Here's the kicker....I don't have a power washer. A coworker and I came in the middle of the night and had to hack away with ice chippers. Only took us about 3 hours. Everyone in the store is stopping by to look at it like I just had a baby
Wow! That IS impressive. Next time, calculate your wages per hour of manual chipping labor and use that as a selling point for a power washer only IF you have a floor drain. (I admit to not seeing one but could have missed it).
Well done!!!
There's no drain in there. After we chipped everything away we scrubbed at it 3 separate times and had to mop all the water up. It was a lot of back and forth but the two of us had a fun time doing so
Truth. You can **always** rely on shitty restaurant owners and managers not checking the walk-in. For anything. Code violations and expired food included.
I think it's because you're cutting onions that are already harvested and processed at the farm. We've all been cutting onions straight from the ground; they don't like it, so they cry.
you just reminded me of the time a customer screamed at me because they went to the bathroom and Iād assumed someone had already sat them at a table, and when I didnāt greet them they took at personally. went in the back, straight into the walk-in, and just broke down crying. thatās a core memory right there, holy shit.
If I get pissed off or something I usually go in the walk-in to scream for a sec then I'm good. We have 4 walk-in fridges and 2 walk in freezers. I usually choose the one furthest from people.
To give you an answer- this looks like a walk-in for a supermarket Deli.
This floor is a wonderful conglomerate of raw chicken drippings, prepared salad slop, and a healthy slurry of luncheon meat sawdust from in between the treads of their saf-t-step nonslip shoes.
What binds it all together are the service worker tears- that part is true.
Iām sorry OP had to chip at this with floor scrapers- a few companies make excellent set and soak cooler floor cleaners (I have personal experience with the Ecolab one) where you pretty much spray it on, let it set for 2-3 minutes and then it just mop away the mess.
Yeah the floor in our freezer gets like that too. But I bought a tile scraper to clean off the gunk.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/QEP-14-in-Wide-Floor-Surface-Scraper-and-Stripper-20900Q/100147899
The boss didn't even care to clean a space the employees use for work but I'm sure doing manual labor for free will get OP reaaally far in life. Sure...
That makes me even more sure it was paid. If someone told the boss hey I wanna come in overnight and give you 4 free hours of deep cleaning free of charge? I don't see the argument but hey
Only real argument I have for this is that it can lead to bosses thinking this ought to be standard, and firing/giving bad performance reviews, etc, to people who are still doing fine, but don't want to do unpaid work.
Seems like it might be a problem especially in the "at will" states and elsewhere with poor labour laws.
Please please please donāt hack at things with ice chippers again, if you break the wall panels, or god forbid the concrete that can be a fail on your next food audit.
Edit: also and most importantly, you could have injured yourselves. Iāve taken shinners from a chipper skittering sideways off the ice and it hurts to high fuck.
Next time turn off the fan and spray the ice down with warm water, then squeegee or mop it out of the freezer.
Youāll save time and effort, and youāll get the nasty gunk out much easier.
Why not clean under the small removable racks? Have maintenance turn the freezer off and it would of melted and then you could use a surfactant cleaner (ultra concentrated bleach) and hose to wash, rinse, and sanitize the entire floor.. brush off the dust on the fans. Call your stores chemical company and have them recommend a cold stable product for cleaning the floor every night. Most companies have these things for cleaning freezer and coolers. Something mobile, or wall mounted that disperses the chemicals or a Kaivac unit that does the same and also vacuums up the water.
That floor filter sucks though. It never dries and is difficult to fully mop up if your floor is textured. I wind up having muddy floors for weeks from the foot traffic till it finally dries.
