Why are Swiss Chalet washrooms always filthy cesspools?

I have seen this in multiple different Swiss Chalet locations in Toronto.

The washrooms are always filthy cesspools. They smell like I've entered a raw sewage treatment plant. Many times I've almost vomited just from the stench alone. The physical filth in them is just as bad.

Yet for some reasons, the restaurants themselves seem to be fairly clean.

What's the deal with this? Surely there is a tangible reason/corporate problem as to why Swiss Chalet washrooms are all cesspools? What is that reason, exactly?

Well for one, they pay their employees who try and support a family $9/hr... I've had friends work at joints like this and it's not the best atmosphere after a bit of time there. Another thing, a lot of people just don't give a damn about being civil in a chain restaurant's public washroom

Originally Posted by calvinmun

Well for one, they pay their employees who try and support a family $9/hr

But they make a lot more than that due to tips on top of that, don't they?

Is it the waitresses'/waiters' job to clean those washrooms?

Originally Posted by angryconsumer

But they make a lot more than that due to tips on top of that, don't they?

Yeah. Right.

Originally Posted by angryconsumer

Is it the waitresses'/waiters' job to clean those washrooms?

I hope not.

Good tips? At swiss chalet? I think not.
And it is usually the waitresses job to do pretty much all of the cleaning (however I have an awesome boss where I work and he cleans the bathrooms himself).

What does making $9 an hour have to do with it? It's a minimum wage job, requiring no education or skill. If cleaning the restaurant bathrooms is a part of the job then do it. Is someone doesn't want to, they can find another job. McDonalds has a rotating bathroom cleaning schedule to ensure their facilities are always cleaned and stocked, this restaurant (or any other) is no different. If you were unhappy with the lack of cleanliness, I would speak to the manager. They are ultimately responsible. And tips are usually 15% of the bill, so if the average table is $30 and the waitress turns min 4 tables an hour, they make $4.40 per table, or $18 for 4 tables, or $27 an hour. I'm sure this is not exact, but they certainly do not make ONLY $9 an hour, and if it's in their job to also clean the bathrooms then they clean the bathrooms.

Originally Posted by taylyn

What does making $9 an hour have to do with it? It's a minimum wage job, requiring no education or skill. If cleaning the restaurant bathrooms is a part of the job then do it. Is someone doesn't want to, they can find another job. McDonalds has a rotating bathroom cleaning schedule to ensure their facilities are always cleaned and stocked, this restaurant (or any other) is no different. If you were unhappy with the lack of cleanliness, I would speak to the manager. They are ultimately responsible. And tips are usually 15% of the bill, so if the average table is $30 and the waitress turns min 4 tables an hour, they make $4.40 per table, or $18 for 4 tables, or $27 an hour. I'm sure this is not exact, but they certainly do not make ONLY $9 an hour, and if it's in their job to also clean the bathrooms then they clean the bathrooms.

you enjoy talking out of your Arse don't you?

first, its the busboys/kitchen people who clean the bathrooms, not the servers, so it is whatever min.wage is. Servers don't clean the bathroom.

I can vouch, as a former server 4 years ago, servers don't clean anything but their assigned tables. Busboys/kitchen people do indeed take care of the washrooms.

Servers though don't make nearly $20 an hour on average.....maybe during the rush hours at lunch/dinner which is a few hours at a time. But if you average out an entire 8 hour shift, you can get between $100 and $150 total. Nearing $150 is only if you're a veteran and can handle larger parties by yourself or the max of 5-6 tables of 4 people at all times. I was only there for several months and averaged $100 a day having my max be at 4 tables of 4 people....especially if my assigned area is the furthest from the kitchen. I can do 5 tables if its one of the closer areas. Pay also wasn't minimum, it was lower than minimum I recall at like $6-7 something....tips is the big area.

Hope this cleared a bit up. Oh and if you think the customer washroom is dirty, the employee washroom is absolutely disgusting! Happy eating next time!

Originally Posted by skyrink

Oh and if you think the customer washroom is dirty, the employee washroom is absolutely disgusting! Happy eating next time!

I only hope they wash their hands good before leaving the washroom.

never ate there before always delivery or takeout

The washrooms have always been clean at any of the restaurants that I have eaten at here in Toronto: Overlea, Don Mills, Lawrence, Airport Road...

I don't think I have ever seen someone working in a 'busboy' position at Swiss Chalet. All I ever see are waitresses/waiters and the hostess.

Maybe the washrooms never get cleaned because the kitchen staff never bother to do it because they resent it and think it shouldn't be part of their job, even though it is?

I've never seen busboys at these types of restaurants either. Whoever has the job, whether it be a busboy, server, or other employee, needs to do it and if it's not being done a manager needs to be made aware. These restaurants are franchises and must adhere to certain codes of conduct and responsibility to eh customers.

And if one works an 8 hour shift, getting between $100 and $150 total, the average hourly rate would then be an extra $12.50 per hour on top of the regular hourly rate, right?

If someone calls telling the facts talking out of one's arse, then so be it. I know what I am talking about

Originally Posted by nalababe

The washrooms have always been clean at any of the restaurants that I have eaten at here in Toronto: Overlea, Don Mills, Lawrence, Airport Road...

+1 ..washrooms have always been clean in the ones ive gone in as well.