The Importance of Restaurant Restrooms You are likely aware of the rules and regulations concerning restrooms and restaurants. For the most part, restaurants are required to offer their customers a place to use restroom within reasonable distance of the establishment. Most restaurants chose to fulfill this requirement by building and maintaining an on-site restroom. Restrooms can, however, also be powerful tools customers use to gauge the entire restaurant itself. In many cases, a sub-par restroom can cost you current and repeat business. Perhaps the first consideration of restrooms is location. Most restaurants place restrooms toward the back of the establishment, or otherwise as far away from the kitchen as possible. It is important, however, to ensure your customers are able to locate the restrooms without having to ask, and that they are not an unreasonable distance from the main dining area. Elderly customers and those with special needs will not appreciate a restroom that is located a very far distance from the main dining room. The next consideration is to clearly mark each restroom for ‘men’ and ‘women.’ Though the tendency — especially in ‘themed’ restaurants — may be to offer cute wording and/or pictures, the fact is that this often confuses and frustrates customers. In this regard, it may be better to stick with a straight forward approach, at least when directing customers to the correct restroom. Creativity and personalization can be explored in more depth once patrons are able to locate the correct room. Customers have become increasingly concerned and aware of germs and the potential for getting sick and/or contracting long-term illnesses. For this reason, you may wish to consider providing a ‘hands-free’ restroom experience, featuring automatic commodes, sink faucets, hand dryers and more. To that end, restroom cleanliness is also an aspect you will not wish to take lightly. When possible, you may wish to assign a restroom attendant or, at the very least, an employee who is tasked with regularly cleaning the restroom and maintaining its supplies. This includes emptying the trash, cleaning the sinks, commodes and mirrors, and other considerations. Many customers will visit the restroom before they order. If any member of the party feels they have had a negative restroom experience, there is a potential that the group will choose another establishment. It is also likely that they will report this experience to others, whether by word-of-mouth or through online discussion forums.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:35:23 +0000