CINCINNATI — The Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) in its efforts to assist restaurant operators acquire a better understand regarding the implications of a slip-and-fall accident, commissioned the Harris Interactive to conduct a telephone survey. The telephone survey was made using more than 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older to determine how they would react to a slip-and-fall accident. The result of the survey was that nearly one in three adults – or 60 million Americans – would not dine out at a restaurant which was the venue of a slip-and-fall accident.
David Collette, Director of Marketing and Strategy, Cintas Foodservice said that it is a known fact that slip-and-fall accidents increase costs due to litigation or injury, but this research proved that a slip-and-fall accident might even have greater repercussion when it comes to cost. By adopting a safe floor program, it will not only mitigate hard costs and provide restaurant operators peace of mind, but also offset potential long-term costs associated with lost business down the road.
Surprisingly, the survey showed hardly any difference between gender and age, but it confirmed that adults living in the Northeast compared to Midwest or South residents are more likely not to dine out at a restaurant which has a recent slip-and-fall accident. It showed that Northeast folks have 23% vs. the 13 % from those in the Midwest and 11% garnered from the South.
According to the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), more than 3 million food service employees and over 1 million guests are injured annually due to restaurant slips and falls. A recent study made by NSFI revealed that the industry spends over $2 billion on expenses resulting from these injuries each year and are increasing at a rate of about 10 percent annually. Only by adopting a restaurants with a safe floor program to protect, maintain and deep clean floor surfaces can these conditions be avoided..
Collette added that as the economy begins to recover and restaurants compete for business, this research shows that a slip and fall accident can derail these efforts and send customers out the door as safe floor program will not only protects employees and guests, but also a restaurant’s bottom line.
A wide range of solutions is offered by Cintas that would enable restaurants to create an image of safety, increase their profitability and improve productivity. Cintas will ready to assist restaurant in customizing a safe floor program that meets all possible needs.
Link – http://www.cmmonline.com/articles/cintas-release-3-8-3