As a frequent traveler, I have seen my share of bathrooms. It always amazes me to see how many different combinations of automated elements that get incorporated into the bathroom experience; automated flushing, automated water, automated soap dispensing and a vast array of dryers. I am all for hand drying instead of paper towels, but there seems to be a vast array of dryer choices, from the annoyingly slow “if I stand here for 15 minutes, my hands would get dry” to the more modern jet propulsion lab blast of air that takes at least one layer of skin with it (perhaps the very method needed to properly dry your hands; rip off a layer of skin …).
It drives me crazy to see sink, soap and towels so poorly oriented that they either do not work as intended (tell me you haven’t stood hunched over a sink waiting for water to flow, rhythmically moving your hands in an attempt to wake up the sensor …). I also cannot recount how many times I have held my hands under a soap dispenser waiting for foam to flow only to find out that despite its appearance of an automated device, it requires a pump, pull or push to activate the flow.
So, it was that on a Friday in early June, I was at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming. This museum is truly incredible and was a joy to visit in addition to being highly educational. While visiting the restroom there, I was presented with the sink that you can see in the image below:
As you can see, there is a water faucet, which turned out to be automated with an automated soap dispenser two inches away. Both worked flawlessly. I was also impressed with the stainless steel platform located on the right hand side of the
sink, perfect for me to set down the items in my hand while I washed up. As I was marveling at finding a sink and soap combination that didn’t require advanced searching, I glanced at the wall to find the towel dispenser / jet propulsion dryer.
Finding none, I was quickly negating the positive juju I was giving the innovative folks at the Buffalo Bill museum, when I noticed the small rectangular sign on the front right of the sink.
The picture clearly shows water, soap and hand drying all as a part of this sinks experience. So I passed my hands under the metal platform and was rewarded with just the right amount of airflow to quickly wick off the water without blowing off a single skin cell. Amazing! This is the sink I have been seeking for years, compact, highly usable and efficient.
Think about how you can take multiple elements and combine them in an efficient or highly usable way to increase the customer experience quotient of your product or service. Are you innovating in a way that thrills and delights your customers? If not, why not?
I am working on convincing my wife that we need to install these in our house …