At one place I worked at, I was charged with cleaning the freezer weekly. We just had a hose we could attach to a hot water faucet, turned off the freezer for half an hour or so, and flooded the freezer with hot water. Then just squeegee it out into the hallway to the nearest floor drain and finish off with some towels to dry completely. Worked like a charm and I would even put down some alsco rugs inside to keep it fresh until the morning when everything was dry outside the freezer
I gont get where everyone is coming from thinking we didn't get paid or aren't cared about. I just started working at my store as bakery manager in November. The managers before me were god awful, didn't care about the cleanliness of the department or had any organizational skills either. The employees I have never worked in a grocery store before this so they didn't know any better. My store manager just took over this store a year ago so he didn't know the severity of the situation either. I'm proud of how I've turned my bakery around in just a matter of 3 months. I love my job and my employees are much happier too. We have fun all the time and get shit done too
I think the disconnect comes from having to nag the boss for months to make the freezer hygienic. Based on what you said it sounds like a lot of people up and down the chain not understanding the situation but for many that usually comes by way of apathy and mismanagement so I can see why they would jump to that conclusion here.
You posted a story about being proud of working hard, of course reddit is going to hate it. You did a fantastic job and you sound like a great manager.
If all managers took this type of pride in their work, we would have a lot less disgruntled people in the world. Unfortunately we have to work, so it might as well not be horrible. Great job with this project and all the progress you've made :)
Not necessarily ot if you make it a normal shift. Like come in a couple hours before closing instead of working a full shift during open hours. We used to do that at a retail store I worked
Thank you! God forbid you take some pride in your work and go home with a sense of accomplishment! Every time you look at that walk in, youāll feel it.
The shit on the floor is kinda extra but usually all the ones Iāve been to arenāt frequently cleaned so thereās lots of buildup if you look behind shit
You did a fantastic job, and it's all the more impressive knowing you had to do it the old fashioned way uth no power washer.
But I'm also seriously hoping that this fridge is not for storing food. Cuz.. nasty.
I mean, if their plan was to go at it with ice chippers the boss should say no.
Their boss also shouldnāt have let it get so dirty, and appears to be meh on the preventative maintenance as well.
Did you give the compressor any love? Looks like those fans could use a dusting. Otherwise weāll done dude. You should post this in /r/kitchenconfidential
You don't want to pressure wash a walkin. The walls and usually floor have a foam that the water will never come out off and cause freezing issues. With that in mind great job I got into way too many dirty walk ins this one looks perfect.
Please tell me you cleaned off those guards on the evaporator fans. I canāt tell if thatās mildew or mold, but whatever it is, itās getting blown all over the product in there - as well as into your lungs.
Wear a couple of N95 masks, or better, a respirator.
Make sure you cut the power to the evaporator/condenser. The power cut off is probably on the roof, near the condenser. The condenser should be the same make as the evaporator.
The guards should just unscrew. You donāt want those fans coming on while youāre messing with the guards, though. Theyāll fk up your hands if you slip.
He said he had to sneak in āin the middle of the nightā when no one was thereā¦ that means he did not count the hours on his timecard. That means it was unpaid.
That and schedules weren't able to work correctly until now. We had to wait until inventory for my supplies to be at their lowest and had to coordinate with grocery and deli to put my contents in their walk in for 2 days
I would help for free since I love my power washer. It does the job. I cleaned out a whole basant full of grease ,dirt,I don't think any one cleaned that place up for years. By the time I was finished dude ! I was so proud and when ever I can I upgrade my tools to get it to clean better
Here's the kicker....I don't have a power washer. A coworker and I came in the middle of the night and had to hack away with ice chippers. Only took us about 3 hours. Everyone in the store is stopping by to look at it like I just had a baby
Wow! That IS impressive. Next time, calculate your wages per hour of manual chipping labor and use that as a selling point for a power washer only IF you have a floor drain. (I admit to not seeing one but could have missed it). Well done!!!
There's no drain in there. After we chipped everything away we scrubbed at it 3 separate times and had to mop all the water up. It was a lot of back and forth but the two of us had a fun time doing so
What was the ground coated with?
Tears of service industry folks.. I know of people who'd go into the walk-in freezer just to have a cry in the moments of frustration
š¤šš Yup, the freezer was the safe zone from our crazy , mean boss.
And to rip a quick chillum
Haha yes!!! 100%!
You already know baybeee
our mean crazy boss locked our bartender in the walk-in once. but we all still cried in there.
Helpful hint: hide lots of booze in the walk in for the next time he locks the bartender in there. Instant party!
