[Editor's Note: Foodservice Digest supports debate and dialogue. The following is a counterpoint to the Feb. 16 editorial "No More Toilet Talk."]
Wendy's legendary founder, Dave Thomas, once gave me a hard time about cherry tomatoes. We were in the private dining room at Chicago's posh Park Hyatt hotel, recognizing Dave's lifetime achievements with the Restaurant Business Magazine Leadership Award. Despite having CEOs from McDonald's and Taco Bell also in the room, I had rigged the seating chart to be at Dave's side to catch any words the great man -- and he was a great man -- might let slip. And he wanted to talk about cherry tomatoes.
"Sorry your business is so bad, Scott," he said earnestly in my ear. "I thought for a nice event like this you might be able to afford the full-size tomatoes."
[image-nocss] When he wasn't pulling my leg, Dave was busy attributing everything he had earned and learned to his MBA. Dave's MBA, however, was not a degree -- the letters in this particular acronym stood for Mop Bucket Attitude. The message was clear: Success in life begins with humility, and success in the foodservice business begins with attention to the humblest of details. Like clean bathrooms.
I love the new Foodservice Digest newsletter. Not so much Abbie's editorial that we should "kill the correlation between convenience-store restrooms and foodservice" ("No More Toilet Talk"). Call me a restaurant geek or some other kind of weirdo, but there can be no stronger correlation than that of a sparkling john to a well-run foodservice operation, no better predictor of success, and certainly nothing of which to be prouder.
You could look it up. Ray Kroc built an empire on QSC (Quality, Service and Cleanliness). KFC once made its new CEO spend his first day cleaning toilets. Every great chef was first a great dishwasher. (OK, so I just made up that last part, but I bet it's true.)
The point is that you simply cannot expect foodservice greatness without restroom greatness. You cannot care about safe, wholesome and tasty food served at the right temperature if you have puddles on your men's-room floor, or empty towel holders and sticky soap dispensers. It's the same chromosome, as the legends of the industry have proven time and again. What's more, just ask one of them about their sanitation procedures and they will positively beam as they describe them as if they were a badge of honor. Which they are.
Now I'm not suggesting the subject replace great flavor in a Super Bowl (no pun intended) ad anytime soon. "I'm lovin' it" is a way better slogan than "lowest bacteria counts in town" will ever be. But true foodservice pros will never stop talking about clean rest rooms -- nor do we want them to. Granted, it may be a secret best kept to ourselves. Like who invented cherry tomatoes.
Comments of your own? Email awestra@cspnet.com.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.