The McChunders Experiment

The
McChunders Experiment

Since Scores On Doors isn’t measuring excellence but rather determining the extent of deficiencies, the question arises:  “How badly can you fail Scores on Doors and still pass?” Alternatively, “How many problems can I squeeze into 15 points?” 

Since Scores On Doors isn’t measuring excellence but rather determining the extent of deficiencies, the question arises:  

“How badly can you fail Scores on Doors and still pass?” 

Alternatively, 

“How many problems can I squeeze into 15 points?” 

Let’s use a hypothetical restaurant, “McChunders,” which doesn’t have the best reputation. The roaches have moved out after protesting about the conditions, and there’s a Chef’s Special Surprise so unexpected that even the chef has no idea what’s in it. 

In this situation, you’ve been assigned as the health inspector to this restaurant and it’s your job to check them against the Scores on Doors rating system. Good luck.

The first thing that hits you as you walk into McChunders is the smell. It’s not the aroma of fresh burgers or baking bread, but instead, rubbish. It’s piling up, and it’s starting to smell. Is this enough to close the place down? 

No, just 1 point. 

The first thing that hits you as you walk into McChunders is the smell. It’s not the aroma of fresh burgers or baking bread, but instead, rubbish. It’s piling up, and it’s starting to smell. Is this enough to close the place down? 

No, just 1 point. 

A quick glance around reveals some handwashing facilities, which is a relief. They could have easily racked up 21 points by not having the facilities or not using them when needed. 

But wait a second, the water has backed up in the drain and is hovering an inch below the rim. The worker’s hands may be clean, but their sinks aren’t. So how many points for McFloaters, inadequate sewage, and an out-of-order wastewater disposal system? 

1 point. 

Surprisingly, the kitchen isn’t infested with rats; credit goes to the three cats on duty One of them is even rolling about on the workbench. Animals in the food preparation area: 1 point.  You’ve only just stepped into the restaurant, and you’re sure this will have to be locked down immediately. But when you look down at your clipboard, you’re shocked to see

They are still eligible for 5 stars

Surprisingly, the kitchen isn’t infested with rats; credit goes to the three cats on duty One of them is even rolling about on the workbench. Animals in the food preparation area: 1 point.  You’ve only just stepped into the restaurant, and you’re sure this will have to be locked down immediately. But when you look down at your clipboard, you’re shocked to see

They are still eligible for 5 stars

That’s when Eddie, the kitchen hand, saunters into the kitchen and starts eating a sandwich over the bench. “Finally! A decent penalty.” you think to yourself. 4 points! 

After finishing, he pulls out a lighter and sparks his cigarette but you realize it’s the same 4 points.

To add insult to injury, looks around for the garbage bin, and lets out a loud snort before spitting out a large glob of saliva across the walkway into the bin. A tear fills your eyes as you realise that all of Eddie’s actions so far,

That’s when Eddie, the kitchen hand, saunters into the kitchen and starts eating a sandwich over the bench. “Finally! A decent penalty.” you think to yourself. 4 points! 

After finishing, he pulls out a lighter and sparks his cigarette but you realize it’s the same 4 points.

To add insult to injury, looks around for the garbage bin, and lets out a loud snort before spitting out a large glob of saliva across the walkway into the bin. A tear fills your eyes as you realise that all of Eddie’s actions so far,

fall under the same 4 points.

Eddie, still messy from his unhygienic spree, wipes his mouth on his stained T-shirt. Dirty clothing, 1 point. As he leaves, a blood-stained band-aid on his finger adds no extra points. Despite all his efforts, the resturant

has only dropped to 4 stars

Eddie, still messy from his unhygienic spree, wipes his mouth on his stained T-shirt. Dirty clothing, 1 point. As he leaves, a blood-stained band-aid on his finger adds no extra points. Despite all his efforts, the restaurant,

has only dropped to 4 stars

Recently, the main cases of food poisoning have come from fresh eggs contaminated on the outside of the shells. Despite what some may think, the organic dirt on eggshells isn’t necessarily safe. It may contain harmful bacteria like Salmonella, found in chicken feces and feathers.

So here’s a restaurant that has fresh eggs and like farm fresh eggs, they are covered in chook…stuff. Since this is known to cause massive food poisoning outbreaks, it must be enough to fail the restaurant.

Just 4 points.

Disheartened, you walk out into the seating area. Up there back there is a salad bar, well less of a bar and more of a table. Standing over the table is a mother with her two young kids ferociously grabbing as much as they can. The spoons go from bowl to bowl with no dedicated utensils and no one supervising the chaos:

1 Point.

In the feeding frenzy, one of the kids refuses to stop despite beginning to sneeze into and all over all of the salad offerings. 

The same 1 point.

So to recap...

After all this McChunders has knocked up a series of demerits including:

And they in turn receive the following certificate to display in their window.

3 Stars

After all this McChunders has knocked up a series of demerits including:

And they in turn receive the following certificate to display in their window.