The cleanliness or lack thereof can affect how customers interact with a retail store. According to The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association, 95 percent of shoppers claimed that a dirty and unclean store would negatively influence their shopping decisions. For workers, cleaning around the workplace may seem never ending – especially if regular cleans have been ignored. However, this should not be the case! To assist you, your store and to keep consumers satisfied the following list has been created.
Setting Up
Setting up the following systems will initially take time, however, you will be saving yourself a headache in the future.
- Starting in the stockroom: clean, organise and label. Throwing out any cluttering or damaged products.
- Creating a system for return products. This ensures that if a customer exchanges a product, it will be returned back to its rightful location by the end of the day.
Daily Cleaning
Completely these tasks daily will ensure that your store will be well maintained and organised at all times.
- Tidying up clutter during the day. This includes garbage, tags, used paper, bins and so forth.
- Sweeping the floors, it should be noted that the entrance of a store is sometimes the dirtiest. Keep your store looking pleasant by ensuring that this area is clean.
- Polishing glass doors and windows. Display windows are what the customer sees first, if smudges and marks are preventing a polished look then is is evident that the windows need to be cleaned.
We recommend using store bought window cleaner or you can mix warm water and dishwashing liquid to create a cleaning solution. - The wiping down of glass display units with window cleaner or with the solution mentioned above is an important everyday task, the staff should be doing this multiple times during the day. Did you know vinegar is great solution to get rid of stains on glass?
- Vacuuming and mopping floors are essential to the overall presentation of a store, this must be done either every morning or night.
- Similarly having polished and dust-free shelving and furniture is essential for keeping customers happy and loyal.
You can do this by using clean sponges or vacuuming. - Finally, cleaning restrooms. Wiping down mirrors, scrubbing fixtures and cleaning the toilets are often considered the most dreaded task, but are a MUST DO for every business.
- For scrubbing fixtures, we recommend warm water with a soapy mixture and then drying down the surface with a cloth or towel.
- For cleaning toilets, we recommend using an anti-bacterial spray, letting it sit for a few minutes and then wiping down the seat with a cloth. Follow this by scrubbing the toilet bowl with a toilet brush and cleaner.
Quarterly or Six Monthly Cleans
- Buffing and re-polishing floors.
- Cleaning air vents.
- Washing out light fixtures and bulbs (replacing if necessary).
- Touching up chipped or missing paint.
- Revising the systems mentioned at the start of the article: Did the systems work? What can you change in order to improve them? How have they affected your store?
If you would like to find out more about cleaning your store or would like to book in a professional retail clean, contact Gretams Cleaning Services today on (07) 3892 4900.