Help please. What is the proper protocol upon discovering filthy conditions in a children’s play area?
Last week, I was disappointed to be notified by my dashboard that my back, right blinker lamp was out.
Oh no! But I’m a good driver! And good drivers use their blinkers!
Given the festivities that were upon us, it wasn’t until Monday evening that I was able to get to the dealership for a quick fix. Seeing Bennett on my hip, after informing me that I’d have about a 45 minute wait, my friendly service advisor, Erin, made sure to inform me of the children’s play area that was available to us.
Now, I’m not one to lysol everything before Bennett touches it. Trying to bolster his immune system, I’m quite comfortable having him come into contact with the world’s everyday germs.
But this was exceptional.
Everything looked to be coated in old grime. I wiped the two teeny, yellow & green blocks onto which Bennett latched and one – ONE! – little red chair. And look! Look at how the baby wipe turned grey!
Yipes.
This doesn’t necessarily strike fear or panic into me. But all the same, it’s pretty disgusting and we’ll likely be frequenting that dealership in the future.
Would you be inclined to notify someone? Is that a pointless endeavor? Would you let it go? I certainly have no intentions of being nasty or outraged. It’s likely that the slow accumulation of filth happened so gradually that nobody even noticed the vibrant toys losing their color under the grime.
But still…
Suggestions? Thoughts?
At the dealership we use I actually saw someone cleaning the toys when we were there last!! That was big for me since I always wonder about that. Now these toys have never looked that dirty. I don’t think it would be a big deal if you asked how often the toys were cleaned. Maybe that would give them the hint to hopefully clean them…..if they don’t I would just bring your own toys or your own wipes to clean whatever he wants.
The next time you go in say, “It looks like you all have been super busy lately and no one has had a chance to clean the toys, do you have some wipes or disinfectant that I can use to do that for you real quick??”
I’m not opposed to wiping the stuff down myself, but that one chair was so grimy, it really took some elbow grease to lift off the blackish hue. Wouldn’t be “real quick,” but I could try and make a dent!
I concur with Momma. Honest, direct and helpful.
It’s not uncommon for me to see parents wiping down the highchairs/tables with wipes in the restaurant. (They are wiped down after each use) I think that if you brought wipes with you everywhere you go then you’re good to go just in case. Unfortunately I don’t think that the waiting area or the “play” area is given much thought. Not in a dealership anyways. If an associate did see you wiping things down then maybe they would get the idea to have someone bring special attention to it every once in awhile. I don’t know. I am such a germ phobe some days, I would wipe more things down if I could. lol
I too would kindly bring it to their attention. Chances are they don’t know or don’t care. But if it is important to a customer, it might become important to them.
I agree, it is probably not an area that is used a lot and gets overlooked. I think they would appreciate it if you told them, rather then lose more customers.
I concur with Momma 🙂
I agree. I keep a small package of disinfectant wipes with me for that reason (usually…I’m out right now). My philosophy is that if you can SEE the grime there is probably too much. :-p
It’s always a nice surprise when public areas are clean, but i’d think twice before I’d ask for it to be cleaned, especially a car dealership. Remember, it doesn’t have to be provided at all. Just sayin’……. :).