Following are my thoughts on how Scores on Doors can be improved. I’m not saying that my suggestions are perfect, and it would be great if someone did debate the points I make. There are issues with my proposals, but I think my proposals are worth mentioning.

Show passing as a pass

Simply put, remove two stars from the existing scores.

So a premise that meets the legal requirements will score 3 points. Any premise that doesn’t will score 2, 1 or 0 points.

Then there would be a huge impact on business for restaurants that aren’t fully compliant.

Strive for excellence, not compliance

Using 3-stars for compliance means that there are now 2 stars free to show excellence. Bonus points can then be applied to businesses that score a 3-star rating.  These bonus points are then used to determine if the business is eligible for an extra one or two stars.

And since it only applies to venues that have already scored 3-stars, it ensures that across the board compliance is achieved.

Each of the categories can be reviewed to determine what is best practice, not just what is required.

For example, bonus points can be given for

–        venues that use temperature loggers and not just thermometers.

–        the training levels of all staff

–        automated hand wash dispensers

–        businesses that regularly use biological tests on surfaces

Then hopefully, as time goes on, these practices become standard practice, and become part of the standards. They then contribute to the pass mark, and new “best practices” are identified.

Mandatory

Make it mandatory.

As a consumer, I think that it is reasonable to be informed that a restaurant is failing to comply with the food safety standards.

Public

Build upon the name-and-shame web site and have the results from all restaurants uploaded to a web site.

With the results only shown on the door, it isn’t until a customer has booked and arrived that they see the results. Why not allow people to check out the results online before they arrive?

Why not go a step further and have the results in Google Maps? Imagine being able to check out what restaurants are in the local area, and see the results!!!

That’s it

That’s the end of my Scores on Doors rant. That is, unless I get enough feedback to either have to defend myself or thank my supporters.

And now I am eagerly awaiting evidence of how bad a 3-star restaurant can be.

For the start of the series go to Scores On Doors Overview.