Harris Interactive recently conducted an interesting survey for the Cintas Foodservice Corporation to determine what would cause customers to never make a return visit to a restaurant. In what might be a surprise result to some restaurateurs, it turned out that a customer's overall impression of a restaurant's cleanliness was a far bigger determinant than poor service when deciding whether to return to an establishment or not.
The survey showed that dirty dishes, unpleasant smells and unclean restrooms were the top three reasons consumers said they would never return to a restaurant again. The phone survey conducted between October 29 and 31 this year, asked 1,008 adult to specify exactly what experiences would make them choose to never eat at a restaurant again. The restaurant experiences that received the highest negative ratings from consumers were:
Dirty Dishware - 86%
Bad Odors - 85%
Dirty Restrooms - 75%
Dirty Tables - 74%
Bad Service - 74%
Dirty Floors - 68%
Poor Staff Appearance - 65%
Dirty Glass and Windows - 51%
The survey also found that 86% of adults surveyed said they felt that the cleanliness of a restaurant's restroom was a good indicator of the cleanliness of its kitchen. It was shown that even the best kitchens can be viewed negatively if a restaurant has problems with restroom maintenance and confirms that maintaining a tidy establishment is a critical part of providing guests with a satisfying dining experience. An establishment could serve the best food in the world and yet still receive negative consumer ratings due to maintenance and janitorial problems. Cleanliness may be next to godliness in many other situations, but when it comes to restaurants, it seems cleanliness rates even higher than godliness.
