My wife and I recently witnessed a particularly worrying example.
We had already ordered and finished our meals and drinks when we noticed a member of staff washing used cups, plates and glasses under a running cold-water tap, using the same sponge-on-a-stick for everything.
What made the situation even more extraordinary was that she was standing next to a modern commercial dishwashing machine.
Whatever the explanation, from a customer's perspective it immediately raises questions about hygiene, and once customers start wondering whether the crockery and glasses are properly clean, confidence in the entire establishment can disappear remarkably quickly.
Hygiene Is a Business Issue
Cleanliness isn't simply something for the kitchen staff to worry about. It is fundamental to running a successful hospitality business.
Customers reasonably expect the plate beneath their sandwich, the cup containing their coffee and the glass holding their drink to have been properly cleaned.
Commercial dishwashers exist for a reason. Correctly operated and maintained, they provide a controlled and repeatable cleaning process. Handwashing items under running cold water with the same cleaning implement does not inspire anything like the same confidence.
There is another important consideration: cross-contamination.
Using the same sponge or brush repeatedly on different dirty items can potentially transfer contamination from one surface to another. Cleaning equipment itself therefore needs appropriate cleaning, replacement and management.
Customers Notice More Than You Think
Business owners sometimes underestimate just how observant customers can be.
People notice sticky tables, dirty menus, stained cutlery, overflowing bins, unpleasant toilets and staff handling food without appropriate attention to hygiene. They also notice what happens behind the counter.
And today, one customer's observation can quickly become everybody's observation.
A poor hygiene experience can result in negative reviews on Google, Tripadvisor and social media. A photograph or video can spread even further.
Years of work building a good local reputation can be undermined surprisingly quickly.
Why Wasn't the Dishwasher Being Used?
The incident we witnessed also raises an important management question.
Why would an employee wash crockery and glasses in this fashion when a commercial dishwasher was immediately beside her?
Perhaps the machine was temporarily faulty. Perhaps the employee hadn't been trained to operate it. Perhaps someone was trying to save electricity. Or perhaps poor practices had simply become normalised.
Whatever the reason, management needs to know.
Installing expensive commercial equipment achieves very little if employees aren't trained to use it properly or managers don't ensure agreed hygiene procedures are actually followed.
Training Should Never Be Assumed
Hospitality businesses often experience high staff turnover, which makes good induction and refresher training particularly important.
Managers should ensure employees understand not merely what they are expected to do, but why the procedures matter.
That includes appropriate procedures for washing crockery and utensils, hand hygiene, cleaning food-contact surfaces, preventing cross-contamination, waste disposal and cleaning toilets and customer areas.
Managers should also periodically observe what is happening during an ordinary working day rather than assuming written procedures are being followed.
Cleanliness Builds Customer Confidence
There's also a positive business case for excellent hygiene.
Walking into a spotless café or restaurant immediately creates confidence. Clean tables, sparkling glasses, properly presented cutlery and well-maintained toilets quietly tell customers: we care about standards here.
That impression extends to the food.
Customers cannot see everything happening inside a kitchen, so the cleanliness they can see becomes an important indicator of the standards they cannot.
And don't underestimate toilets. Customers often judge the cleanliness of an entire establishment by the condition of its lavatories. If they're dirty, some diners inevitably wonder what the kitchen looks like.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
Poor hygiene can ultimately cost considerably more than the few minutes supposedly saved by taking shortcuts.
There are potential complaints, refunds, negative reviews, lost repeat business and reputational damage. More serious failures can involve foodborne illness and intervention from environmental health authorities.
For independent cafés and restaurants in particular, reputation is immensely valuable.
One unhappy customer might represent considerably more than the loss of one meal. If that customer would otherwise have visited every fortnight for several years, the lifetime value of their business could run into hundreds or thousands of pounds.
Managers Need to Look Through Customers' Eyes
Every hospitality manager should occasionally walk through their establishment pretending they are visiting for the first time.
Look at the entrance. Look underneath tables. Pick up a menu. Examine the glasses. Visit the toilets. Watch how tables are cleared and cleaned. Observe how crockery is handled.
And, importantly, watch what staff do when they don't realise management is watching.
The café incident my wife and I witnessed demonstrates why this matters.
A commercial dishwasher was sitting right beside the employee, yet cups, glasses and plates were being washed under running cold water with the same sponge-on-a-stick.
Whether that represented a one-off mistake or established practice, as customers we couldn't possibly know.
And that is precisely the problem.
In hospitality, customers shouldn't have to wonder whether something is clean.
They should be able to take it for granted.
For café, pub and restaurant owners, cleanliness isn't merely good hygiene. It's good management, good customer service and, ultimately, good business.
