Bathroom Attendants

This post is more of a question for anyone out there. Have you noticed a major upsurge in the number of bathroom attendants at the restaurants and clubs you go to? I am curious as to whether this is a national trend or just something I am fortunate enough to have here in South Florida.

You know who I mean, right? The guys that come in, empty the paper towel dispensers of all the towels, cover the counter in horrible-smelling body sprays and deodorants like Brut (by Fabergé), hand us one of the aforementioned purloined towels, and then expect a tip for this service.

And I am not talking about upscale places. If I were going to 21 in New York or something (and when I did go, I believe they had a bathroom attendant. Or maybe that was Tavern on the Green), these are places along the beach, with modest entreés or college student style dance clubs (not the too-good-for-you ones in South Beach, which I would expect to have this going on).

There are a couple reasons why they won't get a tip from me, and I wish this industry would just go away:

1. I never carry cash with me anymore
2. See #1, but if I am carrying any cash, it is not likely to be of small enough denomination for me to tip you with it.
3. I do not want to hang out in the bathroom, and I do not want to spend more time in there than necessary. The attendants' presence (yes, sometimes there is more than one) just slows down the entire process.
4. These places are small already. And if it's in a place where there's a lot of drinking going on, you can bet there are a number of customers in there as well. The attendants are in the way.
5. If the bathroom is not full, then the attendant has nothing to do but stand there and wait. Remember, ladies, men's restrooms have very few doors. So, now I have some stranger staring at me. This is a annoying and distracting. Made all the more so by the fact that, in my mind, this person really has no business being in the bathroom.

I could probably go on, but this has become boring. Let me know, however, if you've seen an increase of this rising industry in your area. It has been a few years, but I don't recall ever seeing a bathroom attendant in Cleveland, San Franscisco, or Houston, and I went to places all along the Zagat $$$$ scale.