A recent survey conducted by restroom fixture manufacturer, Bradley Corporation revealed why public restroom cleanliness is good for business. One in two Americans said they are willing to fork out more cash at businesses that have clean, well-maintained restrooms.
The survey polled 1,264 adults about their hand washing habits in public restrooms and concerns about germs, colds and the flu and found that 64 per cent of consumers make a conscious decision to choose a business based on their high-quality restrooms.
“So, when a customer encounters a messy restroom, their perception of that business and its products and services are tarnished. Even worse, 55 per cent are unlikely to return to a business after a bad restroom experience, which can have a devastating effect on sales,” said Jon Dommisse, director of strategy and corporate development for Bradley Corp in the press release.
In fact, upstanding restrooms are so desirable that one in three Americans say they’d pay to use a restroom if they were assured it was clean and well-stocked.
Ten years of handwashing insights
“In all, 80 per cent of people regularly use public restrooms. As odd as it may sound, for many of us, public restrooms are an important part of our everyday lives,” Dommisse said.
According to the survey public restrooms also provide functional space beyond the necessities of using the toilet and washing hands such as to check appearance, blow their nose or cough (40%), as a respite or getaway (27 %) and to use their cellphone (25%).
Respondents report an increasingly high degree of aggravation with restrooms. Their top aggravations include toilets that are clogged or not flushed (85%), empty or jammed toilet paper dispensers (83%), and partition doors that don’t latch (78%). In all, nearly 70 per cent of Americans reported having an unpleasant restroom experience.
“Based on these pain points, it makes sense that American’s top requests for improvements are keeping restrooms cleaner and better stocked,” Dommisse said.
“Well-maintained restrooms attract customers who reward those businesses with increased spending. It simply makes good business sense to keep restrooms clean and modern-looking so customers come back.”
Images courtesy of Bradley Corporation.
