When you’re trying to make your business establishment a place where customers would want to go, you have to focus on a lot of things. You have to make sure that the products you offer are topnotch. You need to have knowledgeable personnel who can deal pleasantly with customers. The ambiance of the place should be relaxing and inviting, so people can feel at ease. With your focus on so many different things, sometimes the simple need for clean and proper restrooms can get lost in the shuffle.
People Avoid Establishments with Dirty Restrooms
A telephone survey conducted by Harris Interactive revealed that just about everyone—94% to be exact—would stop returning to an establishment if they ever encounter a dirty restroom. When asked about specifics, 79% of the more than a thousand adult respondents identified hotels and restaurants as places which should have clean restrooms if they want customers to return. Another 77% would not return to healthcare facilities with dirty restrooms, and 50% thought the same of supermarkets. Sizable number of people also expected retail stores, gasoline stations, and even car dealerships to offer clean restrooms, if they wanted their customers to come back for another visit.
What’s a Dirty Restroom?
Some people have different definitions of what “dirty” means when it comes to restrooms. Another survey by Harris Interactive clarified this issue by conducting a survey among more than 3100 adults. About 93% would call a restroom dirty if it had sticky or grimy floors.
Other signs of dirty restrooms include:
- Toilets that have not been flushed
- Foul odor
- Trash cans filled to the brim
- Toilet paper or paper towels on the floor
- No toilet paper
- Soap dispensers are empty or outdated
- There’s water around the sink area or on the floor
- Broken doors and toilet seats
- Insufficient lighting
- Graffiti
How You Can Lose Business
People want clean restrooms not just because they want a pleasant experience while they’re there. In many cases, customers equate the cleanliness of the restroom to the quality of the service or product the business is offering. For example, a majority of customers believe that the cleanliness of the restroom in a restaurant is a clear indication of the cleanliness of the kitchen. If you can’t take care of your restroom, the reasoning goes, then you can’t be expected to take care of the rest of your business.
It’s not just the fact that a customer won’t return that causes you to lose business. You also lose any potential referrals. And with social networking sites like Facebook these days, the word can spread about your dirty restrooms like wildfire.
Keeping your business restroom clean and nice can’t be just an afterthought or a bonus service. It’s an essential part of doing business if you’re serious about success because dirty restrooms and most definitely mean lost business.
