There’s no doubt that cleanliness has a huge impact on the customer experience. We might look around our shop, say “We’ve done a good enough job cleaning, let’s pack it up”. The question we have to ask ourselves is this: did we really clean well enough? A study done by Zach Blatt at hospitalitynet showed that in the hotel industry, cleanliness had a greater impact than price on how well a customer rated their overall experience. This might indicate that no expense should be spared when it comes to keeping a clean shop. Let’s look at how we can evaluate our shop, outside and in, to make sure it’s clean enough.
Outside our shop, we should look at what the customer will see coming in. The sidewalks we use are heavily traffic, and should be cleaned regularly to keep clear of dirt and other messes. Dumpsters will quickly become messy, and can give off unpleasant odors that make customers walk away; they are often within eyeshot or nose shot of our clients. The windows and doors of our business can become smudged and fingerprinted, cracked and bug-infested. Our parking lots should be well maintained, as not only are they unsightly when messy, but they can also be dangerous if the mess can move and cause problems with traffic. Safety is the most important thing we can consider for our clients, for repeat experience and to avoid liability for injury.
Inside our shop, everything has to look as good or better as outside. The floors should be immaculate, because no one likes to step in sticky mess, or worse yet, slip and hurt themselves. The area where our customers buy the products should be clean and clear, as the point of purchase experience tends to be memorable. Our walls and ceilings, of course, should be kept spick and span, so the customers aren’t distracted by mess. Any display areas, or areas for sitting, should be kept free of sticky messes which are incredibly unsettling to feel with our hands. Finally, our restrooms must be kept in top shape; restocked with all the essentials, smelling nice, and clean to a fault. A bad restroom is just as liable to have a customer leave as anything else, so don’t keep a dingy one and hope that no one asks where it is; improve the customer experience!
This may seem daunting, as after going through the checklist we might still feel unsure that things are clean enough. Remember, cleanliness has a huge impact on customer satisfaction! This is why it’s important to consider high quality janitorial services whose expertise is making things as clean as they can be. This way, we can focus on giving our clients the best products, the best customer service; all the positive things that make us stand out. Remember, a bad client experience means a lot of lost business, so let’s ease our clients and our own minds by keeping a clean, well-ordered and happy shop.