Dealing With Upkeep Of Washroom - Messy Ladies

Dear ladies,

I am addressing this message to the ladies because there is a serious concern within the organization. As this is a hotel, we provide locker rooms for changing and washrooms. Unfortunately, some of the ladies do not know how to maintain these facilities. They have been painting the walls with kajal, eyeliners, and lipstick, making the washrooms in a really bad state. Furthermore, they seem to lack the knowledge of how to properly dispose of things. Despite efforts from myself as a trainer and the executive housekeeper to educate them on these issues, the problem persists. Even putting up notices and reminders has not been effective as they deface the sheets with inappropriate content.

I am reaching out to seek your ideas on how we can address and prevent this behavior. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks & Regards,
Seema

A simple answer: Give them free tissue paper (a lot of it) to rub out the excess makeup so that they don't put it on walls, lockers, etc.

Regards, Ken

Seema CC,

If they are not following the rules, tell them. If you are not following the rules and we come to know through the person, it will be punishable. Please put it on the notice board.

Just send an email to them stating that all disciplinary actions will be reflected in your performance appraisal.

Make them monitors on a rotation basis. One each day.

Monitors must either control the filth or clean it themselves at the end of the day... Or something like that. The key is to make them accountable.

Like it happens in malls, they used to put a cleaner or attendant in the changing rooms, or in locker rooms, who can keep an eye on such uncivil people. Out of an 8-hour workday, ask the lady workers, if any, to devote some time in the locker rooms - job rotation or additional responsibility, you know. The moment anybody tries to spoil the cleanliness, they point out the offender. Even a simple eye contact can do the work. Fine them, point them out before other people in locker rooms. They'll never repeat the thing again.

Hi,

I think you should send them an email on a regular basis and put up some posters on the same wall that show what should and shouldn't be done. Then, observe it regularly. If you find somebody engaging in this mischief, politely ask them not to do it and instruct a housekeeper to monitor the situation and prevent it from happening again.

Dear Seema,

Plz read the moral of the below story, I am sure this will help you alot:

“A school head was alerted by the caretaker to a persistent problem in the girls lavatories: some of the girl students were leaving lipstick kisses on the mirrors. The caretaker had left notices on the toilet walls asking for the practice to cease, but to no avail; every evening the caretaker would wipe away the kisses, and the next day lots more kisses would be planted on the mirror. It had become a bit of a game. The head teacher usually took a creative approach to problem solving, and so the next day she asked a few girl representatives from each class to meet with her in the lavatory.

"Thank you for coming," said the head, "You will see there are several lipstick kisses in the mirrors in this washroom.."

Some of the girls grinned at each other.

"As you will understand, modern lipstick is cleverly designed to stay on the lips, and so the lipstick is not easy at all to clean from the mirrors. We have therefore had to develop a special cleaning regime, and my hope is that when you see the effort involved you will help spread the word that we'd all be better off if those responsible for the kisses use tissue paper instead of the mirrors in future.."

At this point the caretaker stepped forward with a sponge squeegee, which he took into one of the toilet cubicles, dipped into the toilet bowl, and then used to clean one of the lipstick-covered mirrors.

The caretaker smiled. The girls departed. And there were no more lipstick kisses on the mirrors.”

Best Regards,

Arti

Hi,

Please call for an urgent meeting and inform everyone that a charge of Rs 100 will be deducted from each person's salary for the proper cleansing of all the cosmetic items painted on the walls. Please observe their reactions closely.

Thank you.

Hi Seema,

You are lucky you don't have people who never even flush! Despite being called and asked to go back and flush. One single thing you can use as a tool is "scare them":

a) Tell them that you have cams outside the restroom, that would observe the people who use the restroom (not inside, but outside).
b) End of the day if the housekeeping informs that there has been additional artwork - then you will be calling all the ladies who used the restroom that day and they will have to CLEAN it by themselves. (especially ladies who carried their bag with them - you know, they take their makeup kit along in their bag).

