The Government's timetable for hospitality, food service, and entertainment businesses to reopen appears to be on schedule. The next few weeks will be critical but small to medium sized businesses still have time to prepare. Enhanced hygiene and infection prevention to protect and reassure customers and staff against the ongoing risk from the pandemic are likely to be high on every business owner's list of priorities. Using products which are effective, easy-to-use, and recognised by customers and staff can help provide that protection and reassurance.
Despite the rise in vaccinations and fall in infection rates over the past couple of months it is highly likely that the precautions we have all become used to over the past year will continue for some time. We know that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 spreads from person to person by direct contact, touching contaminated surfaces, and through breathing in airborne droplets produced when infected people cough, sneeze, or breathe. This is why mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing, and limiting numbers for get-togethers will continue for some time.
Businesses will need to continue to ensure good surface disinfection and hand hygiene to break potential chains of infection and protect customers and staff. But there is also plenty of evidence from reports in the mainstream and business media to suggest that perceptions of how businesses do this will have a major impact on people's behaviour.
One recent study suggested around two thirds of people would not visit a hospitality business if they felt it had poor hygiene or infection control standards. Almost nine in ten people in this study agreed it is important for businesses to have a good reputation in these areas. A separate study made broadly the same findings although even more people - almost nine in ten - claimed they would not visit a business if they did not think it could protect them against the virus. Almost two thirds of people in a third study said that seeing cleaning taking place made them feel the business was taking safety measures seriously. Around half also suggested that seeing cleaning taking place reminded them to stay alert. A quarter said it made them feel safer.
These findings should not come as a surprise. In many ways they echo earlier studies conducted on Diversey's behalf. These highlighted the link between perceptions of cleanliness and customer behaviour in food service and hospitality settings. In food service, for example, research tells us that dining area cleanliness and tidiness is the most important factor on perceptions for people when eating out. Over 60 per cent of guest reassurance is based on cleaning and disinfection.
Another study revealed that more than one third of people who enter a dirty restaurant will leave immediately and almost another quarter will order but leave before completing their meal. In hotels, almost seventy per cent of guests say cleanliness is the most important factor when making recommendations to friends and colleagues.
All these studies show what many owners of smaller and growing independent businesses already understand: customers and guests appreciate good hygiene and they are reassured by good appearance. Customers now want the additional reassurance that comes from seeing cleaning and disinfection being completed frequently, in the right places, in front of them. This does not need to be difficult.
Good products, with suitable formulations, used correctly will deliver high performance and excellent protection. They should also be easy to use so that businesses can get their jobs done quickly. But is there anything else that businesses can do? Customers and staff will probably feel even more reassured if they recognise and trust the products they see being used. This combination of performance, ease-of-use, and brand recognition is precisely the aim of the Pro Formula range.
The Pro Formula range is designed for smaller and growing independent businesses who want simple but effective solutions with professional formulations for everyday cleaning and problem solving. To help businesses to reopen Pro Formula has created a handy Safe Reopening Kit which contains six essential Cif surface disinfection and cleaning products, user guides, and cleaning checklists. Independent businesses can get one of the kits free by visiting the Pro Formular website.
The kit contains new Cif Alcohol Plus surface disinfectant and Cif 4in1 Washroom Cleaner. These ready-to-use products are both HACCP-approved and certified to the international EN14476 virucidal and EN1276 bactericidal standards. This means they meet the same rigorous standards required for disinfectants in healthcare and commercial settings. Products that meet the EN14476 standard are effective against a wide range of viruses including enveloped viruses, the type that causes Covid-19.
Additional products in the Safe Reopening Kit include ready-to-use bottles of Cif 4in1 Washroom, Cif Degreaser, and Cif Glass & Multi Surface. The sixth product is a pack of Cif Wipes, convenient for quick cleaning of almost any surface. Finally, to make life as simple as possible, the kit also contains useful information such as user guides and a cleaning task checklist.
It is unlikely that the general precautions we have all become used to over the past year will be lifted entirely until well after many businesses have reopened. That means we will all need to continue with precautions such as frequent hand hygiene and surface disinfection as well as wearing masks and ? in some settings - some form of social distancing. Extra vigilance when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces will be an important part of the reopening process as businesses make every effort to protect and reassure their customers and staff. The Pro Formula Safe Reopening Kit provides everything a small and growing business needs to meet this objective and maintain the highest standards.