by Jamie Bessett

Created on: September 08, 2007   Last Updated: December 31, 2011

This is a question that every person should ask themselves before walking into a fast food restaurant. One of the foremost indicators is the sticker rating displayed in the front of the restaurant that is supplied by DHEC. I will never eat at a restaurant that has anything less than an A rating. Another way to find out the rating prior to eating at the restaurant is through your local paper or town website. For instance, every Wednesday, DHEC ratings are listed in the business section of our local newspaper.

Next let's walk inside and collect our first impressions. One of the greatest factors that people ignore is the condition of the restaurant floor. I am not talking about daily grind from construction workers walking through the restaurant, but the true grime that is noticeable in layers on the floor or thick throughout the grout. This indicates that the restaurant does not care for their floor on a nightly basis and leads to some of the nastiest culprits of filth-BUGS!

Next, take a look towards the back of the kitchen, most fast food restaurants have visible kitchens, and determine if the employees are wearing gloves. Don't stop there, watch there mannerisms. Are they touching their hair, face, or clothing with those gloves and not changing them? Are there hand-washing signs visible above the required hand sink in the kitchen? You can't miss them, they are typically bright yellow.

The almighty truth to cleanliness is in the restrooms. Before getting in line to order your food, run to the restroom and check it out. Personally, if the restrooms are nasty, I leave the restaurant immediately. Read a few articles on the number one reason that customers do not return to restaurants and you will find that it is because of dirty restrooms.

Finally, take a second or two to see how the employees interact with the customers and each other. If the employees appear to not care about the customers and pay more attention to each other and joking around, then be assured that the last thing on their mind is keeping the restaurant clean.

I could probably go on and on. I am very particular about where I eat because of cleanliness. This may seem like a lot to view when determining what fast food restaurant to choose, but ultimately, it takes a matter of seconds to determine if you are going to be eating there that day. The more you eliminate through this process, the easier it is to make a choice in the future.

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