If they have their mouths wide open - just casually tell them "Oh, this was the reaction when I saw your artwork, and I am tired of doing that 'OH MY GOD!!' thing for a while - and for a change - let's have the culprit do it ;-)".

It would work... Hope so... maybe... might be. Also, the lines by ARTI are definitely worth a try.

Implement 5S (Housekeeping) and take photographs when something is found untidy (Poke). Also, take photographs after the area is cleaned (Yoke) and display them on the company notice board.

Form a team from the user's side to monitor this process. Reward appropriately for good maintenance.

Hi Seema,

I had a somewhat similar problem in my office. Some of the male staff never used to flush. We used to call an informal meeting and warn all the males, stick notice papers in the gents' toilet, etc., but it was of no use. Then finally, I went and wrote a line on the notice board on our main floor: "Shame on you guys! The gents' toilet is stinking! Why don't you use the flush, after all, it's free?"

After that, I had never come across such a complaint. You can also try using something similar!

They do it because they derive pleasure in breaking the rules. It's human tendency. The best would be to get a CCTV installed there. :icon10:

Dear [Recipient],

I am writing to inform you that such behavior will not be tolerated, and strict monitoring is in place. Anyone found engaging in such activities will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Sometimes, it is necessary to enforce strict measures to ensure things progress in the right direction.

Regards,
B. Dakshina Murty

You should mention that if any one of them is caught doing that, they will have to clean the entire painting that's done on the wall. I am sure it will work; it did work in our company. If even one person is caught doing that, it will set a good example for the others.

Talk with them positively to address this issue. If they understand, then it's okay; otherwise, you should take action to enforce the rules, which may include deducting some charges from their salary.

Hi Seema,

The problem that you have mentioned, even after training the female employees, they are behaving like this, is strange! You can issue a circular to all the female workers so that it's in writing that the company can take disciplinary action.

Regards,
Aradhana

Call a meeting with them and ask what they think will be the best way to keep their place clean. It might help them to feel part and parcel of the decision made.

Hi,

I empathize with you and your organization. Sometimes internal trainings don't help as they come from colleagues. That's when you need to look at training providers. I work for a multinational Training academy in Mumbai, and we regularly conduct such programs. Please get in touch with me if you are thinking of training your staff on corporate etiquette.

Regards,
Aparna
(9987791851)

This is a bit different suggestion. We have tried it in our society. We did a bit of Gandhigiri.

Many people in the society were spitting on the stairs. So what we did is we wrote some notes on the stairs saying, "Please don't keep the stairs clean, spit everywhere you can. Make them dirty. Clean stairs are not looking good."

After some days, we found that the percentage of spitting decreased and eventually stopped. I do agree it's not a conventional way, but it worked in my case. Try the same way if you can; it's different and called Gandhigiri. The notice should be big and bold. I hope it will work because it makes the reader realize their mistake.

Regards,
Shreyas

Hi,

You should put up a notice containing all the rules and regulations so that everyone can read it once and follow the same.

Thank you.

Hi Seema,

Everyone has given fantastic suggestions and recommendations, and I would like to add on to Ash's suggestion that instead of only suggesting to transplant dummy cameras outside the washroom or near the washbasin so that everyone will have the impression of being noticed.

These dummy cameras can be arranged by spending only Rs. 300 to 400.

Regards,
Rach

Dear all,

I am impressed with the kind of responses put down! Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I will soon update you on your valuable suggestions and their results after implementation.

Thank you,
Seema

Take a small hurdle, divide the ladies into groups, and ask them to nominate group leads. Make these group leads responsible for weekly cleanliness. Every week, each respective team will be responsible for keeping the washroom clean. All the teams will get the chance to do so. You can also inform them that on a weekly basis, you will nominate the best team that made the maximum effort. A group activity will essentially help the organization appear much cleaner.

