Bathroom Blogfest: 2009

Once again, it's time for the Bathroom Blogfest, where bloggers from around the globe write about the importance of forgotten spaces in the brand experience. Visit the website, follow us on Twitter, become a Fan on Facebook, and check out the special cleaning deal offered by this year's sponsor, Kaboom.

List of participating Bathroom Blogfest bloggers:
· Susan Abbott Customer Experience Crossroads
· Reshma Anand Qualitative Research Blog
· Shannon Bilby From the Floors Up
· Shannon Bilby & Brad Millner My Big Bob’s Blog
· Laurence Borel Blog Till You Drop
· Jeanne Byington The Importance of Earnest Service
· Becky Carroll Customers Rock!
· Leslie Clagett KB Culture

· Katie Clark Practical Katie
· Iris Shreve Garrott Checking In and Checking Out
· Julie Julie’s Cleaning Secrets Blog
· Marianna Hayes Results Revolution
· Maria Palma People To People Service
· Professor Toilet Professor Toilet’s Blog
· David Reich My 2 Cents
· Bethany Richmond The Carpet & Rug Institute Blog
· Carolyn Townes Becoming a Woman of Purpose
· C.B. Whittemore Flooring The Consumer & Simple Marketing Blog
· Linda Wright Lindaloo.com: Build Better Business with Better Bathrooms

My first post takes me back to my May visit to the Philadelphia area, when I had the chance to see two very different visitor experiences. I went to QVC Headquarters and took the studio tour, which was highly polished, enjoyable, memorable, and fun. This is a photo of the wonderfully colorful QVC store.

Everything about the experience was terrific, except the bathroom, which was a total disappointment. Yes, it was clean and functional. But with all the possible ways they could have branded it or dressed it up with QVC merchandise, it definitely felt like a missed opportunity.

That same day I visited Historic Yellow Springs, a 300-year old village nearby. Here we have charming buildings in need of restoration, nothing fancy or polished about this experience.

But the bathrooms were a total and complete shock... in a good way. They had partnered with a local design firm/boutique and had both bathrooms "dressed" for their annual art show.

I suggested they do this year-round, as it seemed like a win-win collaboration.

Tip of the day: If you have an overall great experience, don't let your bathrooms be a let-down. And, if you have an older site that could use some polish, you'll get a huge experience bang for the buck by having stellar bathrooms.