Loch, stock and a beautiful bathroom
June 1st 2007

Providing high quality washroom facilities is vital in creating the right first impression. PHS explains how the company is helping with this service in Scotland

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And for facilities managers, their chance to make a first impression starts the moment somebody walks through the doors.Yet while the front of house areas, receptions, meeting areas in offices, restaurants, cafes and shop floors are often seen as the battlegrounds for the hearts and minds of customers, there is one other area that customers and visitors see as incredibly important; the washroom.

"It has always been important but changing attitudes mean that providing superb washroom facilities has never been more crucial for both staff and visitors," says Ian Osborne, MD of PHS Washrooms."That is why so many business owners and facilities managers already invest so much time and energy in making sure that their washroom facilities are designed and specified to an exceptional standard.They know they will be judged on these facilities and they also know that it can be business critical in terms of attracting and retaining staff as well as projecting the right image to customers and other visitors.That means not just providing facilities that are well designed and specified but also well maintained, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." It's certainly an issue close to the heart of Rory Cameron, owner of the Clansman Hotel, the only hotel on the banks of Loch Ness in the heart of the Great Glen."Because of our location,we're closely tied to the tourist industry around the Loch," he says."So we have to see ourselves as ambassadors for the region as well as for ourselves as a business.We know that people will judge us on certain important parts of the facilities we offer and we pride ourselves on the total experience they have here and know that the washrooms are an important part of this." So important, in fact, that the hotel won Loo of the Year Award last year in the national hospitality category."We're very proud of the award," says Rory.

"It's prominent on our website because we know how much this matters to everybody and especially to new visitors to the Hotel. It's testament to the hard work we've put into developing the Hotel and also to the services offered by the suppliers with whom we work, including PHS.We're delighted that they are able to offer us the back-up we need, especially given that we are in such a seemingly remote location.Their ability to deliver on a genuinely national basis is incredibly important to us." PHS supplies the Loch Ness Clansman Hotel with a range of products from its exclusive Platinum range including hand dryers, soap dispensers and vending machines all backed up by the PHS 24-7 Priority service package.The new service is suitable for the hotel because it offers a helpline connected to PHS's nationwide network of depots which allow the firm to promise to carry out a free emergency service or repair by the next working day (Monday to Saturday) on all non-electrical items. For electrical items PHS says it will be onsite to deal with the problem within two working days.

"It's increasingly essential for firms to be able to offer this kind of service,"explains PHS Washrooms MD Ian Osborne."We understand that our clients need to ensure that the facilities they provide to their own customers and employees are always in perfect working order." For further details on the PHS range of washroom products, please call the number below.

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