Toaletten på restauranger – en hygienfaktor eller en upplevelse?

Already in the 70’s there was a lot of talk about experiences and the notion has grown through the years. An experience can be describes as a personal event within a specific time that we to a certain part create ourselfes. The place or the room where the expericence is takes place is called experiencescape. With colours, atmosphere, design, sound and light it affects us. This study focus on restroom as an experiencescape. The purpose is to examine how the surroundings of restrooms affects the guests total experience. This through a deductive approach, where theory is tested against the empirics. The study is mainly qualitative, with answers that has been rendered and analysed, but also quantitive data has been assembled through an observation protocol. Subsequently has interviews been made with the respondents and the restaurants. Even an observation of the sorroundings of the restaurants and the restrooms has been made, so the reader better could understand the empirics and the restaurants concept. All the restaurants have had a strong, pervasive concept and been existed of a low, medium and high price level. Max, Vapiano and Koh Phangan was chosen. An analysis model has been used from without two earlier models by Bitner (1992) and Baker (1987), where atmospheric- and design factors has been analysed within restroom surroundings. The atmospheric factors comprices e. g. scent, music and cleanliness, while the design factors e. g. covers lightning, colours and concept. Even reactions from the restroom surroundings was examined and the respondents behaviour afterwards, if e. g. they wanted to linger on, spend more money or walk away. The empirics resulted in the most important factors, which were cleanliness, scent, style and concept, music and lightning. These were divided in hygiene- and experience factors, which is compared with Herzbergs (1987) two-factor-theory. The hygiene factors can only make the experience worse if they don’t exists. While the experience factors only can make the experience better if the exists. The hygiene factors is like foundation for the experience factors to build further on. Without the hygiene factors the experience will be ”Not OK” and with them, could it only be ”OK”. The conclusions is that restroom surroundings affects us much, even though we do not think about it. Different restaurants need the hygiene- and experience factors in different amount, depending on price level, orientation and concept. Restaurant with a lower price level need restrooms that are nice and clean. While more expensive, luxery restaurants could create memorable visits by take the restrooms further with the experience factors and in that way create something unique. Then it will be a ”WOW”-experience. Something that the guests want to experience over and over again. The the restroom might function as a real eyeball, where the guests celebrates not only Friday, but also a luxery Saturday or before the fotboll match.Validerat; 20160629 (global_studentproject_submitter