Do they do it this way in your town?

I don't know about restaurants, but I work for an organization for the developmentally disabled and they had us do cleaning and paperwork for months before. I was told they were coming in October...I went away on vacation for over a week came back and expected it to be done. Well, we had snow, and they still were not there, they they scheduled an audit, and it got cancelled because of snow, then they finally had it just before Christmas. You could have cleaned up a dump yard in that time. And nothing was better or changed for the residents.

How do they do it in our town? Ha Ha. You'd have to see it to believe it. Please consider yourself lucky because if you happen to know the health inspector is coming then you have a couple of days where you know the place is clean. Here the health inspector comes tells them to clean the place and when they return for a few dollars nothing more is said. Like I said you'd have to see it.

I've always felt the same way as you do, I think it's really stupid to let them know ahead of time. I would think a restaurant would keep everything up to par if they knew they were getting random checks as opposed to letting them know ahead. Call me crazy, but what kind of logic is that?! Not sure, but I think they do it so that the owner, or manager, is sure to be there when they stop, even so it just seems so wrong.

Nope. They "might" say they're coming, however they don't say the date and most times it's a trick to knock them off guard. they don't go out, they settle and relax leaving it and then jump out and get 'em. ~Joey

Our town has "The Restaurant Report Card" on the news where they evidently go with the health department unannounced. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's good. I like it that way. The restaurants around here don't want to be on "The Restaurant Report Card" segment of the news unless they are getting an A+.

Actually, to my knowledge, they do that everywhere. It's actually pretty sad when you think about it, all the infractions that businesses are getting away with. Even the local airplane part plant knows weeks in advance when they're procedures are going to be audited so that they have plenty of time to hide all of the things that they are doign wrong or cutting corners on.

Nope i dont think it is done that way here in our place ..that is strange i guess announcing first and all..and not proper to announced first before doing their job..

When I had my coffee shop/takeaway, they would turn up unannounced.

It is nonsense isn't it? If they were really serious about cleaning up these places and ensuring they did they right thing they should not give notice that they are inspecting the place. In Australia we have a similar thing with aged care facilities and they tell them in plenty of time to get things running properly before they do the inspection. I am sure that if these inspections were done without warning at least 90% of places would be in BIG trouble.

I know that when I lived in Mississippi, the people that I worked for always knew "around" the time the health inspector would be coming. They didn't know the exact time and/or day but they knew an approximate timeframe. You are right, they fixed everything up so it was perfect for inspection. My husband does health inspections with the military and he doesn't warn them in advance. He has watched them break health codes right in front of him, it's disgusting.

I work at Subway and they health inspector does NOT let us know when he is coming he shows up when he wants that is they way they are suppose to do it if they let you know they are coming of course you are going to whip out the cleaning staff.

Very normal in our life, we can find this way everywhere. As I know even when I was a student in a college, we joined a race of bedchamer's design which included the room's health as well. Of each month before audit, we got notice about the inspector's exact arrival time. That meant all rooms members had enough time to rearrange their room and prepared all everythings in best place.

I worked in a restaurant for 4 years and the health department NEVER came in even once. In fact when the owner was going to sell she figured it would be a good idea to have an inspection so SHE CALLED THEM. It took them 2 weeks to show up and the man was there for about 10 min.

Hi, crazynurse. I am sure that we have one. They get grades and they air it on the news in the evening time. I don't know if it is done planned or just on the spur of the moment. To be honest with you, I think that it should be done on the spur of the moment. That way, they can be sneaked upon and not given any heads up notice. Then the inspectors can see how they are really keeping their restaurant. It should be cleaned at all times, not when they know that someone else will be coming over to take a look at it.

In my town, they do random checks, take a bribe, and go away.

I think they are random and unannounced, because I do hear about different restaurants getting violations. That is just like nursing homes knowing when state surveyors are going to be there. Pointless.

back home they did it once a year announced and one to three times unannounced. here, they do not even publish their findings. do not even have to have public health certificate in view at the restaurant. we don't eat out much anymore. lol

Most of the inspections, our health office do it secretly. But the main problem is they do this very often. I think, they only do it once or twice a year. Very terrible.

Where I work they do it random which is good. They just show up....no notice. I work in a convenience store where food is served and they are very thorough. Sometimes it is a pain but it is good....we are always aware of standards and we have been caught off-guard a couple of times...nothing major or health threatning to anyone....something like a spoon standing the wrong way in a container. It is their very randomness that keeps everyone on their toes.

They places I have worked a health department visit was always unannounced. You knew they would be coming several times a year, but you never knew when they would be showing up.