There is nothing worse than going into a business that is dirty. Of course it is hard to keep some businesses spotless but there is a difference between being filthy and being messy in the course of doing your work. Whilst it would be nice to walk into a engineering factory where the floor and machines are spotless, but this may not be practical. However if you compare two such factories, odds on that one is much cleaner than the other.

What is worse is going into a business that should be spotless, like a restaurant, pharmacy, supermarket or bakery, only to see cockroaches running around, scraps on the floor, dusty shelves,dirty walls and rats arm wrestling for scraps of food. Toilets are common areas for a lack of cleanliness. If I go to a restaurant and the toilets are filthy I can’t help but wonder what the kitchen is like and in all likelihood I won’t go back.

The same applies to the staff. If the staff look dirty, the business gives the feeling of being dirty. We have done a number of customer satisfaction surveys in recent years for various companies and without exception, cleanliness is considered one of the main prerequisites for most businesses. This cleanliness applies to the actual premises, the staff and the facilities.

Customers expect clean businesses. Meet this expectation and you are well on the way to really satisfying your customers and increasing the chances of them coming back.