Pub staff handling glasses /plates

[Oblahdeeoblahdoe]

I really would like to go out to the pub or a restaurant a) to socialise and b) to support my local businesses but can't get my head round staff serving my drinks and/or food. How often are they required to wash/sanitise their hands? How are other people coping with this?

What about taking your own straw or anti bac the rim and outside of your glass? That might help?

If you’re that concerned about people touching things (which of course they have to do) then don’t go. You won’t enjoy it anyway.

I was discussing this with someone who owns a pub. She has to wash her hands after touching anyone's glass/plate. She can't move from table to table without washing and sterilising her hands between them.

@ginsparkles that's reassuring and I might take my own straw for a G&T, might not work for the pint of cider I'm craving
@Drivingdownthe101 I think you're right and I'll probably leave it for a while

I have been apprehensive to go out to eat. We went at the weekend to my friends pub, a place a trust and where we could sit outside. It was nice to feel normal for a few hours. Find a nice country pub and sit outside, it’ll be fine.

We are wearing disposable gloves to take out food, then they go in a bin after each table.

We are washing out hands after clearing each table of crockery and glassware. Plus we have hand sanitizers as well.

We went out for a meal at a pub/restaurant the other day. I would say it's the safest feeling place I've been during lockdown, well distanced, options of ordering on app or table service, staff cleaning toilets between use and trying to keep distance when serving, wearing face masks/shields. Obviously we don't know how often they wash hands but most places are going to encourage staff as they don't want an outbreak being associated with their staff.

I did take dettol wipes and antibac with me (we had to antibac before they'd show us to our seats) but felt relaxed enough not to use them as everything else was spot on (I used them the last time we went out before lockdown though and no one took any notice).

Sounds like there are some positive actions being taken, good to know.

Me and DH went to the pub for the first time in 4 months at the weekend. The barman was collecting used glasses from tables by picking them up by the rims, putting them on the bar, then immediately serving customers their drinks. No hand washing or sanitising. We left after the one drink and I don't think we'll be going back - it seemed like a risk too far.

They weren't cleaning tables after each customer either, despite assurances on their website that they would be. It was really quiet so no reason why they couldn't.

@Cbatothinkofausername

We are wearing disposable gloves to take out food, then they go in a bin after each table.

We are washing out hands after clearing each table of crockery and glassware. Plus we have hand sanitizers as well.

What a massive waste of plastic. I am amazed at the speed at which the message of "stop using single use plastic, ban plastic straws and use a bamboo toothbrush" was forgotten 😂

@FrugiFan absolutely! What possible benefit is there in using gloves in that way? You’d be better off just washing your hands before picking up the plates etc. The gloves aren’t sterile & are potentially contaminated every time someone reaches into the box to pull them out. Unless they sanitise their hands before reaching into the box & then sanitise the gloves immediately after putting them on ... in which case just wash your hands as often & don’t bother with the gloves - they don’t have some magic virus repelling property

To the posters above, I completely agree with you!!

But I’m just staff, not the owner, and he is trying to open again and we to make the guests feel as comfortable as possible. It almost fells like a theatre.

For myself, I HATE the idea of so much single use plastic, but at the same time I’m so grateful to have a job at the moment. My DH is at risk of redundancy, and without my job we are at risk of losing our rental flat.

But again, I totally see your point!

And we want to make the guests feel as comfortable

It’s just so difficult as the Gov website is missing areas of clear guidance, and more importantly we need to consider how the guests actually feel.

Once we are actually open it might be easier to see what people really want to make them feel safe on top of the real legislation.

Would be better to carry plates using a paper napkin on the rim (like you would if the plate was too hot) rather than going through countless plastic gloves. Understand your reluctance to rock the boat though!

I don’t agree with the gloves at all. Even before Covid I was washing my hands every 20 minutes at the minimum, certainly every time I took dirty plates from a table.

But we are really scared of making anyone feel unsafe in any way. It’s a nightmare to navigate it.

We also have a more elderly (and therefore more vulnerable) clientele, so the most important thing is to make them feel safe, but until we open and start interacting with guests, we don’t know exactly what that is.

I don't know what to do regarding gloves and hand washing. With regular hand washing the type which would kill a virus (not a quick rinse) my hands get raw but the use of plastic gloves seems terrible for the environment.

My local pub has gone all out to reopen. They have put lots of effort to be safe but, the staff are wearing gloves all the time and I’m not sure they change them. We were given our drinks but they were handled on the glass rather than the stem.
All I kept thinking was were else the gloves have touched.
Plates were handed to us with the same gloves.

The owner has made so much effort but this has put me off and it seems blindingly obvious that this is a bit grim.

We were at a cafe and glasses were carried to us by the rim.
We didn't wipe them before drinking and reading this I'm thinking that we should have!

At my pub they use santitiser before and after touching glasses/ pumps/tills/even my card.

Their poor hands must be killing them

@HandsOffMyRights

We were at a cafe and glasses were carried to us by the rim. We didn't wipe them before drinking and reading this I'm thinking that we should have!

That's disgusting - they should never have carried by the rim even before Covid. I would've asked for a new one.

What a massive waste of plastic. I am amazed at the speed at which the message of "stop using single use plastic, ban plastic straws and use a bamboo toothbrush" was forgotten 😂

Absolutely. Nothing else matters but Covid! We humans and our health paranoia is more important than the planet.

OP how do you imagine your food is going to be given to you without anyone touching the plates? The likelihood of anyone having the virus let alone the person serving you is incredibly low just now. I find people’s attitude to risk quite perplexing

@Cbatothinkofausername ... I feel for you. So much of what people are doing/being asked to do is completely illogical from an infection control point of view (& therefore performative) or absolutely counterproductive ... the widespread use of gloves/masks actually scares me because people do it so badly it risks more contamination of surfaces & ignoring the basics which are so much more important - hand washing & not standing too close for prolonged periods.

Dd works in a restaurant/bar & their procedure is to have the minimum number of people interacting with a table (which also means their plates/drinks/cutlery etc) - they no longer have runners or KPs & wait staff only have three tables at once (& they aren't allowed to swap or help out with other tables). They wash hands before & after visiting a table & before/after touching any surface (till/cleaning etc), clean contact surfaces regularly & wear masks. Interactions with customers are socially distanced except for pouring wine & placing the plates on the table - they have to put them all down at once & let the customers pass them around rather than serving each person individually. This is a members club so mainly elderly people & from February they brought in really strict hygiene procedures, they are incredibly motivated not to have any cases - they'd be sacked if they carried cups or glasses by the rim etc!

The main difficulty is social distancing between staff - particularly bar staff. The chefs are isolated from the rest of the staff as they are the least likely to be able to social distance. It's much easier for the wait staff to distance. All the staff wear their masks all the time (& change them twice in an 8 hour shift). That's a lot as mask waste.

Can I just ask: before CV-19, were you happy with the hygiene methods of the pub's staff ?

Why did none of this bother anyone before?

How many times have you heard people blame a “dodgy pint” for feeling unwell or had food poisoning the day after meal out?

Why are we expecting to move forward in a world where everything is (chemically) sterile and no one gets ill any more? Not possible.

I think it’s terrifying how many people have warped thinking around all this now and are going to put their lives on hold indefinitely.

Go out and live. Today might be your last day. And not because of coronavirus.