Every office has one, and we all know them…..the folks who always have a plethora of snacks tucked away in their desk cubbies and drawers. Pretty much every doctor we know objects to food out on the desk, but is willing to ignore the snack buffet as long as the bags are not out in view of the patients. Honestly, as long as their mouths are not too full to answer the phones, we generally ignore it also. I did, however, recently get an extremely graphic example of why we need to be stricter with these snackaholics.
One of my offices recently had a change in front office staff and the doctor and I stood with our mouths open as she cleaned her personal items out of her workspace. She actually filled an entire kitchen sized trash bag with full and opened candy, crackers, chips, pretzels, etc. I really didn’t think all that would have even fit into her area….it was like watching a clown car unload. As I said, we were both pretty surprised at all this, but not nearly as surprised as we were the next day. The lady who took over the job began to organize her cubbies and found them covered with mouse droppings. Yes, you’ve got it, her in office buffet had attracted some very unwanted guests! Before anyone thinks this might not be the best of offices, and not in the best of areas, let me describe the practice. It’s a very nice one doctor practice in a nice neighborhood with nice middle class patients. Mice (and rats) don’t care about your socioeconomic status, they just want warmth and food.
As we cleaned everything and made sure NO more food was left anywhere but in the office fridge, I began to think about how many other offices may be courting similar problems. I know having a snack every now and then makes the day go faster, but I think it’s time we consider requiring that all food remains in the staff lounge and is securely stored at the end of each day. While I like a snack as much as the next person, I look back to when I was working in offices and never remember food being allowed anywhere at the front desk. Time passing has made us more lenient regarding this issue, and it seems like it might be time to swing the pendulum back in the other direction. We also need to remember that every lease has some kind of nuisance clause, and a rodent infestation traced back to your office could cause serious issues with your landlord.
I think it’s time that ALL food be kept in the lounge or fridge, and secured in re-closable plastic bags or containers. We can even keep some extra containers on hand for surprise gifts brought in by other practices. While I hate to put a damper on the party, guests with tails and whiskers just should not see a “welcome” sign on the office door.
