Re: How important is the retail presentation area if the products are perfect?

Posted by CBW (Chiefbottlewasher) on December 23, 1998 at 06:04:40:

In Reply to: How important is the retail presentation area if the products are perfect? posted by Sandy on December 17, 1998 at 07:49:17:

If you've had some specialized education then the methods for sanitation and cleaniness should have been included in the courses and you should review them every 6 months or so. Apprenticeships sometimes will touch on the why but mostly you're just expected to keep up with the staff's needs. "We've got 250 more covers to serve tonight and you're still on the first rounds?!" Anyway, it's imperative that you meet the standards of the food licensing agency in your area. Consider them to be your MINIMUM standard and not a bunch of rules you have to put up with to stay in business. Then keep your front area swept and clean to a standard above the minimum. Sit down once in a while with a cup of your own coffee and look at your retail area from a customer's point of view. Is there more spilled sugar and cream on the counter by your self-serve coffee area than in the sugar and cream containers? Are your sample cake and pastry mockups in the window so old that they're dusty and cracking with age? Are the areas where your display counters meet the floors and walls beginning to accumulate the debris of time? Have too many small noses been pressed wistfully against your display cases? Are there dustballs and cobwebs in the far crevices and corners of your highest ceilings? Have you changed your front window displays at least seasonally? Would YOU want to bring a date to YOUR own establishment?! Well, excuse me, I have to go polish my brass doorknobs and sweep the outside sidewalk and then there's the restroom to do, and the dishwasher itself needs cleaning........cheers!

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