I tried this method, and it worked in one of my previous organizations. If this doesn't work, inform them that management will soon be installing cameras or video surveillance near the washbasin. Deliver this message to everyone to ignite urgency!

Hi,

Shika Singh's advice is the best. Just appoint someone as a monitor and rotate this role among individuals. The monitor must report anyone engaging in mischief, or they will face consequences. This method should work perfectly. Give it a try.

I think you should educate them. If possible, do not place the camera directly in the changing room but in another area from where we can identify who is responsible for that. Apart from that, we can't do anything.

Hang a wall piece with a QUOTE: "Keeping the environment clean is our duty, and keeping yourself clean is your own duty." Please don't litter. HEHE... make some embarrassing statements on the mirror. Put a smiley on the mirror. Please don't stick your makeup stuff on the mirror. If I look unclean, so would you be.

Well, Asha, we do have such people here, and I hope you understand they do not dispose of their sanitary waste properly. It is the housekeeping who ends up doing the dirty work and picks up the dirt! :-x

Dear Aparna,

Thank you for the kind concern shown in this forum, but here I was not looking for training from an external source. I wanted suggestions! If you see, people have contributed without monetary gain. What I was seeking is just a simple suggestion. It's a small fire that can be put out by stamping your foot on it; I don't have to call the fire brigade :) If you have any suggestions free of cost, please mention them in this forum.

Thank you,
Seema

Put up some thoughts chart, letting them know, they'll get the place in the same they leave. hence if left clean, it'll be else vice cersa.

Corrected text with proper spelling and grammar:

Put up some charts to inform them that they will get the place in the same condition they leave it. Hence, if left clean, it will be vice versa.

Dear Seema,

I think the idea given by Arti is really a good one and feasible too. Alternatively, you can install a camera to display the inappropriate activities of the person to everyone in the organization. This way, humiliation can deter them from repeating such behavior.

Regards,
Sushmita:icon1:

I guess the best thing to do is to assign someone to monitor the locker room. Whoever is caught violating the rules you have imposed about cleanliness should be penalized. Let them clean the locker rooms and remove all the stains. That will definitely teach them a lesson and maybe help them appreciate the work of the housekeeper. Thank you.

You should inform everyone that there will be an addition of Rs. 1000 to the salary of the person who tells me the responsible person's name. By creating this conflict, observe the results.

I hope I can help you to some extent.

Hi, my name is Capt. Chakravarty. I am a new member currently involved in training for fresh MBA students as well as BE Tech. I want to conduct training related to confidence building, communication, leadership, winning attitude, and goal setting. I shall be thankful if anyone can help me to start up.

Hi,

My advice is to put a closed-circuit camera in the toilet. The monitor should be with a female employee of the admin/facility sitting in a secluded area. The coverage of the camera should be the area that is being spoiled by the employees so that individual privacy is maintained. I am sure that this will resolve the issue.

Thanks,
--Lav Nigam--

Dear Seema,

First of all, I really appreciate that you have replied to almost all the responses/suggestions.

Secondly, you sent out a circular to the female employees (who use the washroom/locker room), stating that if you find it dirty/filthy, a certain amount (to be decided after speaking with the concerned person) will be deducted from the salary, regardless of who is responsible.

Chitra

We find the same thing in our institutions also. Though there are enough staff appointed to see that the place remains clean, we find not only the things mentioned by you but also other things like chocolate wrappers, hair fallen down, and so on. It is really difficult to educate such people. It's a shame that a mother who teaches to keep the house clean and shouts and slaps her child or quarrels with the family members to keep the house clean is so dirty and unwilling to change at the workplace. But to stop the practice, the best thing that works is to lock the washrooms and to ask them to collect the keys from one appointed person, who keeps a list of all using the washrooms. And if in case any untidiness is found, all those whose names are entered by that appointed person should be charged a fine. This really works if followed for a month or fortnight.

