h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Sometimes the bin is sufficiently sticky and dirty you don't want to get near it, especially the kind that have flaps that swat your hand with their filth, whether you want them to or not.

I am all for requiring those restaurants to hire sufficient janitorial help. It's not like folks can't be hired. Hurray for the Scots! I am going to leave more trays behind, now.

I was taught that if you don't bus your own table that's fine, leave a tip.

Tipping at a fastfood place can get tricky, though. I prefer to just use the tray to push the can open, myself. That way, there is no contact and yet I still don't feel guilty for not cleaning up after myself.

I admit that, on the odd occasion I visit one of these places, I DO tidy my own table - but I resent it. Why? Because they call themselves "restaurants". That sticks in the throat more than the crappy food. Restaurants have waiter/waitress service, bring you the bill after you've eaten, and clear your table between courses. Oh, and they serve FOOD.

In the two years since I last posted, I have left a lot of trays behind. It turns out to be a salubrious thing to do, because management eventually gets the hint and directs some employees to not only pick up the tray, but to also often to wash the neglected tables and floors. The places I go to that do not respond in this way lose business because an abandoned tray looks messy. This leads to first-broken-window behaviour and people will not come and eat if too many are around, at least in California.

Maybe it's just me being more likely myself to eat where it's likely to be clean when I arrive, or maybe it's my own slovenliness, but I start see extra staff at the places I go to, and in my mind, this is a good thing.

My own county has a health department that rates restaurants. This also helps keep restaurants clean because an abandoned tray counts against, IF an inspection happens.



The fast food "restaurants" that have seating inside have evolved from drive-throughs. The idea then was being, in addition to the privacy you get to eat your food in the car or at home or whatever, you would save time.

Since they evolved here in LA, it's sometimes too hot to sit and eat in the car, and sometimes quite nice to eat outside for impromptu picnic, and so some started having a few seats outside, and then some had enclosed air conditioning. Since they were still built on speed uniformity and convenience, these places never did adopt service like you would find in a diner, which would otherwise be identical. I remember as a child, though, that you didn't have to bus your own table, you just left your tray there and it was part of the job of the teenagers to keep the whole room clean.

The cleanliness was strongly expected, because McDonald's prided itself on this. Many competitors emphasized their drive throughs during the start of the burger wars, because this was cheaper.



The point of this impromptu armchair pedantry is to further inspire revolt. There is a historical precedent, throw off your chains!