Disgusted by filthy toilets

I WENT recently to the McDonald's restaurant at Quarry Bay for lunch.

I was hoping to get a quick, delicious lunch. I did get one eventually. The food was as tasty as usual, but at a cost, because I made the mistake of visiting the toilet at the back of the restaurant before having my meal.

I am not sure if I went to the customers' toilet or one reserved for members of staff. I just followed a member of staff.

What I saw once inside the toilet was so disgusting, that I beat a hasty retreat. The smell inside the toilet was overpowering and in each cubicle, none of the toilet bowls had been flushed. I do not know if the flushing system was working. The whole place looked filthy. The floor was wet and there was no toilet paper.

I was upset to find such sub-standard facilities at a restaurant chain that prides itself on being a popular eating place for families with young children. Aren't cleanliness and good hygiene basic essentials for any healthy family? Even though the food tastes good and the eating area of the restaurant looks clean, it is a disgrace to customers to provide them with such sub-standard toilet facilities.

I wonder if all toilet facilities at McDonald's are like that. My guess is not, but why were the toilets so bad in the Quarry Bay outlet, that it actually affected my appetite. If this was the staff toilet, then it begs the question, why are staff treated like that? Don't they deserve a clean working environment? Public toilets in Hong Kong have come in for a lot of criticism from locals and expatriates.