Dear Lav Nigam,

I like the idea, but the majority in the industry are men and it's very dangerous to put cams. There are a lot of chances that people will misuse it. Instead, as someone suggested, dummy cams can be fitted in.

"Hi, My advice is to put a closed circuit camera in the toilet. The monitor should be with a female employee of the admin/facility sitting in a secluded area. The coverage of the camera should be the area that is being spoiled by the employees, so that individual privacy is maintained. I am sure that this will resolve the issue. Thanks, --Lav Nigam--"

Hi Namrata,

Not sure if money will solve it in the long run, but yes, you can use it as a temporary measure. However, not until they make some petition to stop you from collecting money. The real countermeasure will have to come with a proper study. Have you run a random interview session with them to find the root cause? It may take you time, but maybe you can develop a better solution.

Just for sharing, during my school days, in a girls' school, we were accountable to keep clean our own designated toilet unit. That's one way of educating people to be sensitive to cleanliness. Normally, the way we've been brought up makes us act in certain ways.

Wish you luck in improving the cleanliness!

Dear Arti,
Really an excellent creative thinking.
But the present problem seems to be slightly different. The solution also needs slight modofication.Like, may be bonus for personnel who catch the miscreants and also strong punishment for the personnel caught.
rgds

Hi Seema,

Greetings for the day!

A lot of suggestions have already come your way. I would just like to add my bit to it.

Firstly, I would like to express my thoughts on the situation. I feel that personal health and hygiene are something that is very difficult to teach, especially to grown-up adults. I think trying to monitor the situation on a regular basis will be a tedious job, and the moment you stop monitoring, things will go back to square one.

I agree with a few of the members who have suggested deducting a certain amount from the salary as a penalty. I would suggest that you send an email to the female employees giving a break-up of the cost involved in painting the toilet walls, cleaning the floors, or putting up a new mirror, and then divide it among all the female employees. Let them know the share they have to pay in case there are any such instances in the future. The figures in the email will give them a real picture and will help improve the situation. The implementation of such a thing may not be necessary; just a warning might help.

I hope this makes sense to you.

[QUOTE=seema_cc;773254]Dear Lav Nigam,

I like the idea, but the majority in the industry are men, and it's very dangerous to put cams. There are a lot of chances that people will misuse it. Instead, like someone said, dummy cams can be fitted in!!

Yes, the intention is that the female employees should have the fear that they are being watched. Even if you put up a dummy camera, it will definitely work. Unfortunately, in our country, the one thing that definitely works is "fear."
--Lav Nigam--

Why fitting it in???

Fit the dummy/real cam outside the washroom - so you can see who all are going inside.

At the end of the day, if there is additional artwork in the restroom, just inform them that every person who used the restroom that day will clean the artwork themselves. Purchase some cleaning agent and have it ready. Let them know it's for the person who is the most creative in the restroom.

Put up a sign: "We admire your creativity at work, but not in the restroom. Shame on you, ladies who don't have manners!"

It's difficult to impose and this may not be followed, but easy to make them FEEL and make them RESPONSIBLE.
This will help not only for this subject, but for most of the issues in life.
Cheers/Swami

Such behavior is uncalled for. You need to set up a meeting with all the ladies during their own break and detail on hygienic practices. Explicitly reiterate personal discipline and accountability, or else you can set up a workshop and get an outside service provider to come and present a ladies' talk with them. If it does not work, design a good housekeeping policy, get them inducted, and let each and everyone sign acknowledgment. Later, start applying disciplinary actions to those culprits.

Putting cameras or issuing warnings won't help these days as it has become a habit for people to do such things, which can also be seen in other public places. The best way is to find the culprit, either by monitoring the person who cleans the toilet in that location or using cameras, whichever is possible. The culprits should be penalized through show cause notices, administrative actions, or any punishment the management deems appropriate based on the gravity of the offense. This kind of action should be taken against employees who do not adhere to basic social rules.

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention.

