at the register.

*twitch*
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Dagonee
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There's a woman at a local subway who has the glove for food, deglove for cash dance down perfectly. When you watch her, it's like there's a mind ray sending reminders at the exact same spot every time. When she crosses an imaginary line near the register, she takes the gloves off or puts on new ones without breaking stride or seeming to think about it.
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quidscribis
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Yikes, maui babe! Yeah, what's already been said.

Dagonee, I like your subway chick already. [Smile]

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Tstorm
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It's already been said, but I'll chime in:

Plan A first, then Plan B if necessary.

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Rakeesh
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Good grief! I'm amazed there hasn't been a major complaint already. I've worked in about a half-dozen restaurants before, and in my experience they all had some things that skirted the edge of high-quality sanitation standards. I worked out in front of customers, though, so even if I wanted to be slipshod in that area, it wasn't really an option for me.

But if they've got people doing that in front of the customers? Right in front of the customers, in the setting you're describing? *twitch* indeed!

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Kwea
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Do both. It will have more effect.
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Dead_Horse
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You might need to do both to protect your job. What if your work found out you'd talked to these people and not reported it, and they continued letting the finger licker touch food?

I would at least tell the restaurant that if you ever see it again, you'll have to report it.

Is it possible to do any of this anonymously? If they know who you are, the finger licker might only stop when you are around to watch.

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Kwea
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Just mention what you do for a living, and why it concerns you. Also, mention that if you don't see an immedate improvment you will have to take official action.


Don't mention your name, just what you do for a living and how often you have seen the infractions....use her name to be very specific.

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neo-dragon
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My mom gets very upset with the cashiers at McDonalds if they accidentally touch the inside of an empty cup while picking it up to hand it to her after having handled money. She demands a new cup, and often they don't even realize why.
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maui babe
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Thanks for all of your comments. I tried to call the restaurant a couple of times, but the manager was never in, and didn't return my calls.

I ran into the sanitation inspector on my way back from a meeting and mentioned it to him. He had the same *twitch-y* reaction many of you have had. He said he'd go over on Friday, since he had a full day tomorrow.

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ClaudiaTherese
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Good.
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stihl1
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There was a pita place here that I used to go to for lunch. THey had a kitchen area where the food was made, with a window to see through. One day I'm in line waiting to order, and I see this big dude back there making pita sandwhiches. As he's making the pitas, he's stuffing food into his mouth with his bare hands and licking his fingers. Suddenly I'm next in line, and I ask to see the manager. The cashier turns around and asks the big dude who was licking his fingers to come up front. He comes up, I told him (loudly so the other customers could hear) what I saw him doing, and told him it was gross and I wasn't eating there any more. then turned around and left. And never went back. It's now closed.

Gross.

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KarlEd
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As a soon to be manager of a restaurant, I'd much rather receive the customer complaint. Had you called me, I would have:

1. Thanked you for your comments.
2. Assured you that I would take immediate steps to rectify the situation.
3. Express my hope that this issue will not prevent you from coming back.
4. Spoken to the register lady and instructed her either to remain at the register and not handle food, or set up training and proper procedures for her to switch back and forth.

But then again, I would hope I would have noticed the problem before any customers did, and if I then received your call I could say "Thank you for your comments. I've been made aware of the situation and it had been addressed. Please come back. Give your name at the register and you will receive your next lunch on the house. Please do not hesitate to contact me if anything is amiss during your next visit."

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