I want to talk about what happens behind a closed bathroom door.
So many businesses around town just ignore the needs of the customer in there. They forget to stock up, make it so chilly you fear frostbite if you take off your pants or ignore the grimy floors under our feet.
Flat Branch Pub and Brewery isn’t like that. They care for you as a customer from the moment you walk into the store until the moment you walk out. And they absolutely do not skimp in the bathroom.
Your journey begins with entering under the special for the day, in through the heavy wooden doors, and seeing a sparkling clean space. The music is soft, and the light is not the florescent type that makes you hate yourself when you look in the mirror.
Every one of the doors can lock. This shouldn’t come as such a shock to me. But it does. How many times have I been at even the fanciest of restaurants and had to hold the door with one hand as a whiny kid from the outside tries to push their way into my stall. More than just locks, there is never graffiti, never obscenities, never even fliers telling me what I should be doing on my Saturday nights.
The best part though comes after the stall. The management at Flat Branch decided to make their bathrooms touch free. It’s such a tiny convenience, but it goes such a long way. The sinks are automatic. The soap is hands-free. The driers are like space machines that you slide your hands into, fingers first, and pull up – suddenly somehow magically dry. The door has a foot pull, so that even leaving the restroom your hands stay clean.
I am not a germ nut. I am not a toilet paper dictator. But I do appreciate the little things. I know that when a business chooses to think about the details, they truly care about the people who come in and out of their doors every day.
By Maria Kalaitzandonakes
