I am doing Perks Coffee on Quinpool mostly because I worked there. I know that these bathrooms are, on a regular basis cleaned fairly thoroughly so I may have a biased opinion on the subject. However, I still feel as though I need to share.
The first thing anyone will notice when they walk into the hallway is that on both the men and women's doors there is a sign saying and I quote: "Key's available at front for Perk's Customer's Only." Notice the grammar? Horrific. I want to rip the signs down every time I see them. Anyway moving on. So clearly you need to be a customer to obtain the key. I know this can be a little bit of a piss off, but when you are the one cleaning up everything that comes out of both ends off the floor in the men's on a regular basis because every Tom, Dick and Harry can go in without a key, you thank God that they installed locks on the doors.
Both bathrooms sport the same utilities with the added urinal in the men's. Both toilets are for the most part, fairly spotless. Cleaned and maintained fairly well. The sinks are a different matter. Because of a bad investment the porcelain in both sinks are starting to wear down considerably and now show rough grey spots. The taps are of poor quality and the heat control with the tap water is lack there of. You either burn your hands or freeze them. There is by no means any happy medium.
The men's bathroom sports and older model hand dryer that works really well. With the added wear and tear that comes with most things, the dryer is stained and worn. The women's having a newer model hand dryer....doesn't work. I mean, technically it turns on, but unless that dryer is one of those dryers that blasts 100km/h winds onto your hands to super dry them in 4 seconds, this lack of time on the dryer is useless. So therefore Perks employees resorted to having paper towel handy.
As for decor, there is something to lack. With its small grey tiles on the floor, black re-painted door and unfortunate yellow ceiling, I often feel sad walking into these bathrooms. The only other sort of decor going on in the bathrooms is the slight graffiti that comes up every once in a while.
Supplies are well endowed. With its mega rolls of toilet paper that are two-ply and the big soap dispenser, it would be a very long time before you run out.
The biggest issue I have with the women's bathroom is the fan. Because of a poor installation, the fan rattles intensely that you often can't hear if someone is knocking on the door.
The biggest issue I have with the men's is the smell. The constant smell of stale urine is enough to put anyone off their dinner. And believe me folks, I, as well as the others have tried very hard to get that smell out of the men's. Nothing is going to do it.
The only thing I would suggest for the bathrooms are baby-changing tables. Time and time again we get customers coming in with their little ones only to find out that there are no baby-changing tables. So those of you that have little kids, don't go to Perks on Quinpool Road to change your child.
Final Grade: B
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Reflections Cabaret: Halifax, Nova Scotia
My first review will be of the only no-labels bar in Halifax: Reflections Cabaret. This is easily one of my favourite bars in the city. However, it is also one of the biggest dives.
The same can be said about their bathrooms.
The bathrooms are located in the back at the left hand side of the bar. One thing that becomes apparent is that there is no real clear indication as to whether or not either door is male or female. However, after a close inspection, there are little signs that say so. The doors being open at all times don’t help. In this particular bar because it’s a “no-labels” bar, the lack of men’s and women’s signs aren’t a huge deal as there are often those of the opposite sex in any given bathroom.
I have taken advantage of this lack of restrictions and have been in the men’s as well as the women’s. So this review is going to be about both the men and women’s bathrooms.
First off, the men’s:
The great thing about the men’s bathroom in Reflections is that not only do they have 6 urinals, but they also offer 4 stalls. These stalls however, have seen better days. Repainted time and time again (which is currently black), these stalls have a significant amount of graffiti and sport quite a number of bumps and dents in the walls.
The toilet paper is not much better. Sporting the really big rolls of toilet paper, it offers a lot, but not in quality. The toilet paper is cheap one-ply; probably to cut down on costs. Also the fixtures holding the paper on the walls are falling apart. I put my wallet on the fixture and it fell off the wall under the weight.
