The Importance of Keeping Business Parking Areas Clean
by Ranger Kidwell-Ross
Keeping all outside areas clean and properly maintained is becoming
increasingly recognized as an important element of successful business property
management. Studies have shown that cleanliness ranks as a top factor in
determining where people shop, and external cleanliness is seen by many
as equally important as that of the interior of the building.
Gauging customer loss due to having unkempt grounds is harder to pin
down, however, than doing a similar assessment for a business' interior.
The number of people who choose not to patronize a particular business establishment
or mall because they 'don't like the looks' is almost a complete unknown,
since it is a choice made by many before they ever park and come inside.
In today's highly competitive market, business property managers can't
afford the tarnished image caused by cutting back on exterior grounds maintenance,
and regular sweeping is arguably the most important component contributing
to overall looks. Following are some of the many reasons why it is so important
to retain a sweeping contractor on an ongoing basis:
- Outside parking areas are where business owners hope their potential
customers will derive an initially favorable 'first impression.' The appearance
of the outside area also projects an image of how the rest of the facility
will be operated. If the exterior maintenance is slipshod, then potential
customers might well expect the internal cleanliness and other affairs
of the mall or business to be poorly run as well.
- People like to patronize the successful. Clearly, all businesses would
choose to have a clean parking area, all other considerations aside. The
unwillingness or inability to keep a particular area cleaned projects an
image of not being successful.
- Shopping centers are finding maintenance of market share to be an increasingly
competitive proposition. It's virtually impossible to develop or retain
the desired competitive edge if the grounds on the exterior of the business
are unkempt.
- Even the most beautiful landscaping is negated by a parking lot cluttered
with debris. If the parking area contains debris which might puncture a
tire, people hesitate to venture in, due to the potential for tire damage.
- Correct management of stormwater runoff is a big factor for owners
of parking areas today. Sweeping is a Best Management Practice (BMP) for
stormwater runoff, and a structured sweeping program can help to ensure
the business is doing all it can to minimize pollutants in its stormwater
runoff stream.
- When a parking area is clean to begin with, shoppers are less likely
to throw trash out of their cars when they come to shop.
- Sand, dirt and other trash are abrasive, and will shorten the useful
life of pavement, as well as the length of service time of any sealcoating,
striping, etc.
- The professionalism of the local business community at large is a composite
of the individual images projected by each of the businesses within it.
When people have several places in a particular neighborhood or township
where they feel comfortable shopping, traffic is increased throughout the
entire general area.
- When a parking area remains unswept for a long enough period, it will
attract rodents and other potentially disease-carrying or dangerous animals.
- Keeping litter picked up reduces the chances of slip-and-fall injuries,
as well as the business property's potential liability in any resultant
lawsuits.
- When dirt is allowed to stay on pavement, it quickly starts deteriorating
the paving material. This is especially true when enough dirt collects
to start plants growing, since their roots cause cracking in cement and
asphalt. Replacement costs for pavement far exceed the routine expense
of sweeping.
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