A Stern Cross To Bear
Last time we checked, the varying levels of cleanliness in any given bank had no direct effect on its earnings potential. But we were thinking along the lines of an overflowing wastebasket here, a dusty LCD screen there—not all-out filth so disgusting and repulsive that it could put any one of the city’s most unsanitary restaurants to shame. In other words, we weren’t thinking about Bear Stearns. Sick and tired of being just a tier-two institution, an after thought, a whatshisname? bank, Bear proudly made a name for itself last week when its in-house cafeteria failed a health code test, reports New York. The BS eatery racked up 42 points in violations; 28 is the number at which a restaurant will be shut down.
Among this year’s violations: milk or milk product undated, improperly dated, or expired; food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage; personal cleanliness inadequate (clean garments and effective hair restraint not worn). “We take all inspections very seriously, are proud of our track record, and made every effort to immediately address any concerns,” says a Bear spokeswoman. Bankers seem unfazed.
So: bankers have low standards when it comes to the sanitation of their surroundings. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere. Which brings us to our next question:
Comments
I vote DB - no one does it dirtier than Zee Germans
Posted by: RunsWithScissors | April 23, 2007 01:41 PM
...and here I was thinking that bears are so sanitary. Damn you, Charmin commercials!
Posted by: BSD | April 23, 2007 02:20 PM
Bear was the worst firm I ever worked at and in every sense. Crap overflowing in the bathrooms (equity trading floor on 5th) and mediocre people in charge.
Posted by: Alex | April 23, 2007 02:29 PM
...of this old chesnut as published in II's Hedge Fund Daily on 11/22/05:
(Bath)room For Improvement At Firm
The restrooms at Bridgewater Associates apparently have gone to pot-ty, and the firm, flooded by complaints from staffers about the horrid conditions, turned to an e-mail campaign to help flush out the perpetrators and restore the facilities to a relatively pristine state. Now, getting office staff to cooperate in housekeeping matters is always a crapshoot, but Bridgewater could no longer stall taking action, as a “serious cleanliness issue” overflowed. Recently, the firm circulated an internal e-mail stating that employees have found “very unsettling” and “disturbing” the conditions cropping up in the bathroom. The e-mail did not detail the actual problem it identified, but in a delicate way did advise, “If at any time you are not feeling well or experience extreme sickness, please advise someone on the Facilities team so that an ‘out of order’ sign can temporarily be placed [on] that particular stall or restroom while the necessary people who can properly disinfect and sterilize the area, are contacted.” The clean-up crew usually reports after 5 p.m.
Posted by: That reminds me... | April 23, 2007 02:47 PM
As an attempt at fair journalism - which you are obviously not concerned with, if you actually took a moment to understand how the NYC Board of Health reports these findings you MIGHT be able to put this in perspective. Truth be told - an establishment can have one violation such as 1 employee not wearing a hat and automatically, it is reported under the generalization of "personal cleanliness inadequate (clean garments and effective hair restraint not worn)." If the Health Department actually reported the specifics of it's findings people would be less concerned about the sanitation of Bear. A co-worker passed this website on to me and as an informed individual who eats in the cafeteria daily, I can tell you that your rant is nothing more than ignorance and poor reporting. Shame on you!
Posted by: Anonymous | April 26, 2007 01:30 PM
As an attempt at fair journalism - which you are obviously not concerned with, if you actually took a moment to understand how the NYC Board of Health reports these findings you MIGHT be able to put this in perspective. Truth be told - an establishment can have one violation such as 1 employee not wearing a hat and automatically, it is reported under the generalization of "personal cleanliness inadequate (clean garments and effective hair restraint not worn)." This leads the public to believe that proper sanitation guidelines are not being followed across the board. If the Health Department actually reported the specifics of it's findings people would be less concerned about the sanitation of Bear. A co-worker passed this website on to me and as an informed individual who eats in the cafeteria daily, I can tell you that your rant is nothing more than ignorance and poor reporting. Shame on you!
Posted by: Anonymous | April 26, 2007 01:32 PM
Methinks thou dost protest too much
Posted by: Anonymous | April 27, 2007 05:17 PM