A FEW MYTHS:

(by Earl Norsworthy - Owner of a Burger King franchise and two Denny's Restaurants in the Los Angeles area)

Myth No. 1: If the food and service are good, my customers won't care about the condition of my restrooms.
Fact: Not so. Today people are more concerned than ever before about the transmission of disease. Dirty rest rooms are considered a haven for germs.

Myth No. 2: I use a janitorial service; that should be good enough.
Fact: Not necessarily. Most janitorial services sweep up the floors and refill the dispensers, but many either ignore toilets and sinks completely or do only a cursory job of cleaning them. Have you asked your service lately how often they clean the fixtures? Do they clean out the drain? Do they use germicidal products.

Myth No. 3: It's Just as effective to have my restaurant employees tidy up the rest rooms during down-time as it is to hire a service.
Fact: It's not. Most restaurant employees aren't trained to clean a rest room thoroughly. And they frequently resent being asked to clean it. As a result, they often do a poor job.

Myth No. 4: I can't afford to hire an outside contractor to clean my rest rooms. It's cheaper to use my own people.
Fact: Wrong again. First of all, if you manage the cleaning of your rest rooms, you have to inventory cleaning supplies, dispensers, soap, paper towels and bathroom tissue. That costs money. In the longer view, if your employees don't do a satisfactory job of keeping the rest rooms clean and sanitized, you'll lose business. And that will cost you a lot more money.