COVID-19 has changed the world, and with it the concept of “guest experience” has evolved. What does it mean now? Clean is king.
While good food and atmosphere used to be the primary concerns of guests, and the main factors that impacted their overall experience, guests have now adopted a heightened awareness and focus on hygiene, cleanliness, and safety above all. Finding ways to create, display, and promote a safe environment may be the only way to make potential guests and customers feel secure and ensure repeat business. Current and prospective employees are looking for this security, too. This is what “guest experience” has come to mean.
How can establishments get credit for making necessary changes to prioritize cleanliness and hygiene?
Given that they are regulated industries, retail and foodservice businesses have always operated under tight cleaning and sanitization requirements to ensure food safety remains top of mind. Then, with COVID-19 reshaping much of the world, the importance of cleaning and sanitizing being conducted by employees became even more elevated, with customers expecting businesses to visibly display how they have implemented stepped-up procedures. In a recent survey of customers and guests, over two-thirds of respondents stated that they want to see signs in a grocery store telling them what the store is doing to ensure a clean and safe environment. This number was even higher when asked about restaurants. Business operators chose a variety of mixed communication messages and demonstrations to show customers what they were doing to elevate their establishment’s commitment to cleaning and hygiene.
These included everything from displaying in-store signage to visibly demonstrating to customers their processes by physically cleaning and sanitizing at a heightened level right in front of the customer. No longer is cleaning a discreet or subtle task employees are doing when guests leave their seat or vacate the aisle. COVID-19 brought on a new mindset where customers expect to see everything in each establishment, from tables to shopping cart handles, cleaned often and right in front of them before they can be comfortable dining or when shopping.
There are several ways retail and foodservice businesses can demonstrate their commitment to cleanliness and hygiene, which help to promote a more satisfactory guest experience while reducing risks. One way is by offering quality hand sanitizer from trusted brands, like PURELL®, to customers and guests as they first walk in the door. This helps create a positive impression while reducing germs on hands. Indeed, in public spaces, like restaurants or grocery stores, people are now expecting to find hand sanitizer – and are actually using it in these settings more than in the past. Moreover, they notice when it’s not provided. And 89% of guests surveyed in a different study said that seeing PURELL® brand products signals that the establishment has a concern about their health and wellness1, and 94% of employees have a more positive impression of their employer when PURELL® products are offered2.
Given that not all hand sanitizers are the same, it’s not enough to simply offer any hand sanitizer, either. A hand sanitizer can have a positive (or negative) impact on the entire guest experience, where all senses are involved. If this sensory experience is unpleasant, the result could be that employees and guests feel more hesitant to sanitize in the future. PURELL® hand sanitizers are light, refreshing, and low-fragrance, with no stickiness left behind – all while being safe and effective to use when handling food.
Maintaining a high standard of cleanliness throughout an establishment, especially in dining areas and restrooms, also goes a long way to demonstrating a commitment to cleanliness and hygiene to guests and customers alike. Of particular importance are cleaning and disinfection of key touchpoints such as faucet handles and doorknobs, which are known to be at risk for contamination with pathogens, such as norovirus. Choosing a product that is safe and effective on surfaces, with short contact times for pathogen control, helps reduce risk while encouraging employee use and compliance. PURELL® Foodservice Surface Sanitizer, with its Category IV toxicity rating, quick kill times (30 seconds for both SARS-CoV-2 and norovirus), and no rinse required, is an excellent choice for retail and foodservice businesses looking to elevate their game.
By making changes to reprioritize cleanliness, your customer can have an elevated level of confidence in knowing they made the right decision to shop or dine at this establishment. Cleanliness truly has become king of the guest experience realm, and visibly creating a clean and safe environment has become synonymous with providing a great one.
If you’re interested in the topic of Guest Experience, download your free copy of our latest PURELL® Food Safety – Resource Guidebook: “Elevating the Guest Experience for Today’s World.”