LEISURE & RETAIL FACILITIES
CLEANING AROUND THE CUSTOMER
Mundane chore or customer service? Cleaning is raising its game with technical advances in equipment but also design refinements inspired by the needs of operators, clients and, ultimately, their customers, says Gordon McVean, Sales and Marketing Director at Truvox International.
Businesses in the retail and leisure sectors have always been in the front line of the consumer revolution, where customer experience is all. By comparison, the business of cleaning is mundane – an essential activity maybe, but considered a chore best done behind closed doors, well away from customers, and preferably in the dead of night. Except, of course, when the cleaning schedule or an emergency demands that the yellow signs are put out to warn customers of the hazard and/or inconvenience that cleaning is in progress.
Ours may not be a fast-moving industry always anticipating and adapting to the latest shifts in consumer demand, but the cleaning sector is raising its game. Both for manufacturers of cleaning equipment and contract cleaners, clients are at the heart of those changes, but ultimately, so are the customers – the shoppers and leisure centre users, as well as office workers, healthcare patients and visitors to any public or commercial building too.
The most significant trend is the shift to cordless cleaning equipment.
So, what are these changes and what’s driving them? They range from the application of new technology to often subtle design improvements, and they are inspired not just by technical advances but also financial, social and environmental factors – not to mention lessons learnt from listening to our clients.
The most significant trend is the shift to cordless cleaning equipment, powered by a new generation of more efficient and economical batteries. Light and low-maintenance, lithium ion cell technology in particular, is transforming the equipment we use in the cleaning industry.
Cleaning operatives are freed from the hassle of hauling a cable around, the stop-start pattern of working, snagging obstacles, and the constant worry of tripping colleagues or passing customers.
50 | TOMORROW’S FM
Battery technology has unleashed engineers and designers to explore the practical benefits of different battery technologies, battery swap options, lighter and therefore more manoeuvrable machines, how they are configured, and their footprint.
Cordless options are now available for most of the more compact floor cleaning machines, from scrubber dryers to rotary burnishers. We have even cut the cord for that trusty staple of carpet care, the upright vacuum. Our own Truvox Valet Battery Upright (VBU) won an innovation award at this year’s Cleaning Show. The VBU still uses full suction power when laid flat to vacuum under obstacles, such as clothes racks and product displays. Being lighter and more manoeuvrable, it also reduces the physical strain on the user, who has no need to make manual adjustments, as the self-adjusting cleaning heads float evenly over all flooring surfaces.
Technological change isn’t the only driver. The take-up of cordless equipment has both facilitated and been spurred by the shift to daytime cleaning. There are more factors at play here; daytime cleaning can cut building running costs by avoiding the need for lighting and heating during night shifts. For companies, it’s also more responsible both from an environmental point of view and that of staff welfare, avoiding the anti-social working expected of cleaning operatives.
This wellbeing agenda is influencing clients’ attitudes to cleaning in other ways. There is a greater focus on hygiene and infection control, for example. Hand mopping may still be widespread, especially on tiled floors where this method is at its most unhygienic – failing to dislodge embedded soil and re-circulating contaminated solution. But more clients appreciate that a scrubber dryer, especially one equipped with cylindrical brushes, can clean thoroughly even in grout lines as well as safety flooring and the variety of surfaces found, for instance, in leisure centres, from poolside to gym, foyer to cafe.
Washing, scrubbing and drying in one pass, the scrubber dryer leaves hard floors safe to walk on. Whether managers choose to carry out cleaning during opening hours – or the cleaning team is responding to spills or other incidents – the disruption to customers is minimised. They are also more likely to be impressed by the professionalism of the operation, in contrast with the anachronistic bucket and mop.
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66
