You first need to demonstrate interest and cooperation when a fire inspector or a health department AHJ walks into your foodservice operation. Since this is February, it might be time to try a little humor when they arrive.

These are time proven strategies for the Health Inspector:

• Establish your authority immediately. Assign a bus boy or pot washer to walk with the AHJ. (Soiled whites are good).
• Demonstrate good thawing practice by placing raw chicken in a sink with hot water running.
• Using a salad prep sink to thaw your chicken adds to the impact.
• Prop your walk-in refrigerator door open so that employees do not have to touch the soiled handle (avoid mentioning e-coli).
• Store food on the floor (preferably open packaging).
• Kick any food scraps under the counter before the AHJ can spot them.
• Act like you are short on time and urge the inspector to please hurry up.
• Challenge the inspector on their code knowledge if they gig you.
• And our favorite, use the hand sinks for food storage and dirty aprons.

Fire Safety Inspectors really love these practices:

• Ask to borrow the inspector’s large flashlight, and then drop it by accident.
  (Be sure to tell them it doesn’t work when handing it back).
• Demonstrate your efforts at employee morale by showing them the tick-tack-toe game in progress on the face of your exhaust hood.
• Install your baffle filters in the horizontal position.
  (Better yet, leave one filter out because the hood works better that way)

If you have other suggestions, please let us know at george@upyourstack.com.