Restroom attendant
A bathroom attendant in Belgium
A bathroom attendant's work station
A bathroom attendant, restroom attendant, toilet attendant, or washroom attendant, is a cleaner for a public toilet.[1] They maintain and clean the facilities, ensuring that toilet paper, soap, paper towels, and other necessary items are kept stocked. If there is a fee to use the restroom, it is collected by the attendant if there is no coin-operated turnstile or door.
Some restroom attendants also provide services to the patrons, and keep good order by preventing drug-taking and fights.[2][3]
Premium services
The attendant may turn on the tap and provide soap and towels. At the attendant's work station, an assortment of items may be available for purchase or for free such as mints, perfume or cologne, mouthwash, chewing gum, cigarettes,[4] pain relievers, condoms, and energy drinks.[5]
In North America, they are typically found at exclusive restaurants, night clubs, or bars. Robots are starting to be used in this role at the toilets in Japan in motorway service stations. Each attendant machine costs about 3.5 million yen, which is just about $45,000 USD.[6]
Notable people
Victoria Hughes (née Rogers, 22 June 1897 – 30 August 1978), was a British lavatory attendant, and the first of her profession to have an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, having published her memoirs Ladies' Mile at the age of 80, which some found shocking but which have since became a valuable local history resource.
References
^ Greenhouse, Steven (2004-10-08). "Spitzer in Effort to Get Wages for Valets". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-06..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Cook, Daniel (2008-04-09). "Who'd be a toilet attendant?". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
^ "Confessions of a Vegas Bathroom Attendant". The Bachelor Guy. 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "NYC's "Bill Gates of Bathroom Attendants" Brought Down by Justice". Scrivener.net. 2004-10-13. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "Confessions of a Strip Club Bathroom Attendant". clevescene.com. 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
^ "Japanese hi-tech toilet attendant". Tokyo Times. 2007.
