By Diane Collins
Senior Market Development Director – Foodservice, GOJO Industries

For foodservice establishments, including restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores, navigating the past almost two years has required perpetual adjustments along the way. Constantly planning for the “new normal,” which gets pushed further out over and over again, has meant undertaking significant investments to adapt and maintaining nimble operations at a time of tightened budgets, food and supply shortages, and limited staffing resources. All responsibilities of the operation have grown more complex; even something once viewed as routine – guest experience.

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.

Signal that cleanliness is a priority. As regulated industries, retail and foodservice businesses have always operated under tight cleaning and sanitization requirements to ensure food safety remains top of mind – the pandemic elevated this concern even further. Discreet cleaning is out the door – customers expect to see everything they touch, from tables to shopping cart handles, cleaned often and right in front of them before they can be comfortable dining or shopping.

Execute the 3 “P”s of Off-Premise Dining. Guest experience extends beyond the walls of the kitchen and dining room – it’s likely your business model now includes new or expanded ways for your customer to dine, through increased outdoor dining, take-out, curbside pick-up, drive-thru, or delivery options. Off-premise dining generates revenue but complicates food safety and makes it harder to display a commitment to cleanliness and customer health and well-being.

Make guests feel secure. Learn how to show your customers a clean and safe environment, including by enticing the five senses and the right product placements. After all, guests may get over a rude waiter or a cold meal, but an encounter where they feel their health wasn’t looked after rarely warrants a do-over in the customer’s mind. On the flip side, a report from QSR revealed that people will spend twice as much at a clean establishment.

Visit our PURELL® Well Being Center for key information on hand hygiene essentials, surface disinfecting and sanitizing, product placement and formulations.