The men’s bathroom also has ceiling to sink windows that are remarkably ding free. The bathroom has 4 sinks with two soap dispensers spaced evenly among the sinks. The biggest issue I have with the sinks is the lack of cold water. The taps have been purposely removed. When asking the cleaner, it is apparently to stop people drinking the cold water instead of buying it. So generally, when you wash your hands after using the bathroom, your hands are scalded.
The men’s bathroom has sort of a pungy smell to it. There is a constant smell of stale piss but also a smell of old alcohol. Not something I like.
The only really great thing about the men’s is that it is bright. But, the decor is something to be desired. With its purple ceilings, and broken tile floor it isn’t exactly the more gorgeous bathroom in the world.
The women’s bathroom sports exactly the same things decor wise with the same amount of sinks with no cold taps.
The biggest issue I have with the women’s bathroom is that it has 4 stalls, but one stall doesn’t have a door. So realistically you can’t use it. So not only do women have to sit down to pee, and it only has 4 stalls, one stall is out of commission. Therefore line-ups are out the door and can be upwards of 10 minutes.
Same pungy smell, same crappy toilet paper.
The only great thing about the bathrooms here is that they are serviced on a regular basis. There is a man that stands between the two doors, and checks on the toilet paper levels and washes the floors, sinks, counters and mirrors in both bathrooms every hour. He stays there if there in case someone reports broken glass or vomit and is quick to clean it. So although the bathrooms aren’t the most beautiful, at least they are clean.
Final Grade: C-
The same can be said about their bathrooms.
The bathrooms are located in the back at the left hand side of the bar. One thing that becomes apparent is that there is no real clear indication as to whether or not either door is male or female. However, after a close inspection, there are little signs that say so. The doors being open at all times don’t help. In this particular bar because it’s a “no-labels” bar, the lack of men’s and women’s signs aren’t a huge deal as there are often those of the opposite sex in any given bathroom.
I have taken advantage of this lack of restrictions and have been in the men’s as well as the women’s. So this review is going to be about both the men and women’s bathrooms.
First off, the men’s:
The great thing about the men’s bathroom in Reflections is that not only do they have 6 urinals, but they also offer 4 stalls. These stalls however, have seen better days. Repainted time and time again (which is currently black), these stalls have a significant amount of graffiti and sport quite a number of bumps and dents in the walls.
The toilet paper is not much better. Sporting the really big rolls of toilet paper, it offers a lot, but not in quality. The toilet paper is cheap one-ply; probably to cut down on costs. Also the fixtures holding the paper on the walls are falling apart. I put my wallet on the fixture and it fell off the wall under the weight.
The men’s bathroom also has ceiling to sink windows that are remarkably ding free. The bathroom has 4 sinks with two soap dispensers spaced evenly among the sinks. The biggest issue I have with the sinks is the lack of cold water. The taps have been purposely removed. When asking the cleaner, it is apparently to stop people drinking the cold water instead of buying it. So generally, when you wash your hands after using the bathroom, your hands are scalded.
The men’s bathroom has sort of a pungy smell to it. There is a constant smell of stale piss but also a smell of old alcohol. Not something I like.
The only really great thing about the men’s is that it is bright. But, the decor is something to be desired. With its purple ceilings, and broken tile floor it isn’t exactly the more gorgeous bathroom in the world.
The women’s bathroom sports exactly the same things decor wise with the same amount of sinks with no cold taps.
The biggest issue I have with the women’s bathroom is that it has 4 stalls, but one stall doesn’t have a door. So realistically you can’t use it. So not only do women have to sit down to pee, and it only has 4 stalls, one stall is out of commission. Therefore line-ups are out the door and can be upwards of 10 minutes.
Same pungy smell, same crappy toilet paper.
The only great thing about the bathrooms here is that they are serviced on a regular basis. There is a man that stands between the two doors, and checks on the toilet paper levels and washes the floors, sinks, counters and mirrors in both bathrooms every hour. He stays there if there in case someone reports broken glass or vomit and is quick to clean it. So although the bathrooms aren’t the most beautiful, at least they are clean.
Final Grade: C-
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