04 August,2020 06:53 AM IST | Mumbai | The Editorial
A salesperson wearing a mask, cleans the glass door of a store ahead of Growel's 101 mall's reopening on August 5. Pic/Satej Shinde
As the shutters lift extremely slowly during the pandemic, the government is contemplating lifting curbs on restaurants. These are standalone eating joints, many of which are giving a takeaway service, or, restaurants within malls too.
The restaurant body is naturally enthused to some degree about opening as they simply cannot afford to be shut any longer. Yet, they are pinning hopes on guidelines like no curbs on the number of customers among others. This may not be possible because even if given safety and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) amid this crisis, we cannot forget that the virus is still very much there, posing a danger to people.
We do hope both parties come to mutually beneficial decisions and while the profit line is important for restaurateurs, it is equally important that precautions are maintained throughout. Since so much labour has left the city, restaurants should not try and stretch themselves in their eagerness to woo customers back or rush to get profits. Curtail a menu if everything is not possible, explain a problem to a customer and keep hygiene at the top of the pyramid.
This is a great time to emphasise absolute and complete cleanliness of staff, kitchen and equipment. The cleanliness factor, of course, is hugely important at all times, and this is an apt time to stress on it and see that it continues way beyond the pandemic.
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It is also vital that food authorities ensure hygiene in the smallest of places, checks should be amped up. Customers need to adhere to all rules laid down by the restaurant authorities. Do not engage in needless arguments with proprietors or try to browbeat serving staff to bend rules for any reason. The reopening of a city always has two sides and when done in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation, smooth, easy and speedy is the way we will go.
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