Small Biz Advice: A visit to the men's room
By Jeffrey Gitomer
When I say the men’s room in the airport, what thoughts and words come to your mind? Dirty? Smelly? Grungy? Overused? Trash cans full? Empty paper towel machines? I picture that scene just before I enter.
I recently walked into the men’s restroom in concourse E of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. I saw a small table with a big bottle of mouthwash, little plastic cups, a bowl of chocolate mints, and a business card holder.
At the sink, to my surprise, there was a hand dispenser of anti-bacterial soap. As I washed my hands, the bathroom attendant (yes, they actually had an attendant in the bathroom) put two paper towels down on the left hand side of the sink. I glanced over and he smiled.
I began to look around and realize that the bathroom was actually clean. The attendant wasn’t just serving people – he was cleaning the bathroom at the same time. On closer inspection I realized the bathroom was actually spotless. Mind you, this is an airport bathroom, and a busy one at that. As I dried my hands I saw the attendant still smiling.
As I left, I noticed a tip plate on the same table as the mouthwash and mints. It was full of money. A lot of coins, but mostly bills. I took one of the business cards from the holder as I left. The card read, "How was your service?" The small print said asked for customer feedback by phone or email.
I was so excited to tell someone of my experience, I rushed out of the bathroom. WAIT. I forgot to leave a tip. I spun 180 and put a dollar on top of the stack.
When I called the number on the business card to give my opinion, a computer voice asked me to "record my comments." I told them that it was the best thing to happen to the Charlotte airport in the last 10 years.
I live in Charlotte. Our "hub" airport is one of the least friendly, least service-oriented, and least technologically advanced airports in the world, let alone the country.
For years, I have recommended that all of the airport personnel take lessons from the skycaps – the friendly people who work for tips. Most of the people in the Charlotte airport, if they had to work for tips, would not earn a dime.
FYI: The men’s room service is not run by the airport – it’s run by an outside company. Maybe that’s the reason that service is so friendly. When I asked the bathroom attendant, "How’s business?" he smiled at me and said, "Great!"
Mind you, this is a guy who’s cleaning toilets and passing out paper towels. That’s his job. But because he was doing a great job, people were acknowledging his excellence and his service by tipping him.
During the 15 years that I have been using the men’s room in the Charlotte airport, its cleanliness has been somewhere between low and unclean. As soon as they created an enterprise, as soon as someone could earn based on their work ethic and their excellence, the bathroom went from dirty to spotless.
The airport wins, the customer wins, and the attendant not only wins, but he puts the money in his pocket.
Who’s attending to your bathroom? Just a thought.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling and The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, and president of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer. He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com
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