We’ve all seen it–a wall-mounted, liquid soap dispenser, dripping onto the counter of a public restroom. Regardless of the preventative efforts of engineers, the dispenser leaks. At least, there always seem to be drips (or even puddles) of unused soap on the counters.
I figured, if it were possible to prevent this additional soap from leaking, it would have been worked out by now. Soap is viscous, and we are impatient beings, so it is inevitable we pull our hands away before all of the soap succumbs to gravity. Over the hours before the bathroom is cleaned again, a veritable sea of soap can accumulate. This isn’t particularly problematic because… well, it’s soap. It’s not dirty, but it is unsightly and definitely an issue if you place your hand or anything else on that spot on the counter.
On a beautiful day in Alabama, I was in the public restroom of the Grand Hotel. As I approached the sink to wash my hands, I saw this:
An Ecolab soap dispenser. Now, I am sure the good engineers created the dispenser to be as tight as possible in regards to excess soap, but nonetheless, it leaked. However, the folks at the Grand Hotel came up with an innovative idea. They took a $1.50 glass container, put about $.30 worth of fake stones in it, placed it under the dispensers to catch any leaking soap, and… viola! a clean counter that was also pleasant to experience. I would imagine cleaning out these dishes takes very little extra effort compared to simply cleaning up the counter, and it looks much nicer than a soap puddle.
Think about your products and your services. What is your “leaking soap?” What might be an eyesore to your customers and prospects? Do some brainstorming and see if you can create an equivalent to the soap catcher illustrated above. A solution doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive; in fact, it’s probably better if it’s not either. But don’t think “little” problems such as leaking soap don’t matter. All those “little” features make a difference in how you are perceived. If you take care of the little things, customers will trust you with big things. Keep innovating!