The dishwasher's broken.
Ah that old chestnut. I've heard it often in RAF messes, usually at the end of the month or financial year.
Seriously... I have never ever gone into a civvy restaurant and been given a paper f***ing plate and plastic knife and fork. It's funny how their dishwasher has never broken down.
The only time a mess got worse, was when one mess constantly failed to have the most basic of food. From what I remember, it was the only place in the uk where there were a bread famine despite the local Tesco 6 miles away having crates of the stuff.
The sooner PAYD fails the better.