{{short description|Cleaner for a public toilet}} thumb|A bathroom attendant in Belgium right|thumb|A bathroom attendant's work station
A '''restroom attendant''', also called '''bathroom attendant''', '''lavatory attendant''', '''toilet attendant''', or '''washroom attendant''', is a cleaner for a public toilet.<ref name="NYT 2004">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/08/nyregion/08valet.html?_r=1|title=Spitzer in Effort to Get Wages for Valets|access-date=2010-06-06|work=New York Times| date=2004-10-08 |last1=Greenhouse |first1=Steven }}</ref> 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.<ref name="BBC 2008">{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7335315.stm|title=Who'd be a toilet attendant?|access-date=2008-08-05|work=BBC News Magazine| date=2008-04-09 |last1=Cook |first1=Daniel }}</ref><ref name="BachGuy 2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.thebachelorguy.com/confessions-of-a-vegas-bathroom-attendant.html|title=Confessions of a Vegas Bathroom Attendant|access-date=2010-06-06|work=The Bachelor Guy| date=2007-08-10 }}</ref>
==Toilet attendants as service providers== 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,<ref name="scriver 2004">{{cite web|url=http://blog.scrivener.net/2004/10/entrepreneurial-rise-and-fall-story-of.html|title=NYC's "Bill Gates of Bathroom Attendants" Brought Down by Justice|access-date=2010-06-06|work=Scrivener.net| date=2004-10-13 }}</ref> pain relievers, condoms, and energy drinks.<ref name="allard 2013">{{cite web|url=http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/confessions-of-a-strip-club-bathroom-attendant/Content?oid=3572120&showFullText=true|title= Confessions of a Strip Club Bathroom Attendant|access-date=2013-06-01|work=clevescene.com| date=2013-05-29}}</ref> Many attendants keep a tip jar at their work stations for patrons to leave tips for either the attendant's services, such as handing patrons hand-towels, or for taking or using any of the aforementioned items from the work station. Many times attendants are expected to invest in the items offered at their workstations in order to profit through earning tips. Some attendants make their living exclusively from tips they earn while some receive a base hourly wage in addition to the tip.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Khan |first1=Maham |title=It's a dirty job and they do it: life as a nightclub washroom attendant |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-chicago-club-scene-washroom-attendant-20150528-story.html |website=ChicagoTribune.com |date=8 June 2015 |access-date=2 April 2020}}</ref> Although toilet attendants' working life has hardly been researched, the scarce evidence suggests that their work can be defined as a 'bad job'.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1108/ER-11-2017-0263|publisher=Employee Relations|year=2019|title="Bad jobs": a case study of toilet attendants |last1=Adriaenssens |first1=Stef |last2=Hendrickx |first2=Jef |journal=Employee Relations: The International Journal |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=489–505 |url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/632416 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In North America, they are typically found at restaurants, night clubs, or bars.
==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 have since become a valuable local history resource.
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{Toilets}}
Category:Restroom attendants Category:Public toilets Category:Cleaning and maintenance occupations Category:Hospitality occupations Category:Personal care and service occupations