Oftentimes, a customer’s first “stop” after a dining or shopping
experience is a social media channel or online review site such as Yelp.
But unlike good reviews, bad reviews spread quickly and can negatively
impact your business. To help businesses clean up their online
reputation and improve the overall cleanliness of their facility, Cintas
Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) today announced the top four online
cleaning-related complaints.
“A picture of a dirty restroom posted online is never good advertising
for your business,” said Dave Mesko, Senior Director of Marketing,
Cintas Corporation. “Regardless of the business type, cleanliness should
always be a priority.”
There are many factors that customers look to when determining whether
or not a facility is clean. Cintas identifies the following top four
complaints found on review sites:
1. “There’s food and grease all over the floors.”
One of the first things customers notice when entering a facility is the
floors. From crumbs to grease to stains, dirty floors are an immediate
deterrent for customers when entering your facility.
New York Yelp user David T. described his experience with a chain
restaurant’s dirty floors, tables and chairs as the “filthiest place”
he’s ever walked into and eventually walked out.
From matting programs to daily cleaning to restorative cleanings, make
sure you have an effective cleaning program in place that focuses on
deep cleaning, protecting and maintaining floor surfaces.
2. “The restrooms are dirty and don’t have any toilet paper.”
A recent survey revealed that 94 percent of U.S. adults would avoid a
business in the future if they encountered a dirty restroom1.
A Yelp reviewer in New York City left a negative review at a movie
theatre after her dirty experience. After witnessing wet toilet seats,
dirty floors and no toilet paper or soap, she “wouldn’t recommend this
theatre.”
To avoid these mishaps from happening in your facility, implement an
ongoing restroom care program that not only ensures that restrooms are
always properly stocked, but that they are also regularly deep cleaned.
In addition to daily maintenance, integrate a deep cleaning program to
remove organic soils and odors that regular mops and brushes can’t.
In some cases, a facility’s restroom can also be a source of praise,
worthy of an online review of its own. If you have clean restroom and
want to drive traffic to your business, make sure your clean restroom is
listed and rated on Cintas’ mobile application, Where
to Wee, so users know where to go.
3. “People use the same mops and wipes all over the building!”
People often think that anyone can clean, but in reality, there is a
right and a wrong way. For example, online reviewer Amy W. witnessed a
Chicago fitness center employee cleaning multiple areas of the locker
room with “the same rag”; starting with the toilet.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, employees who are not
taught effective zone cleaning techniques can cross-contaminate your
facility by spreading dirt and bacteria from one part of your facility
to another. Cross contamination can also present a substantial risk for
an outbreak of an infection or virus such as Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or norovirus.
To limit the chance of cross contamination, regularly train employees
and emphasize the risks involved with not changing cleaning tools or
solutions in each area.
4. “The kitchen is disgusting.”
Maintaining a clean kitchen is imperative to a positive online
reputation and can instantly leave a bad taste in the minds of customers
if anything is less than clean. For example, a Yelp user in Seattle had
this to say about a “disgusting” kitchen she was able to see from the
dining area. “This is never ok, even when a place is really busy.”
For a higher level of clean in your kitchen, consider implementing a
chemical dispensing unit to ensure that cleaning chemicals are always
available and to eliminate manual dilution. Time spent diluting
chemicals or searching for cleaning products can be reinvested to keep
surfaces clean and sanitized.
To learn more about Cintas solutions for facilities, visit www.cintas.com/facilityservices.
About Cintas:
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas Corporation provides highly
specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout
North America. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate
identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning
and supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first aid,
safety, fire protection products and services and document management
services for more than 1 million businesses. Cintas is a publicly held
company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol
CTAS and is a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
1 http://www.cintas.com/FacilityServices/Press-Releases/Independent-Study-Dirty-Restrooms-Lead-To-Lost-Business.aspx
Copyright Business Wire 2014