“Cleanliness is a practice not a project.” Truer words may never have been spoken. Keeping your store clean with the help of retail cleaning services may result in financial benefits, according to the annual Healthy Hand Washing Survey sponsored by Bradley Corp.
Restroom conditions at your store may be considered a low priority for you and your staff when trying to juggle other business priorities, but the survey showed that people are more likely to shop at stores that have clean restroom facilities. In fact, about 60% make the decision to visit stores and spend money based simply on their appearance.
However, more than three-quarters of respondents reported that they have had unpleasant experiences with the condition of restrooms, which subsequently resulted in a lower perception of the retail stores. Look at the top five examples of negative survey results:
The general attitude of those surveyed revealed that most people are unlikely to return to a business that has dirty restrooms or do not use retail cleaning services as a common practice.
Keep It Clean
With these insights from the survey, you are bound to want to keep facilities clean and make a good impression. But what’s the best plan? Here are some tips to keep your facilities well-maintained and your customers happy:
Establish an in-house janitorial staff or hire a professional retail cleaning service
Appoint someone or some entity to be responsible cleaning. It won’t happen if it is no one’s job. If there is bandwidth among your staff, you may be able to assign the task to in-house resources. More likely, however, you will need to find a retail cleaning service. There are many companies that specialize in cleaning retail businesses. Choose a company with a good reputation and rates that fit your budget.
Use a people counter to monitor traffic into your restrooms
Horizontal, doorframe mounted counters that use infrared beams can track each person entering your facilities. Prepare a work schedule with your retail cleaning service or in-house staff based on the number of people who use the facilities.
Practice preventive maintenance
Are all of your fixtures running properly? Leaky pipes, clogged toilets, non-functional sinks and hand dryers are an easy, less expensive fix than waiting for bigger problems to occur. Anything that could interfere with your customer’s experience should be part of a preventative maintenance checklist.
Use the facilities yourself
What better way to know how your customers feel than by using your own facilities? Imagine walking into the restroom for the first time. Make notes of any negative impressions. Do you get the sense that the facilities appear and smell sanitary? Test all the fixtures, towel and soap dispensers, and door latches on the stalls. Your personal experience can help you make any necessary changes if needed.
When customers enter and exit your store, what they tell others about their experience has a major impact on your reputation, brand and future revenue. You need repeat business to remain profitable, so it is vital to give people the best experience possible—including consistent retail cleaning services that let them know you care about all aspects of their shopping experiences.
