Sponsored by Ecolab
Restaurant patrons expect more than great-tasting food at competitive prices. They also want clean restaurants that are committed to public health and safety. The front-of-the-house must be spotless for good visual appeal, and the kitchen needs to be sanitized to prevent foodborne illnesses. Cleanliness is a crucial element of customer satisfaction, and can affect an establishment’s livelihood in this era of online reviews and social media messaging.
That’s a dilemma for restaurant operators who are struggling to hire, train, and retain crew members. It doesn’t help that the staff, no matter how skilled, would rather engage with customers than wipe, scrub, and sanitize. Operators that can make cleaning tasks less tedious can free up these workers to perform more rewarding tasks, which can boost employee morale and result in satisfied customers. The appropriate cleaning solutions can help.
Spotless settings
While operators know they must comply with sanitation-related health regulations, they might not realize the role cleanliness plays in building repeat business. According to a recent OnePoll Survey, 61% of consumers said they wouldn't return to a business that was unclean, compared to 35% that wouldn't come back after poor customer service. Another survey, in the Deloitte Restaurant of the Future 2021 report, indicated that 45% of consumers are unlikely to return to a restaurant after a food-safety incident.
For operators, the challenge is getting workers to perform these tasks effectively and consistently. “We all know cleaning is not glamorous,” says Greg Dalrymple, senior marketing manager for the institutional, foodservice segment for Ecolab. “If you took a poll, probably the least favorite job for restaurant workers is cleaning.”
A dreaded task, cleaning becomes a low priority for workers. As a result, an important element of customer service, not to mention health and safety, can be done haphazardly, incorrectly, or not at all. Unwashed dishes can pile up and surfaces can remain unclean because workers used the wrong products.
A lack of skill is another barrier to success in cleaning, and training new crew members is very time consuming. “One in five restaurant job openings is filled by first time employees,” Dalrymple says, citing the National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry Report. “If you think about someone who is brand new to restaurant work, cleaning is not top of mind. No one gets into the hospitality business to clean.”
Time-saving solutions that maximize labor
To save time and make cleaning a less daunting task, Ecolab has developed a collection of nine cleaning products. For example, the No-Rinse Alkaline Floor Cleaner saves 11 minutes because the worker does not have to rinse the floor. The Grease Express High-Temp Grill Cleaner saves 53 minutes because one does not have to wait until the grill cools to begin cleaning.
When used as a full collection, the Ecolab Labor Savers system of cleaners, degreasers, disinfectants, sanitizers, tools, and equipment save up to four hours of labor per day.* That can help operators do more with less. “We understand labor is a key pain point for operators,” Dalrymple says. “We’ve focused our efforts on designing innovative science-based solutions with quantified labor savings.”
The Ecolab Labor Savers products include:
- SMARTPOWER™ Dishmachine Detergent, which reduces rewash by up to 10%
- Sink & Surface Cleaner Sanitizer, a no-rinse 2-in-1 food contact surface cleaner and sanitizer, kills Norovirus, common cold and flu viruses in 30 seconds
- No-Rinse Alkaline Floor Cleaner, which can be used in the front- and back-of-the-house that saves time with no rinse required
- Rapid Multi Surface Disinfectant Cleaner, which has broad application flexibility, kills Norovirus, Influenza A and Common Cold in 30 seconds
- Grease Express™ High Temp Grill Cleaner, which requires no water or rinsing
- Greaselift™ Degreaser & Fryer Cleaner, a powerful and biodegradable degreaser, which helps saves up to 30 minutes per fryer cleaning
- ELT Dishmachine, providing one-pass results in only 67 seconds
- Prep-n-Print™ Flex Food Labeling, a cloud-based, digital food-labeling system saving time compared to hand writing labels
- TRUPOWER™ Enzymatic Manual Detergent & Soak eliminates hard-to-remove soils faster and makes manual warewashing easy
“We are trying to make cleaning a better experience for employees,” Dalrymple says. “Labor is a huge challenge, so we’ve put together a complete program to help workers doing the cleaning be more efficient.”
For more information, visit ecolab.com/laborsavers.
