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3/31/06 Bathroom Attendents


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On the exceedingly rare occasions I've been in an attended restroom the only time I ever tipped the attendant because I needed her services was one in which the attendant unlocked the stall doors! That was a lo-o-ong time ago.

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I usually tip them, if a place has a bathroom attendant, they are providing a service. That attendant probably is relying on those tips. Most of the resturants or such who provide those attendants sometimes already figure in your gratuity into your bill.

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I always tip them. I believe that you pay for services rendered.

But, I do remember my first encounter with a bathroom attendant. I was 19 and was in London visiting with my grandmother. After dinner at the hotel, we went to the lew. To my surprise you had to pay the attendant for a towel after washing your hands! :) I didn't think that was fair!

Susanne

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<shaking head violently> Nope, nope, nope, Deb don't like people assisting her in the bathroom. Not at all. Nope, been goin' on my own just fine since I was two and don't need any help in that room at all. Not that I'd stiff anyone on a tip, but I've never seen the need for a bathroom attendant. I'm a very private bathroom person so that's got a lot to do with it, but c'mon, I'm quite capable of assisting myself when it comes to that room and I think most people are.

The other room I don't need help in is a dressing room. I'm not big on clothes shopping anyway and really don't care much what I wear. I clean up good when there's an occasion for it, but most of the time I'm living in jeans and shirtwaists and loafers. If we're going to the theater or ballet or somewhere else that requires formal wear, I'll dress up happily, but I don't enjoy the shopping part of it.

<sigh> For Bruce's induction into the Kentucky Colonels, I needed something especially nice (southern society is not forgiving of a fashion faux pas, expecially when the governor is involved) So, for the sake of my loving husband and his family reputation, I went to Saks. I picked out a couple of dresses I liked while trying to tolerate the hovering saleswoman. When I headed for the dressing room, she followed me and I figured it was just to unlock the door. Oh no. She opened the door and said "We can use this room". We??? Whaddya mean *WE*??? Unless you've got a mouse in your pocket, there is no "we"! It's bad enough that I'm going to be face to face with that brutal three way mirror, but me and my three reflections are the only "we" there's gonna be when I'm in my underwear.

Of course, I didn't say any of that out loud. I smiled politely and thanked her kindly, but firmly stated that I'd let her know if I needed any help and closed the door.

Then I turned around. Holy cow!! This was not a dressing room by any stretch of the imagination. I swear, my first apartment was smaller than that thing! There was a fainting couch, a telephone and a bidet. I'm not joking.........there was an honest-to-goodness bidet in there! I didn't have the nerve to check to see if it really worked or if it was just for show. Some things in life are best left as a mystery.

Deb

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Hi,We have bathroom attendents sitting in the restrooms at the New York State Fair and many of our county fairs.All the attendants have big empty veggie cans or tin pie plates with some change/bills and a sign-"Your tip is my only pay",usually next to a pile of pretorn paper towels.The State Fair bathrooms get alot of traffic and they do need someone there to restock empty rolls, pull the trash,and keep them presentable.The county fairs range from being as big as the state fair to being not even as good as a Firemans' Field Days(kind of like a carnival).The bathrooms ran from being clean and utilitarian down to wishing there was a portapotty around to use instead because it'd be an improvement.I tip the ladies who keep theirs clean and well stocked,the others I don't. My favorite county fair is the Otsego County in Morris,NY,near where our Greenleafs are made.It's great for a family,very mellow,has the perfect balance of agriculture,free exhibits,midway,food and vendors,and has good bathroom attendents.I celebrate my birthday there every year in the maple syrup barn with a nice dinner of pancakes and applesauce.

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The only time I have encountered bathroom attendants was at the casinos up here in my neck of the woods. I do tip them. They are the lowest paid people in the place. They supplement their income with what they get in the jars in the john.

I tip them well ($1) and I tip waitstaff well. So does my husband. In fact we over percentage tip! We both have had to clean bathrooms that were not our own and we both worked in the restraunt industry (both were busers). We know that they are hard jobs that do not pay well.

But hey if we get a rotten person waiting on us (snotty) we will be very meager. If someone is new at the job ( you can tell!) we will still tip well.

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I like my privacy too much to pay attendants to stand there and wait for me to finish. Susanne, I would have taken a kleenex out of my purse to wipe my hands before I would have paid for a towel. Seems like just another means of milking the customer. I think that's terrible!

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I cannot remember for sure whether I've ever encountered a bathroom attendant or whether I've just read about it! Like Deb, I feel competent to "go" on my own, so if I've encountered an attendant, the trauma has confuzzled my memory.

The NY State Fair ones, I can see having and would tip if I had money on me. I'd toss a buck in the can for a reasonable level of hygiene.

Dressing room attendants -- the helpful kind -- I like, but that's because I'm difficult to fit. Depending on the cut of a garment, I can wear anything from a size 8 to a size 14. So if I absolutely NEED a specific item on this shopping trip, I'd way rather send the nice lady to ravage the racks for the exact cut and size, instead of putting my clothes back on and doing it myself. I loved it when Dayton's had personal shopper service. Let someone else run around in high heels trying to do the impossible. Macy's tends to take a survival of the fittest attitude to the whole shopping thing, except the one time that the vicious, evil clerk was determined that I needed pink ruffles. She probably thought she was hilarious until I didn't buy anything after wasting an hour of her time.

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Doogster -

Usually a bathroom attendant is there to "sell" you a towel to wipe your hands on. Supposedly, it's to be sure that the bathrooms aren't littered with used paper towels, or that the linen towel dispensers aren't all used up. They sell you a clean towel, and keep the washing up area clean.

When I was in the English lew with my grandmother, I just wiped my wet hands on my jeans. My grandmother was very ticked off with me. When we got back to her home, she phoned my mum back in Canada to complain about my lack of social graces. :)

Susanne

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Probably service attendant.

Many times the bath room attendant is also there for security reasons. Some of the bathrooms where I have seen attendants you definitely do not want someone writing on the bathroom stall door, like you see in alot of resturants.

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If that was your job, how would you describe it on a credit card application?

How about "Distributor of Fine Towels"?

When my brother worked part time while attending High School, he worked in a jean shop. My dad called him a Knicker Picker. Can you tell that he's British?

Susanne

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