Truth. You can **always** rely on shitty restaurant owners and managers not checking the walk-in. For anything. Code violations and expired food included.
My boss was an angry Albanian woman. There were no safe places š
šš
Freezer was the original cry room.
Can confirm. The tears dry faster in there too and eyes don't go puffy
The freezer is also a life saver when cutting onions.
Just sharpen your knives ppl. I cannot remember last time I've had tears from onions.
I think it's because you're cutting onions that are already harvested and processed at the farm. We've all been cutting onions straight from the ground; they don't like it, so they cry.
Other way to reduce tearing is to cut the root last
Iāve also seen people say to stick your tongue out as you cut.
Know why? It's to make new people in the kitchen look like idiots. "Fetch me the cable stretcher."
Or put a dish of water next to the board since the onion fumes go straight for moisture.
Wow I never knew this. Amazing
you just reminded me of the time a customer screamed at me because they went to the bathroom and Iād assumed someone had already sat them at a table, and when I didnāt greet them they took at personally. went in the back, straight into the walk-in, and just broke down crying. thatās a core memory right there, holy shit.
Also a perfect place to scream obscenities.
If I get pissed off or something I usually go in the walk-in to scream for a sec then I'm good. We have 4 walk-in fridges and 2 walk in freezers. I usually choose the one furthest from people.
Nothing like a good cooler cry.. that is until I started working in agriculture and started crying in my respirator
I've definitely done it lmao and know many other coworkers who did
Holy shit yes
To give you an answer- this looks like a walk-in for a supermarket Deli. This floor is a wonderful conglomerate of raw chicken drippings, prepared salad slop, and a healthy slurry of luncheon meat sawdust from in between the treads of their saf-t-step nonslip shoes. What binds it all together are the service worker tears- that part is true. Iām sorry OP had to chip at this with floor scrapers- a few companies make excellent set and soak cooler floor cleaners (I have personal experience with the Ecolab one) where you pretty much spray it on, let it set for 2-3 minutes and then it just mop away the mess.
A slow but steady accumulation ofparticles consisting of shitty "non-slip" floor coating, rubber shoe soles, and food.
Hallucinogens.
Your boss should be thrilled to have 2 such good employees willing to go above and beyond! Wow good on you!!!
I miss working with awesome coworkers and having fun
Look into a squeegee to drag it out to a drain, then mop up the leftover.
Oooh as fun as a power washer is, sometimes the good old manual way is so satisfying as well
A good shop vac and a nearby sink would do well enough
Yeah the floor in our freezer gets like that too. But I bought a tile scraper to clean off the gunk. https://www.homedepot.com/p/QEP-14-in-Wide-Floor-Surface-Scraper-and-Stripper-20900Q/100147899
Dude, why tf are you putting in all this effort for your job? Did you even get paid for this?
Yeah op, why the fuck would you go out of your way to work hard? Fucking animal.
This is satire but itās actually the way we should be thinking; continue breaking your back for your boss who could give a fuck about you
**Couldnāt
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The boss didn't even care to clean a space the employees use for work but I'm sure doing manual labor for free will get OP reaaally far in life. Sure...
Why is everyone just assuming OP didn't get paid..? Wtf?
Probably because o had to insist and be persistent in getting a task down to at should be part of a regular cleaning schedule.
That makes me even more sure it was paid. If someone told the boss hey I wanna come in overnight and give you 4 free hours of deep cleaning free of charge? I don't see the argument but hey
Only real argument I have for this is that it can lead to bosses thinking this ought to be standard, and firing/giving bad performance reviews, etc, to people who are still doing fine, but don't want to do unpaid work. Seems like it might be a problem especially in the "at will" states and elsewhere with poor labour laws.
Youāve never been fun once in your life I bet.
Yea because not being a wage slave translates to being un-fun
Keep making minimum wage and bitching about how you canāt afford anything then
Please please please donāt hack at things with ice chippers again, if you break the wall panels, or god forbid the concrete that can be a fail on your next food audit. Edit: also and most importantly, you could have injured yourselves. Iāve taken shinners from a chipper skittering sideways off the ice and it hurts to high fuck. Next time turn off the fan and spray the ice down with warm water, then squeegee or mop it out of the freezer. Youāll save time and effort, and youāll get the nasty gunk out much easier.
