Think back to your last restaurant visit. How was the service? Now what about the restroom? Was that pleasant or cringeworthy? If you’re wrinkling your nose, we’re guessing you subtracted a star or two from your online rating.
Maybe you’d even recommend another establishment next time around. You’re not alone. According to Harris Interactive, 29% of customers claimed they wouldn’t return to a restaurant with unsanitary restrooms.
Restaurant restrooms matter as they’re usually unavoidable. After all, you’re spending hours at the restaurant, enjoying good conversation, food, and, of course, beverages. Yup, restrooms are part of the dining experience.
Our own survey1 revealed guests care more about touchless fixtures than any other concern. We’re talking over half of respondents saying they desired touchless operation over clean surfaces, ventilation and social distancing.
Here are some restroom upgrades to make for a better guest experience.
Sensor Flush Valve
Choose between touchless or smart sensor flush valves. Both operate intuitively and hands-free and come in low-flow options for your urinals and water closets. The smart option collects data, so you know if a stall is down from a clog and you can plan cleaning times around lower traffic periods. What’s more, you’ll find ways to cut costs through gained operational, stocking and water efficiencies from real-time data.
Sensor Faucet
Sensor faucets offer the same two options — standard or smart touchless. The smart component equally cuts down on guest congestion due to a downed station, water use and maintenance requests. Pair it with a complementary soap dispenser for visual appeal and to ensure the first touch point is the soap and water.
Touchless solutions and IoT enabled technologies help promote a clean environment and handwashing best practices.Sundara® Handwashing System
Handwashing systems in restaurant restrooms don’t leave much space for users. There’s splashing, pooling of used water, elbow bumping and no place to set down personal items. Look for a basin that solves it all. Consider wide, ample openings, gently sweeping basins and space to set items without getting wet.
Handwashing Score
Smart apps, like a Handwashing Score, monitor fixture activity to reveal flush-wash ratio, frequency, and times. Your staff will know if extra sanitation is needed (like after short and not-so-sweet wash times) and you can promote best handwashing practices within your establishment.
Sensor Hand Dryers (with HEPA Filtration)
The last step in the touchless and smart restroom experience comes down to drying. If that brief hand washer mentioned above is in the picture — you can see why hands-on solutions, such as manual dryers, towels, or paper towels can be problematic. The CDC recommends drying hands completely to reduce germs. Look for a high-speed, HEPA-filtered hand dryer for the one-two punch. Faster performance helps guests dry hands all the way, while HEPA filtration captures at least 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns, or larger, in size.
Make sure there are no reservations about your restroom experience. No matter your budget, you can make upgrades to touchless fixtures that will reduce maintenance and your water bill.
Learn more at: Zurn.com/touchless-solutions
1 Survey results gathered from “Restroom Experience Survey 2020” with a total of 580 survey respondents. Zurn Industries, LLC, August 2020.