The restaurant industry not only has to worry about the safety and well-being of employees, but that of their customers as well.

This means it’s even more critical for restaurants to have a hotline to report unethical behavior. If you don’t already have one, now is the time to implement one.

For those using all tactics to make more money, this may seem like a horrible idea. But, it’s the best thing that could happen to your restaurant as it creates a more ethical environment for employees and customers.

Restaurants Face Ethical Issues

Restaurants have to think about numerous ethical issues. We covered some of these recently, such as paying a more livable wage and having a transparent supply chain. Of course, there are other ethical issues to watch for as well, such as:

· Poor customer treatment

· Employee harassment

· Not handling food properly

· Purposely tampering with food

· Refusing to clean properly

· Sourcing sub-par ingredients that could be dangerous

· Not reporting public health hazards

Some restaurants try to cover up these issues to avoid damaging their reputations or decreasing profits. However, someone is always negatively affected. As a general rule, all food establishments should follow at least a basic code of ethics. From food safety to employee relations, it’s vital to uphold these or the restaurant could suffer.

Covering Up Doesn’t Help

Eventually, covering up ethical restaurant issues won’t work, a customer gets sick and goes public or an employee gets tired of being harassed by their boss. With social media, news spreads rapidly. Even if it’s only one or two bad employees, negative press hurts a restaurant’s reputation.

Without a restaurant hotline for reporting issues, restaurants don’t get a chance to handle the issue internally. If unethical behavior becomes public knowledge as a result of the restaurant stopping the issue, the restaurant gets positive press for being pro-active.

Employees Fear Retaliation

While employees could report ethical issues to HR, they’re often afraid that someone will see them and retaliate. This is especially true if the issue is with their boss or even HR.

An anonymous hotline allows employees to safely report problems without the fear of anyone knowing who did it. They can help improve not only their restaurant, but the entire industry. All a restaurant has to do is implement the hotline and train employees on how and when to use it.

It’s important for restaurants to also make it clear that any retaliation should be reported immediately. This should be a part of your ethics and anti-harassment policies.

Save Your Restaurant Now

Listening to customer feedback is just one way of improving your restaurant. However, ethical issues can ruin it quickly. Save your restaurant by giving employees and even customers a way of anonymously reporting ethics and quality problems. List your hotline number and/or site for customers to use if they notice employees engaging in unethical behavior, such as tampering with food.

Investing in a hotline creates a safer and more ethical restaurant. This leads to happier customers and employees, along with a positive reputation that helps your restaurant grow.