Is the Exterior Appearance of your Facility Driving Away Potential Customers?
The outside appearance of your facility can speak volumes to a customer about the service they will be provided. We all know the saying, “You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” If we face the facts, everyone does it in some form or another. iSpot.tv gives us a short description of a recent BMW television ad:
“A couple pulls up on the driveway of Sprout Brook Inn, a place they thought they could consider a cute cottage. Far from it, the inn gives a creepy vibe not to mention the crazy looking lady who’s standing on the porch. Thanks to the couple’s connection to Siri and BMW Assist, they were able to find the closest — er, farthest — five star hotel and drive away fast.”
They don’t even get out of the car. Their minds were made up as soon as they took one look at this cottage that they were not going to do any business in there, and they took their business to another hotel that they hoped they were going to get a far better first impression. Today I pose the question, what are your customer’s first impression when they drive up to your restaurant?
This can be a tough one because you go to work every day, see the same things over and over, and it’s almost like subconsciously not noticing certain areas of concern that someone. A first time customer would see an area of concern, and they would form a negative opinion of your restaurant before they even walk in. Problem areas that are very common are oil spots in the parking lot, high traffic areas of sidewalks and entrances, gum spots on pavement and driveways, ground in dirt and bird droppings on patios, visible dumpster pads that are caked with all kinds of grime, and possibly the tire burn out marks from the guy at the bar last night who wanted to let everyone know as he was leaving that he had just bought a new sport car. Now if you take a second look through the eyes of potential customers, do you see any of these areas that they might see?
We have been getting more and more requests from our current clients to clean areas outside of their restaurant such as the one mentioned before. There are many benefits in having a kitchen exhaust cleaning company doing such cleanings. The most important benefit is the relationship is already built and you already feel comfortable in the quality of service you are receiving. Second, the equipment needed to do the job and the access to your location are already built in, so the inconvenience of having to schedule two separate services is eliminated. Finally, with the current relationship and service already in place, there is tremendous value in combined services. Many of the extra costs are not there for a service provider if they are already at a job site performing two different services. That equals a substantial savings for a restaurant operator. If outdoor pressure washing is something you are considering, ask your current kitchen exhaust cleaning company if it is a service they also provide.
Many of you are already having exterior pressure washing performed at their location because you see the many benefits of this service. If you have never had parking lot power washing performed, you would be amazed in the transformation. And just think, if you come into work the next day and have a WOW moment from looking at the renewed exterior just think of the reaction from your customers.