Clean Bathrooms As A Marketing Tool
By J Moore
My wife and I travel to Maine often to visit friends and family. There is a chain of gas stations called Blue Canoe (how cute) that are run by the Irving company up there. We almost always (99% of the time) stop at a Blue canoe in Falmouth to gas up, get soft-drinks, and do our business. Why? Immaculate rest-rooms.

How many public restrooms have you been in that were a disaster? And don't they give you a horrible impression of the establishment?

I can tell you that one of the swankiest malls in Boston has filthy, foul-smelling bathrooms. It's one of those places that you need a second mortgage to buy a pair of shoes. You can't tell me that the can't afford an extra few hundred dollars a week to keep their bathrooms spotless. It's simply laziness and a lack of appreciation for the fact that every shopper - even the wealthy ones - have to pee.

As a marketing tool, a gas station with an sparkling rest-room is a huge differentiator. I can tell you that there are frequently lines to use the rest room at this gas station, and everybody is getting gas and snacks while they are there anyway. I have never seen anything like it at any other gas station.

The Blue Canoe stations boast that they check their bathrooms every half an hour (and I bet they do). They have a suggestion box inside the bathroom. The bathroom is incredibly clean, comfortable, and tastefully decorated. At Christmas, there were even decorations in

Fish & Boat Commission, Coldwater Heritage Partnership Supporting Grassroots Work to Conserve PA?s Valuable Coldwater Streams, Trout Fisheries
A cooperative partnership that includes the Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is helping local organizations protect and conserve Pennsylvania?s coldwater stream habitats ? waterways that are critical to the health of the state?s wild trout fisheries.
Public review of draft Susquehanna River Anadromous Fish Restoration Cooperative (SRAFRC) Migratory Fish Management and Restoration Plan for the Susquehanna River Basin
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) today announced that the Draft Migratory Fish Management and Restoration Plan for the Susquehanna River Basin is now available for public review and comment.
PA Fish & Boat Commission Plans Open House at Linesville State Fish Hatchery
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will hold their annual Open House at the Linesville State Fish Hatchery on Saturday, April 3, 2010 from 11am ? 3:30 p.m.
Fish & Boat Commission Names John Arway Executive Director
A 30-year veteran of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has been chosen as the agency?s next executive director. During a special public meeting today, the Board of Commissioners selected John Arway to lead the Commission, one of the oldest and most effective conservation agencies in the nation.
Pennsylvania Announces Fisheries Position Regarding N.Y. City Reservoir Releases to Delaware River
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today announced the release of a fisheries recommendation for management of water released to Delaware River tributaries from New York City water supply reservoirs.
Fish & Boat Urges Action on Susquehanna River Troubles
Calling the Susquehanna River ?increasingly impaired,? the board of commissioners of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today called on state and federal environmental agencies to expand efforts to determine the sources of pollution which are contributing to the demise of the river?s smallmouth bass fishery.
Fish & Boat Commission Names Acting Executive Director
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today named Brian Barner as the agency?s acting executive director, effective upon the retirement of Dr. Douglas Austen at the close of business today.
National Saltwater Angler Registry (attention shad, striped bass, and river herring anglers)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) are reminding anglers that a new federal law requires anglers who target or catch shad, striped bass, and river herring from the Delaware River below Trenton Falls or in the Delaware Estuary to register with the National Saltwater Angler Registry.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission staff at Butler Fishing Show
Staff from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will attend the Butler Fishing Show on February 13th and 14th 2010 at the Butler Senior High School.
Fish & Boat Winter Meeting Scheduled for January 27-28 in Harrisburg
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) will hold its winter quarterly meeting on Jan. 27-28 at its Harrisburg office.
Biologist Report - West Branch Susquehanna River and Susquehanna River Younf-of-Year Smallmouth Bass
Biologists conducted backpack electrofishing surveys July 13-17 and 23-24, 2009 targeting YOY smallmouth bass at ten historic sampling sites in the West Branch and twenty-six historic sampling sites in the Susquehanna River.
Biologist Report - Laurel Hill Creek & Big Sandy Creek Basins, Somerset and Fayette Counties, Search for Wild Trout
Fisheries Management personnel from the Area 8 office surveyed 15 unassessed waters in the Laurel Hill Creek and Big Sandy Creek basins in Somerset and Fayette Counties.
Commissioner Lenny Lichvar Sworn in as District 4 Representative
Lenny Lichvar of Boswell, Somerset County, has been sworn in as the District 4 commissioner for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, representing Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin and Somerset counties.
Updated Fish Consumption Advisories Issued for 2010
State officials today released updated fish consumption advisories that include two new fish species and a water body that had not previously been on the list, but also eases or lifts advisories on fish from seven water bodies.
Eleven Complete Police Training Requirements at State Police Facility
Six waterways conservation officers from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) and five Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) rangers have completed Municipal Police Officers Basic Training, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski announced today.
Biologist Report - Susquehanna River smallmouth bass
During September 21 ? 24, 2009, biologists conducted nighttime electrofishing surveys targeting adult smallmouth bass at four historic sampling sites located within the middle portion of the Susquehanna River from the Fabri Dam in Sunbury downstream to the York Haven Dam near Middletown to determine trends in abundance, size structure, age structure, and growth attributes, among other attributes.
Biologist Report - Wild Trout Streams, Cumberland and Perry Counties
A subset of unassessed streams were surveyed in the Sherman Creek and Yellow Breeches Creek basins in south central Pennsylvania to determine if wild trout were present.
Fish & Boat Commission to inspect Marcellus Shale drilling sites
Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation, a hydroelectric generating station on the lower Susquehanna River, announces plans to draw down the water level in Lake Clarke above the Safe Harbor Dam.

there.

Does it make a difference to me? Absolutely. I can get gas almost anywhere, but why not stop in where my wife and I can use the bathroom and not have to hold our breath or feel like we've contracted the creeping crud?

On top of this, the Blue Canoe employees are extremely courteous and go out of there way to give extra service. One of the cashiers got me liter of diet Pepsi from the back because they were on special and were out in the front cooler. Here's a company that understands that, in a commoditized industry, customer experience counts.

In Boston, Hess gas stations get the big thumbs up from me for excellent customer service. Given the 6-7 vendors I can choose to get gas from around my home - I nearly always choose to go to Hess.

Customer experience marketing translates to dollars on your bottom line. It isn't that expensive to keep a bathroom clean, or to set policies and train for customer service.

Make your customers enjoy doing business with you. It seems like common sense, but unfortunately almost nobody gets it. Customer experience is in short supply. The good thing is that you can easily outshine your competition with very little effort.

J D Moore is a leading expert on small business marketing. See his blog at marketingcomet.typepad.com.