Is your customer service in the toilet?

Do you ever get the feeling the service you received was a façade, a big act? The service was OK, but it just didn’t gel.

The same happens when I go into companies to help them with staff engagement. There is a feeling that all is not well, but it can’t be pinpointed.

Here is a simple piece of advice. Go to the toilet/bathroom.

Customer service is about the whole part of the experience, including the bathroom. The way an establishment maintains its bathroom says a lot about their respect for customers and staff.

Are the bathrooms an inconsistent style to the front?

Are the bathrooms a consistent style to the front but poorly maintained?

Are they consistent with the front?

Either way, it reflects on how you are perceived by customers, and how you perceive them.

The same applies for staff.

Whenever I enter a business to talk about staff engagement, my first visit is to the bathroom. It instantly gives me a signal about how the staff (or customers) are considered by the organisation.

Cheap toilet paper, grimy washbasins, old cracked tiles, dishevelled locks, broken taps, and so on. It says a great deal about how your respect staff as human beings.

It’s no wonder why so many of my Mystery Shopping clients ask for the bathrooms to be evaluated. It’s important.