Hey Seema CC,

I think whatever you do to fix this problem, you might not succeed fully. The best solution to catch the culprits is to set up CCTV cameras.

It makes one wonder what kind of women you have working for you.

Put up a notice that reads:
THESE MIRRORS ARE CLEANED DAILY WITH WATER FROM THE TOILETS.

Few solutions for this problem:

1. You may constitute a team from the users and ask for their opinions to solve the issues. Create a collective thought among the group and help them understand that their behavior is not acceptable.

2. If there is no improvement, you may consider charging a penalty, which can be shared by users as maintenance charges (e.g., for painting and cleaning expenses).

Regards,
V. Jagan

Maybe this will be a bad idea or might be impractical; however, if possible, it will work one hundred percent, i.e., 100%. Put a notice that there are hidden cameras for surveillance and lady wardens are on watch. If possible, you may go on installing them as well.

Personally, I would not recommend something that harsh; however, if nothing else works, this is a foolproof solution.

Cheers :-)

My dear friends,

I am afraid to say this, but I don't think any of these ideas will work. These are all just "theoretical" ideas, wishful thinking. But do give them a try, and let the forum know about the results.

To be really effective, one has to think first:
- WHY is it happening?
- WHAT is the status of the washroom at the beginning (start of the day/shift)?
- Is there any provision for periodic cleaning? Do you have a person to do it? What is the frequency of cleaning?
- What is the profile of the users?

If you can furnish these info, maybe I can suggest something that works.

Regards.

Dear Sir,

As I mentioned at the beginning, it's a 5-star hotel.

The washroom in the morning is in a bad state. After combing, people drop hair, and no one bothers to pick it up, thinking that the housekeeping staff will clean it. Lipstick marks are on the wall, which was recently painted, and the next day, we find a new mark on it. People don't kiss the wall; they leave marks from their fingers! The individuals using the washroom are educated, and you can imagine that the hotel staff are well-educated, at least with a high school diploma! The washrooms are cleaned three times a day. Here, people are lazy; they exhibit extreme laziness. They don't dispose of used paper in the bins; instead, they throw it next to the bin or even drop it on the floor!

Thank you.

Dear Sir,

As I have mentioned at the beginning, it's a 5-star hotel. The washroom in the morning is in a bad state; after combing, people drop hair down and no one bothers to pick it up as they think the housekeeping staff will take care of it. There are lipstick marks on the walls, which were recently painted, but the next day we find marks on them again. People don't kiss the wall; they leave marks from their fingers. The individuals using the washroom are educated, and one would imagine that the hotel staff, at the very least, have completed high school! The washrooms are cleaned three times a day. However, here, people display laziness to the extreme; they throw used paper on the floor rather than in the bins.

My dear Friends,

I am afraid to say this, but I don't think any of these ideas will work. These are all just "theoretical" ideas, wishful thinking. But do give them a try, and let the Forum know about the results. To be truly effective, one must first think about why it is happening, what is the condition of the washroom at the start of the day/shift, whether there is provision for periodic cleaning, if there is a designated person for this task, and the frequency of cleaning. It is also important to understand the profile of the users. If you can provide this information, maybe I can suggest something that will work.

Regards.

Another idea is to call all the girls and give a "kiss signature" on a notebook. Now compare from the toilet and you catch the culprit...

Hello Seema!

Motivation, whether positive or through threats of fines or deductions from their salary, can be effective on one side. On the other side, have you considered using washable paint for walls, lockers, doors, and windows? Weekly cleaning of utility areas can also be beneficial. Maintaining wash basins, dryers, napkin/tissue papers, and waste bins with a label saying "please use me" can encourage users to keep the change rooms and washing rooms neat and tidy.

With warm regards,
S. Bhaskar

Yes, all are correct, but a small modification is needed. Issue them a memo, stating their indiscipline, and call for a meeting during which you must show them video clips on "how to keep our surroundings clean and neat." You can download such video clips from youtube.com. The clips should be from any western country so they can understand the work culture prevalent in developed countries.

