Dirty Aprons & Messy Floors – What’s Your First Impression?
The first impression a brick and mortar business makes with its customers is directly related to the appearance of its employees and its facilities. It does not matter whether you run a small business or are a big company; customers will take these things into consideration, no matter their initial reason for their visit.
When your business looks unkempt and your employees look dirty, it has a negative effect on customer experiences, even if your employees provide the most outstanding levels of customer service and attention to detail. To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at some different scenarios.
You walk into a local restaurant, and the first thing you notice is the floors are sticky. When you are greeted by the host, you notice their uniform is wrinkled and their apron, shirt, and pants are covered in various stains. Upon being seated, you see food underneath the table and stains in the carpeting. You decide to make a trip to the restroom before ordering and, upon entering, notice foul smells, see trash on the floor, and the toilets and sinks look like they have not been cleaned in over a month.
Even if it is the best food in town, do you really want to eat in this establishment, let alone return? For most people, probably not, and some will politely make an excuse just to leave because they are worried about what the kitchen may look like, given their first impressions.
You take your car in to get it serviced and notice the mechanics have greasy, oil stained, and dirty shirts and pants, not to mention holes in their pants. Granted, repair work can be messy, but when you look around the waiting area the floors are also covered in dirt and are badly stained, and the restroom looks like no one has cleaned it in over a year. This gives the impression that the business owner and the business’s employees do not care about appearance, so it makes you wonder how much they will care about fixing your car correctly.
Retail Store
You enter a retail store, and the first thing that catches your eye is the amount of dust on the displays and products. As you wander around the store, you need help, but cannot distinguish the sales associates from the other customers in the store.
You also notice the flooring is damaged and needs repairs. Plus, there’s an odd odor throughout the store that smells like mildew. Most people would leave the store without making a purchase simply because of the state of the store, lack of cleanliness, and inability to find help.
Maintaining a Clean Business
The best way to provide a good impression to your customers is to clean your business, constantly and frequently, every single day. Restrooms should be inspected and cleaned at least once an hour—more often during peak periods. Floors and surfaces should be cleaned and dusted throughout the day. Employees should always look their best and never have stains, rips, or wrinkled aprons and clothing, and they should be easily distinguishable.
We hope now you can appreciate why maintaining a clean store and restrooms and the appearance of your employees create a huge difference in the impressions you make with your customers. For facility products for restroom supplies and uniforms services, contact Prudential Overall Supply at (800) 767-5536 today!