He’s Not Exactly Cleaning Up, but Fast-Food Valet Likes His Work
Attorney Bryan Jackson did a double take after being handed two paper towels by a men’s room attendant in--of all places--a fast food restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.
“I think he’s great,” said Jackson of the lone attendant at the Carl’s Jr. restaurant on Pershing Square. “It’s nice to have somebody to take care of things.”
Customers, albeit a bit surprised, seem to react favorably to Leo Corcoran, who not only hands out paper towels but tends to a collection of colognes and lotions for customers looking to freshen up.
The idea of a men’s room attendant dispensing toiletries at a Carl’s Jr. came as a surprise--even to officials of the chain’s owner, Carl Karcher Enterprises in La Habra. The company’s public relations staff, always eager to tout having the first of anything, quickly warmed to the idea.
“He was installed to save the toilets, but he turned it into an upscale experience,” said Patrick Flynn, spokesman for Carl’s Jr. restaurants.
Dressed in his customary navy blue pants, yellow shirt and black tie, Corcoran, 50, works about 30 hours a week and treats the small, beige, tiled restroom as his domain. “It’s my office--I’m my own boss,” said Corcoran of the restroom with bluish fluorescent lighting.
His clientele is a mixture of kids, street people, tourists, bankers and jewelers. He collects his tips in an aluminium tray, purchased by the manager, with the inscription: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
More often than not, however, people leave him only with a polite “thank you. “ But Corcoran, who makes only about $8 a day in tips and does not fuss about those who leave without paying is philosophical: “I’m not going to break their arm in three places. “
Although he concedes the pay is rather low, Corcoran said “it’s better than sitting around the whole day. I got to make a buck somewhere--I don’t want to panhandle on the street.”
Corcoran, a native of Boston who moved to Los Angeles in 1962, was a regular at the restaurant, killing time during the day, and unable to work because of a heart attack he suffered 18 years ago. When the restaurant manager asked him if he would like to watch over the men’s room, Corcoran readily accepted.
Restaurant manager Al Smith bought Corcoran $50 worth of colognes, after shaves, talcum powder, deodorant and disposable razors that sit on a small metal table draped with a blue cloth.
Smith says customers like Corcoran being there. “Business people like to freshen up,” he said. “Quite a few said we have the cleanest restrooms in the downtown area.”
