In the wake of COVID-19, some aspects of every day life can look very different than they did before the pandemic changed the world forever. Wearing masks and social distancing are now optional, but one critical habit remains: proper handwashing, which includes thorough drying. A new survey reveals that people are washing their hands at an unprecedented rate, putting the restroom experience under more intense scrutiny than ever before.
“Washing your hands has always been important, as shown by the CDC mantra, ‘Clean hands save lives,'” said William Gagnon, COO, Excel Dryer, Inc. “The pandemic reminded the world of the importance of proper hand hygiene. There is also a keen focus on restrooms and how a person’s experience in them can directly affect a company’s reputation and its bottom line.”
To find out how architect and design professionals, facility managers, restaurant owners, and consumers feel about commercial restrooms in the post-pandemic world, Excel Dryer joined forces with MetrixLab to conduct a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind global survey. The Post Pandemic Perceptions of Commercial Restrooms survey engaged more than 4,000 participants in the U.S., Europe and Asia, aiming to capture shifts in perception and preferences regarding commercial restrooms.
Here’s a sampling of the survey results:
- Cleanliness and hygiene is the number one concern, across all demographics and locations.
- 100% agree a dirty restroom reflects poorly on the establishment: 80% of those surveyed said they would not or might not return to a restaurant with a dirty restroom.
- The number one contributing factor to a dirty restroom is paper towels on the floor or overflowing trash cans.
Consumers agree a dirty restroom reflects poor management, while architects, restaurant owners and facility managers said the cleanliness of a commercial restroom reflects the extent to which a business values its customers and employees.
Watch the video below to learn more about the results of the global survey.
