Have you heard the adage, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness?” If you’re a restaurant owner, odds are you understand the sentiment too well. In addition to standing up to rules and regulations from local health departments, restaurants face additional customer scrutiny regarding cleanliness and overall appearance.
A recent survey revealed that 82% of people say that seeing grease or dust in plain view at a restaurant causes them to lose their appetite.
To attract new customers and keep existing patrons returning for more, restaurant owners must implement the best methods for maintaining clean floors and facilities. You may even need to improve the restaurant floor cleaning equipment you use.
Why Your Restaurant Floor Cleaning Equipment Matters
When it comes to keeping a restaurant clean, the best defense is a great offense. Using ineffective or unsafe cleaning products can have a massive impact on the following aspects of running a restaurant:
- The average guest’s experience.
- Your restaurant’s health inspection results.
- Other health and safety issues in the dining room and beyond.
Some traditional cleaning tools like string mops have proven to be ineffective because they move dirt around and contribute to cross-contamination between surfaces. These mops require a significant amount of time and effort to keep clean, and failing to maintain them can make your floors significantly dirtier than they were initially.
Furthermore, mops and dirty water buckets are unsightly and can negatively impact guest experience. In fact, 66% of people say they will not return to a restaurant with poor food hygiene.
Dirty mop heads and buckets in the dining room are a surefire turn-off for new and returning customers, so restaurant owners should try their best to avoid using them in the dining area during service, if at all.
Do Customers Really Care About Cleanliness?
In a word: yes. Hospitality professionals know a thing or two about providing quality guest experiences. They are trained to be mindful of creating positive environments for customers.
But it can be tempting to look at cleanliness and health standard compliance as red tape issues rather than customer satisfaction issues. However, these two focus areas are inextricably linked.
Recent research suggests that 66% of people say they would not return to a restaurant with poor food hygiene practices, like subpar facility cleaning efforts. By contrast, only 16% of consumers interviewed said they would be unwilling to return to a restaurant with poor service.
The survey reveals that for many restaurant patrons, health and cleanliness actually matter more than customer service.
What About Health and Safety Guidelines?
Restaurants are also tasked with meeting the strict health and safety guidelines set forth by local authorities. Failing to comply with these guidelines may result in hefty fines and, in some extreme cases, temporary or even permanent business closure.
Given the potential for harsh consequences, restaurants cannot afford not to make cleanliness a priority.
Unfortunately, many commercial floor cleaning apparatuses on the market are too large or unwieldy to effectively clean all the nooks and crannies of a commercial kitchen. The situation often leads to gaps in a restaurant’s sanitation efforts, contributing to lower health grades upon inspection. Restaurant owners need to consider a better alternative.
How Can Restaurants Clean More Effectively?
Investing in quality cleaning products can help restaurants better address common cleanliness concerns.
While purchasing lower-grade cleaning products may seem like a reasonable cost-saving measure, poorly maintained restaurant facilities can cost restaurant owners more money in the long run. Negative customer reviews and poor health inspection grades can take a massive toll on a restaurant’s bottom line.
Restaurants looking to improve the quality of their facilities and floor care should seek out cleaning products tailored to the food service industry, like those offered by Intelligent Design Manufacturing (IDM).
Our line of professional-grade floor scrubbers can help restaurant owners level up their cleaning efforts and help them avoid common cleanliness mistakes.
Choose the X-Scrub Mini from IDM
Our signature floor scrubber, the X-Scrub Mini, is a compact, versatile, and battery-powered floor scrubber:
- Designed to take the place of a regular mop.
- Works more efficiently than a bulky piece of restaurant floor cleaning equipment.
- Can be used with other IDM cleaning products to provide business owners with a more effective, full-spectrum cleaning solution.
Here’s what sets the X-Scrub Mini apart:
- Ergonomic Design: The X-Scrub Mini has been tailor-made to fit tight spaces that other commercial floor cleaners cannot reach and swivels a full 360°. This feature makes it easier to clean areas in their entirety and safeguards against potentially hazardous gaps in cleaning efforts.
- No Dirty Water: Other mops and floor cleaners move dirty water around and contribute to spreading potentially dangerous bacteria. The X-Scrub Mini, on the other hand, puts down fresh water during each use that is then used to scrub the floor before being vacuumed by the machine. This process keeps dirty water off the floor and out of food service areas where top-tier hygiene is most important.
- Environmentally Friendly: The X-Scrub Mini uses less water than conventional mopping systems, making it easier for restaurants to conserve water. Using less water isn’t just better for the environment; it’s better for your bottom line.
Suppose you’re interested in hanging up your old mop and bucket or trading in inefficient pieces of machinery for a more effective cleaning solution. In that case, the X-Scrub Mini may be the floor scrubber you’re looking for. The X-Scrub Mini makes quick work of floor cleaning efforts and is easy to maintain and store.
Visit our video gallery to learn more about why restaurant owners across the country are turning to IDM for a more comprehensive cleaning solution. You can also reach out to us to request a demo of the X-Scrub Mini for your restaurant space.