Thanks & Regards,
Rafi-Warangal
9346480230

I humbly submit the following two ideas:

(i) Ever noticed how Indian men take a pee on the roads in cities? They would look for a dirty, stinky corner somewhere, where many people would have relieved themselves earlier.

You must have also noticed that people throw garbage where there is already some garbage.

In short, filth attracts filth, and people hesitate to dirty a place which is spic and span.

(ii) In his marvelous book "Freakonomics - the hidden side of everything," economist Steven D. Levitt has described how the crime rate in New York City and the subway declined by putting in place some "innovative police techniques."

One of them was, let me quote, "... the Broken Window Theory, conceived by the criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. The Broken Window Theory argues that minor nuisances, if left unchecked, turn into major nuisances; that is, if someone breaks a window and sees it isn't fixed immediately, he gets the signal that it's all right to break the rest of the windows and maybe set the building afire too."

New York Police went into overdrive and began booking hooligans for even minor offenses that used to be ignored earlier. The subway authorities would immediately clean any graffiti. The train windows would be repaired immediately.

To put these ideas to work would mean:

- keeping the place clean at the beginning of the day
- increasing the frequency of periodic cleaning
- cleaning the offensive things the moment they are committed
- going heavily after the offenders.

Since it is a Five-star hotel, initially you may have someone physically present on the spot for the whole duration to attend to the first three points mentioned above.

Make it amply clear to the concerned employees by calling them for a meeting and later following it up by issuing a circular that "the management has decided to adopt a 'zero tolerance policy' towards such infractions. As being in the hospitality business, keeping one's house in order is of prime importance, and a dirty staff toilet sends a wrong message. Henceforth, it is a collective responsibility to ensure that utmost aesthetic and hygienic standards are maintained. The management has taken a very serious view of such negligence, and anyone found to be willfully acting against the interest of the company would be dealt with severely."

I am confident that this will work. Installing CCTV would only create controversy and is cost-intensive without providing any solution worth the investment.

Regards.

Dear Sir,

Like I have said in the beginning, it's a 5-star hotel...

The washroom in the morning is in a bad state as after combing, people drop hair down, and no one is bothered to pick it up as they think the housekeeping is there, so they would do the cleaning. Lipstick marks are on the wall, which we recently got painted, and the next day we find a mark on it again... People don't kiss the wall; they put the marks from their fingers! The people who use the washroom are educated, and you can imagine people working in the hotel are well-educated, at least +2! The cleaning of the washrooms happens thrice in a day... Here, people are lazy; they have heights of laziness. They don't dump the used paper in the bins; they would chuck it on the bin!! They would drop it on the floor!!!

Stop cleaning the particular washroom intentionally, let it stink and be full of dirty things. Then call every person using the room, watch their reactions, and ask them to do something about it.

Seema - Did these suggestions help?

Hey...

So what was the conclusion? Is your problem resolved? I am sure from so many of the suggestions you might have found some solution to your issue. Please share with all of us what you finally did.

Regards,
Manisha

You can depute a lady guard in the washroom who will keep track of the activities of all ladies and will report to you on a daily basis. However, you can also put a notice in the washroom on how to use the facilities and specify that any defaulter will be punished accordingly. Trust me, it will work.

Manisha, I'm sorry for the late reply. Unfortunately, our executive housekeeper has not yet taken any steps towards this problem. I have sent her a list of all possible solutions. She hasn't taken any action because she herself doesn't use the washroom. Given the opportunity by my company to take over this, I would definitely address this seriously.

I would like to thank everyone here and appreciate all the efforts.

Dear Seema,

Thank you for the update. Please continue your endeavor. I, for one, am particularly interested in finding out if the Broken Window Theory, conceived by the criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling, works in an Indian setting (or if it is culturally biased and that nothing really bothers us Indians).

Regards.