One thing often overlooked amidst all of the hustle and bustle of creating a quality meal and a unique dining experience is a restaurant’s drains. As long as things seem to be running smoothly, with no emergency backups, then everything is fine, at least on the surface, right? You have one chance to make a good impression on a patron, in the hopes they become a recurring customer, because that’s what restaurants are built on: recurring customers. So, why would you ignore something that could have that much of an impact on if someone returns.
Sure, a massive backup can bring your restaurant to a screeching halt and cause it to be unoperational until the problem is rectified – that’s no surprise. It can cost you plenty, turning away possible patrons, but it also means employees cannot work, potentially upsetting morale. It goes much deeper than that however, as little drain issues, things that get put off or are low priority, can actually impact your restaurant the most – and you can’t afford to lose customers because their experience was impacted by your restaurant’s environment or quality of the food.
Unwanted Flies In Your Kitchen And Dining Room
If there’s a problem with your drains, like a hidden clog you’re unaware of, a number of warning signs will appear. This can be gurgling pipes, unpleasant odors or even the onset of flies. Those flies won’t simply hang out in your wastewater lines, they’ll start buzzing around your restaurant!
There might not be anything worse than eating a meal as a fly is dive-bombing your food and floating around your head. That’s just one fly, though. Imagine it becoming an increased distraction, one that can quickly become a real turnoff – and not just one for patrons. Your employees, especially the cooks, will get annoyed being bothered trying to do their job quickly. It just presents the feel of an unhealthy, unsanitary environment and no restaurant wants that.
Messy Grease Traps Can Lead To Strong Smells – And Fines
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Your restaurant’s drains aren’t simply limited to the bathroom, there are plenty in the kitchen as well, from the dishwasher area to floor drains, but none might be more important than your grease trap. A grease trap is something a kitchen’s wastewater will flow through to intercept grease so that it doesn't enter into the sewer. Depending on the size of your restaurant, it’s recommended that your grease trap get maintenanced and pumped at least once a quarter.
But what happens if it’s left unmaintained? The longer waste just sits in a grease trap, the more bacteria will form and now you’ve got a potentially toxic situation on your hands. Long-term exposure can impact the health of employees and patrons, resulting in illness. It can also lead to a potent odor that will not just waft around your kitchen area but make its way to your dining room – we’re talking the kind of smell that is unbearable, that will drive anyone eating away.
Your grease trap could shut down your business and, on top of that, it’s a health code violation. Some states will slap a restaurant with a hefty fine – as much as $1,000 – if their grease trap is not up to code, or simply malfunctioning or overflowing. And who knows who will hear about a health code violation and large fine, since word tends to travel pretty quickly in this day and age.
Slow Drains Often Means Slower Workflow
If you’re constantly waiting for the food-prep sink in the kitchen to drain after cutting vegetables, or for the dishwasher to drain after a heavy load of dishes from the dining room, it can waste valuable time. It might not sound like much, in the grand scheme of managing a restaurant, but all of those minutes really do add up over the course of a day, a week and even a month.
Nobody Forgets A Messy Restaurant Bathroom
How much does a bathroom impact an overall dining experience – a lot. Patrons are much less likely to be a repeat customer if they’re at a moderately priced restaurant and they go into the bathroom and it’s a complete mess – and then they flush the toilet and water surges out. Suddenly, that high-end steak, pasta bowl or seafood dish isn’t tasting quite as good as it was. Don’t let your bathroom’s drain problems be the reason for the loss of a customer, or even for a massive problem in the future, because it wasn’t addressed. We see it time and time again!
None of these problems are typically major issues but can certainly lead to it. Staying proactive with your drains, with routine planned maintenance, can keep all of these at bay and ensure that your drains won’t be the reason for an unpleasant, and poorly-reviewed, experience. If you want your wastewater system flowing its absolute best, we offer planned maintenance programs and you’ll never have to worry about flies, unusual drain-causing odors, or dealing with grease trap fines again. Give us a call or schedule an appointment online at your nearest location today.
