Nothing ruins a meal faster than being served with soiled crockery or cutlery. Drinks proffered in glasses that still show lipstick or other detritus can be equally disastrous for any catering business.
A survey was undertaken by British warewashing company Classeq to assess just how much damage it will do. More than 97% of responders confirmed they would be deterred from eating or drinking again in any establishment where they’d been served dirty or cloudy crockery or glasses. 70% said they definitely would not return. 94% confirmed that it had indeed happened to them at one time or another.
From these figures it seems clear that the quality of warewashing can make or break catering and beverage businesses. If that were not enough to worry about, there is also, of course, the risk of being caught infringing health and safety regulations.
The survey was taken amongst visitors to the Restaurant Show. Classeq’s marketing manager, Adam Lenton, said that it’s important to create a good first impression and that getting it wrong meant that customers wouldn’t come back.
Image Credit
Negligence Is Not the Problem
It’s harsh to blame staff – they are often working flat out. At peak hours it’s almost impossible to manually scrutinise every item, and doing so may disconcert your customers. Returning plates, pans and cutlery for a manual or machine re-wash could cause shortages and delay serving, which can be equally ruinous to the business.
Adam Lenton stresses the need for both reliable warewashing equipment and for it to be easy for staff to use. In fact, most commercial washing appliances are designed to be easier and faster to use than the typical domestic dishwasher. Usually they do not need to accommodate such a variety of different items at the same time, and stacking can sometimes be done uniformly in trays before insertion. (For catering equipment in Leicester, you can see some options here https://washtechservices.co.uk/).
Smarter Appliances
The importance of water and detergent quality is not always sufficiently appreciated. The latest machines have smart monitoring sensors that remove both the possibility of human error and imperfect chemical dosing or temperature selections.
With the critical Christmas rush soon upon us, now is a very good time to be looking at upgrading those commercial washers while there is still the opportunity.