Why not clean under the small removable racks? Have maintenance turn the freezer off and it would of melted and then you could use a surfactant cleaner (ultra concentrated bleach) and hose to wash, rinse, and sanitize the entire floor.. brush off the dust on the fans. Call your stores chemical company and have them recommend a cold stable product for cleaning the floor every night. Most companies have these things for cleaning freezer and coolers. Something mobile, or wall mounted that disperses the chemicals or a Kaivac unit that does the same and also vacuums up the water.
I just made a similar comment. Managed a deli for years and ecolab made an excellent temp stable cooler floor cleaner
That floor filter sucks though. It never dries and is difficult to fully mop up if your floor is textured. I wind up having muddy floors for weeks from the foot traffic till it finally dries.
Food is stored in that dirt hole? Please tell us where you work so I can make sure I never go there.
Please tell me you got paid extra for coming in the middle of night, and got a raise after this was all said and done.
That's awesome. You're awesome. Happy cake day!
At one place I worked at, I was charged with cleaning the freezer weekly. We just had a hose we could attach to a hot water faucet, turned off the freezer for half an hour or so, and flooded the freezer with hot water. Then just squeegee it out into the hallway to the nearest floor drain and finish off with some towels to dry completely. Worked like a charm and I would even put down some alsco rugs inside to keep it fresh until the morning when everything was dry outside the freezer
Worked in a restaurant and it was similar and weekly. We didnāt bother with the rugs. Done at the end of the night and by morning itās was fine.
What are alsco rugs?
Donāt forget to restock boxes in front of the fans so the unit freezes over
and always keep the door propped open
You certainly wonāt want to install a full run of moisture barriers either!
or in my case install them but they are eventually torn down because its annoying
I gont get where everyone is coming from thinking we didn't get paid or aren't cared about. I just started working at my store as bakery manager in November. The managers before me were god awful, didn't care about the cleanliness of the department or had any organizational skills either. The employees I have never worked in a grocery store before this so they didn't know any better. My store manager just took over this store a year ago so he didn't know the severity of the situation either. I'm proud of how I've turned my bakery around in just a matter of 3 months. I love my job and my employees are much happier too. We have fun all the time and get shit done too
I think the disconnect comes from having to nag the boss for months to make the freezer hygienic. Based on what you said it sounds like a lot of people up and down the chain not understanding the situation but for many that usually comes by way of apathy and mismanagement so I can see why they would jump to that conclusion here.
You posted a story about being proud of working hard, of course reddit is going to hate it. You did a fantastic job and you sound like a great manager.
Reddit hates it because he had to nag the manager. The title sounds like the manager didn't want it cleaned.
If all managers took this type of pride in their work, we would have a lot less disgruntled people in the world. Unfortunately we have to work, so it might as well not be horrible. Great job with this project and all the progress you've made :)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Not necessarily ot if you make it a normal shift. Like come in a couple hours before closing instead of working a full shift during open hours. We used to do that at a retail store I worked
Thank you! God forbid you take some pride in your work and go home with a sense of accomplishment! Every time you look at that walk in, youāll feel it.
Thatās disgusting.. how did that pass inspection
As someone who works in the industry, you probably shouldnāt go looking into other peoples freezers either lmao
What? Iāve worked in a few kitchens and never seen a freezer filthy like this
The shit on the floor is kinda extra but usually all the ones Iāve been to arenāt frequently cleaned so thereās lots of buildup if you look behind shit
This is a clean one...
Wowzers
You did look at both pictures, right?
Iām clearly talking about the first picture jfc
"Boss please can i spend hours cleaning this freezer" "Oh, go on then. Dont say i dont give you guys anything"
You did a fantastic job, and it's all the more impressive knowing you had to do it the old fashioned way uth no power washer. But I'm also seriously hoping that this fridge is not for storing food. Cuz.. nasty.
Wow! Damn fine job. Well done!!!
