Consumers avoid businesses with unmaintained restrooms  

Businesses that fail to keep their restrooms clean and maintained are unwittingly flushing away customers’ repeat business and sales, says the ‘Healthy Handwashing Survey’ from Bradley Corporation. Almost 60% of consumers make it a point to stop at a business and will spend more money at the establishment if they know it has clean and maintained restrooms. Conversely, there are negative business repercussions for experiencing a restroom in poor condition. More than half of consumers say an unclean or unpleasant public bathroom shows poor management and causes them to lower their opinion of the overall establishment. Perhaps most damaging for customer-facing businesses is that 52% say a bad restroom experience causes them to vow not to return in the future or think twice about doing so. While there are a variety of restroom maintenance issues that may tarnish customers’ restroom experiences, the most common ones include clogged or unflushed toilets; an overall appearance that is old, dirty, or unkempt; unpleasant smells; and empty or jammed dispensers for soap, toilet paper, and hand towels.