Hand Washing 101 Program for Restaurants: I have to be honest and tell you that I go into every bathroom before eating in any restaurant to check out its condition.
One thing that I look at particularly is if they have proper hand soaps and if the dispensers are working. Just because it has dispensers does not mean they are working. How many times have you seen the dispenser not working and instead you find a bar of soap there or something else they picked up at CVS? Why did they not simply fix the dispenser? If the owner and/or manager cut costs that way, what else are they doing that I need to be aware of?
Most people who work in a restaurant use it as an entry-level job, with little or no benefits. You can be assured- many are working even when they don’t feel well. Since they also use the restroom, you want to be assured that they are washing their hands properly with good hand soap and drying them as well.
We have all heard that we should sing the song Happy Birthday while washing our hands; however, how many of us actually do it?
In addition to good hand soap in the restroom, they should also have a couple of stations throughout with dispensers that have a hand sanitizer as well. Of course, this should never replace the washing of hands; it should be there to complement the other programs in place.
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A couple of things I recommend are:
- Use a good name brand hand soap that is either anti-bacterial or has some type of lanolin in it to reduce the dryness of hands
- Check daily that all dispensers are working properly and if not, replace. Many companies will give them free or at a discounted price so you use their chemicals
- Have a couple of dispensers in reserve since they are not hard to replace.
- Make sure you talk about it to your employees, so that they know it is a priority to both them and your customers to wash hands properly, and stay home if you are sick.
- In the kitchen, use some wall charts and reminders if needed.
- Review your glove program and make adjustments if needed.
The perfect time to wash hands is
➢ After touching food
➢ After using restroom
➢ Eating, drinking, smoking or changing into work clothes
➢ After cleaning up any type of spill or picking up items dropped on the floor
➢ After touching, brushing, or combing your hair
➢ After you or another person next to you sneezes or coughs
➢ After handling dirty dishes
Finally, a program cannot or will not be successful if there are no checks and balances. A supervisor needs to keep his or her eyes open for infractions and handle it appropriately.
Is this how you run your program? Please share with others!