I had the oddest experience today: I was impressed by a mall restroom. Really. I'm
not making this up.
Like everyone else, my usual reaction to mall
restrooms is to structure my life so that I can avoid them whenever possible. This
morning, though, I was finishing up my Rudder-present-shopping at our shiny new
mall, which despite being only a mile and a half from my house is clearly aimed at
the more fat-walleted of the local shoppers (Banana Republic instead of Old Navy;
Aveda instead of Supercuts; lots of stores that have never been in this state
before). The mocha latte I'd treated myself to kicked in and necessitated a trip
to the loo in one of the department stores (excuse me, "anchors", in mall-
speak).
First and most impressive, someone had used their brains in
the design, and this was what made me notice the rest of it. They had done
something I'd never seen. The wheelchair-accessible stall was the first one in,
not the last one. So someone whose mobility is difficult doesn't have to go that
much farther. Though in case turning into that first stall was difficult, there
was another accessible stall at the far end, whose door was flat perpendicular to
the aisle. I've never seen two in one place, except in those mega-loos they
sometimes have in airports.
The rest of it was equally nice. All the
tile and counters were stone, or a good facsimile, and the sinks were pedestals,
with faucets that wouldn't be out of place in a private house. There was a shelf
behind the sinks, where it would stay dry, so you could put your parcels down
while washing your hands, without having them get all nasty. The changing table
out of the way of all but the last stall. It was curved (to fit a baby's shape, I
presume), and had its own separate trash.
And, in a true marketing
genius touch, they had a jar of Origins salt scrub, with little spades to keep
everyone's fingers out and a sing inviting patrons to try it. Of course, if you
liked it, a new jar could be conveniently purchased at the store's Origins counter
nearby.
And of course, the whole room was clean, the sine qua non of
a usable public restroom.
I know I'm easily impressed, but my
question is, if it's that easy to bowl over your customers, why don't more stores
do it?
I just realized that I had forgotten to add the following in
my earlier entry. So:
Today I am thankful for: having finished
my holiday shopping. Now I have only wrapping, card signing and addressing, and
mailing to do.
Concept II Holiday Challenge: 109917 meters
left