While it’s critical to keep food preparation surfaces clean and sanitized, more is not better when it comes to sanitizer. As a Wake County Environmental Services report indicates, high concentrations of sanitizer can corrode equipment and make it more difficult to clean. They can also leave behind an odor or leave a bad taste on surfaces. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions and use chemical test strips to ensure proper concentration levels.
In the space of just a few months, hygiene has taken on a much-elevated role in hospitality. Zagat’s newly released Future of Dining Study found that nearly 75 percent of the 6,500 diners surveyed said health and safety were overwhelmingly the most important factors influencing their decision to dine at restaurants in the months ahead. And much like the guest opinions about your service and food that appeared on Yelp and Tripadvisor a few months ago, you can now expect consumers to scrutinize (and comment online about) the cleanliness of their experience with you, whether good or bad. Any additional checks you can put in place to protect your new health and safety policies may help you to both address health risks quickly and manage your online presence. Further, supplementary health and safety checks could become more prevalent in states where virus infections have spiked. For example, the Texas Restaurant Association and the customer feedback firm A Closer Look have partnered with Dallas College to develop a training, inspection and certification program for restaurants. Pyments.com reports that the program includes a mystery shopper-type component that allows a person to answer a three-question survey about the health practices they see at the restaurant. The information is then relayed in real time to the restaurant’s corporate offices – and may at the same time help give consumers the outlet they need to share a negative experience.
When Chipotle had to manage an E. coli outbreak in 2015, its actions paved the way for 2020. To earn customers’ trust, it overhauled its food preparation practices – and in the process created a solid foundation to operate during the challenging climate that is 2020. The protocols introduced, which Fortune said included washing hands between tasks, placing hand sanitizer at the door and changing air filtration systems, sound like a list of COVID-19 reopening guidelines. While the brand has made other operational changes during the pandemic, those changes have focused on paid sick leave, employee compensation and delivery tracking – while other brands have had to implement more sweeping changes. Could your restaurant’s longtime safety record help you create a better blueprint for safety now?
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