Keith Rutledge, a 25-year-old librarian's assistant in Houston, was out for a laid-back night on the town. He had some Tex-Mex burritos and a few drinks, and then headed for the men's room at Sherlock's Pub.
Suddenly, his relaxed night took an awkward turn. "Hello, sir," said a smartly dressed bathroom attendant, as Mr. Rutledge ducked into the stall. When he emerged, the man squirted Dial soap into his hand and turned on the water for him. Mr. Rutledge knew he had to cough up a tip. "You could be filthy and a buck richer," Mr. Rutledge says, "but if you want to wash your hands you have to go through him."
Until recently, bathroom attendants -- whose job is to linger in the bathroom and hand out everything from hand towels to breath mints -- seemed to be going the way of the chimney sweep. But a growing number of bars, restaurants and nightclubs are now hiring them for both men's and women's restrooms -- often to the chagrin of their embarrassed customers. Mr. Rutledge says even his favorite sports bar, Tavern on Gray, has stationed attendants in its bathrooms.
Bathroom attendants are showing up all over -- from Milwaukee and Cincinnati to San Francisco. They're in national chains such as the House of Blues and Jillian's, a 35-unit chain of restaurant and game centers. And demand for bathroom attendants is creating an industry devoted to staffing restrooms. Royal Flush, a New York company that specializes in bathroom-attendant staffing, says it has put attendants in 10 establishments in the past year and a half and now has 40 such clients. Chazz Ward, a bathroom staff entrepreneur in Florence, Ky., has placed what he calls "lounge hosts" in 16 establishments and is now attempting to franchise the business. Many bars and restaurants are trying to update the tradition by hiring attractive young bathroom attendants and keeping their stations minimalist in style, not cluttered with toiletries.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB108172268152279839-IhjfYNolal3oZyoZnuHbaeBm5,00.html
Suddenly, his relaxed night took an awkward turn. "Hello, sir," said a smartly dressed bathroom attendant, as Mr. Rutledge ducked into the stall. When he emerged, the man squirted Dial soap into his hand and turned on the water for him. Mr. Rutledge knew he had to cough up a tip. "You could be filthy and a buck richer," Mr. Rutledge says, "but if you want to wash your hands you have to go through him."
Until recently, bathroom attendants -- whose job is to linger in the bathroom and hand out everything from hand towels to breath mints -- seemed to be going the way of the chimney sweep. But a growing number of bars, restaurants and nightclubs are now hiring them for both men's and women's restrooms -- often to the chagrin of their embarrassed customers. Mr. Rutledge says even his favorite sports bar, Tavern on Gray, has stationed attendants in its bathrooms.
Bathroom attendants are showing up all over -- from Milwaukee and Cincinnati to San Francisco. They're in national chains such as the House of Blues and Jillian's, a 35-unit chain of restaurant and game centers. And demand for bathroom attendants is creating an industry devoted to staffing restrooms. Royal Flush, a New York company that specializes in bathroom-attendant staffing, says it has put attendants in 10 establishments in the past year and a half and now has 40 such clients. Chazz Ward, a bathroom staff entrepreneur in Florence, Ky., has placed what he calls "lounge hosts" in 16 establishments and is now attempting to franchise the business. Many bars and restaurants are trying to update the tradition by hiring attractive young bathroom attendants and keeping their stations minimalist in style, not cluttered with toiletries.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB108172268152279839-IhjfYNolal3oZyoZnuHbaeBm5,00.html