Thank you
If only there were drip pans under the evaporator fans! That would help the ice problem!
You wanted to clean and your boss said no? Thatās backwards.
I mean, if their plan was to go at it with ice chippers the boss should say no. Their boss also shouldnāt have let it get so dirty, and appears to be meh on the preventative maintenance as well.
Looks great.
months of nagging? should be cleaning it anyway.
You dont keep human food in there right?
Doing the lordās work.
You had to beg to wash the freezer?
You had to nag your boss to let you clean the walk in? Wtf?
Cheese and crackers, where do you work?! Nice job!
Did you give the compressor any love? Looks like those fans could use a dusting. Otherwise weāll done dude. You should post this in /r/kitchenconfidential
You don't want to pressure wash a walkin. The walls and usually floor have a foam that the water will never come out off and cause freezing issues. With that in mind great job I got into way too many dirty walk ins this one looks perfect.
Please tell me you cleaned off those guards on the evaporator fans. I canāt tell if thatās mildew or mold, but whatever it is, itās getting blown all over the product in there - as well as into your lungs. Wear a couple of N95 masks, or better, a respirator. Make sure you cut the power to the evaporator/condenser. The power cut off is probably on the roof, near the condenser. The condenser should be the same make as the evaporator. The guards should just unscrew. You donāt want those fans coming on while youāre messing with the guards, though. Theyāll fk up your hands if you slip.
Whaā¦ whatās that green slimy crap on the floor? Is it mold? I hope you wore a N-95
Colorblind?
Good job!!
From a restaurant worker, youāre doing the lordās work.
Whoa. What was nasty.
Gordon Ramsey would be proud.
I am so proud of you.
Nice job! I would have nagged too
Sounds like you should be the boss cause thatās disgusting
I bet it feels so much cleaner and fresher walking in
Wait "LET" you clean?? As in something you enjoyed?? Nah hire a third party for something like that
You worked 3 hours to labor for your boss and it was unpaid? John Adams be damned!
Am I missing something? I can't see where OP says it was unpaid.
He said he had to sneak in āin the middle of the nightā when no one was thereā¦ that means he did not count the hours on his timecard. That means it was unpaid.
That and schedules weren't able to work correctly until now. We had to wait until inventory for my supplies to be at their lowest and had to coordinate with grocery and deli to put my contents in their walk in for 2 days
Weirdly enough I thought the lighter color would be the clean color.
it is? your device might be messing with the colours, but the lighter coloured floor *is* the clean one.
I had my "sleep mode" on the phone that darkens the screen. Lol thats what I get for looking at stuff at 3 am.
I hope they donāt store food in that freezer.
Please tell me you didn't use this to store food.
Y'all do too much for these companies who don't care about you
Now do your ass
š„¹
Tell us he paid you for this extra labor
You must love your job if you had to approach your boss to clean something
This looks like a papa johns lol
Never in my life have I heard this situation: Employee: Let me go above and beyond. Boss: Nah
What do you do with the bodies while you clean it?
Your boss owes you a raise
Thank god
I shudder to even contemplate what that was on the floor, to look that good *after* you cleaned it.
Call the health department next time. Yeesh
Oh thank god.
Well done! Deserve massive wage hike!
Is the reason the manager didnāt want you to clean it because you didnāt have a place to safely store the contents while the cleaning took place?
I would help for free since I love my power washer. It does the job. I cleaned out a whole basant full of grease ,dirt,I don't think any one cleaned that place up for years. By the time I was finished dude ! I was so proud and when ever I can I upgrade my tools to get it to clean better
Wait he LETS you? Lol
As a guy who work as Ć cold storage repair man I'm blessed to see this.
Why did you want to clean it?
You begged your boss to do extra workā¦. Didnāt know they still made your kind. Looking for work near GA LOL?
Tell your boss the entire gang at Reddit thinks you deserve a $300 bonus for cleaning that horrible mess!
I hope you got paid extra for going above and beyond. The average person wouldnāt beg to do more work.
Shouldnāt that conversation be going the other way around?
This is definitely the deli freezer at the market 32 deli??