WASHROOM OF FORTUNE
Would you trust a facility with filthy washrooms? Denise Hanson, Technical Manager at BICSc, discusses how important an impression the washroom can make.
The importance of good washroom hygiene is unfortunately sadly underestimated by a number of people, many of which are currently making decisions about the required levels of cleanliness for public washrooms available at their facilities.
Independent surveys show that a customers’ choice of retailer can depend on the cleanliness of their washroom facilities. Cintas Corporation, commissioners of one of businesses customers would avoid if they encountered dirty washrooms, the reports were recorded as follows:
Restaurants – 79% Hotels – 79% Health Care Facilities – 77% Supermarkets – 50% Retail Stores – 45% Gas Stations – 45% Car Dealerships – 39%
This very much follows the model I personally use, on arrival at a restaurant that I haven’t used washrooms – if I am not happy with the cleanliness standards there I will not eat there.
My reasoning is quite simple: if the hygiene areas on public display are not acceptable then I cannot help but
60 | WASHROOM HYGIENE
wonder how clean the kitchen facilities that are not on public view can be. The cleanliness ratings now generally displayed at the catering premises have gone some way to allay these fears, but the washroom check is still the acid test for me. Listening to it would appear that some of my colleagues are now using this method to choose their supermarket.
“It would appear to be a race to the bottom by some retail operations,
which seem to believe that customers would not notice a reduction in cleaning standards at their stores.”
by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University carried out by Eddie C.M. Hui (Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, facilities management (FM) issues affecting customer satisfaction with regards to shopping centres.
(
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/author/Hui%2C+Eddie+CM)
of a washroom is an important consideration for customer satisfaction.
With this independent research available, shouldn’t cleaning standards’ importance to the customers be at the forefront of retailers’ decision making process when considering their
Currently it would appear to be a race to the bottom by some retail operations, which seem to believe that customers would not notice a reduction in cleaning standards at their stores, but I can reliably inform them that this is not the case.
Perhaps it’s time for a cleanliness and hygiene scoring system for all properties open to the public, rather than just for catering operations. For food retailers in particular there is a strong argument that the legislation should also apply to their premises, yet I wonder how many would apply this code voluntarily?
For BICSc Corporate Members, a star rating for their cleaning services on a site-by-site basis is now available, and it will be interesting to see how many companies embrace this independent and highly visible check on their cleaning standards.
This research showed that management and maintenance of communal facilities is the most important point with regard to overall customer satisfaction, and it
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