Challenge
When a major European airport reduced its cleaning budget, resulting in fewer working hours for the cleaning staff, it led to decreased satisfaction levels among passengers regarding both the general cleanliness and the condition of the toilets. For an airport where the service experience plays a significant role, it was crucial to understand how cleaning impacted passengers’ overall experience.
Approach
Dissatisfaction with the level of cleanliness impacts passengers’ overall experience of the airport - and particularly in areas around shops and eateries, inadequate cleaning can negatively affect passengers’ desire to purchase. Therefore, it was essential for the airport to identify which drivers had the greatest impact on passengers’ perception of cleanliness, equipping the airport to prioritise resources so to create the most value for passengers.
Resolution
Through qualitative research methods, Epinion gathered insights into passengers’ perceptions of the airport’s cleanliness and developed recommendations to improve passenger satisfaction in this area. Epinion revealed that certain types of waste were perceived as more unhygienic than others, and that passengers’ attention to cleanliness depends on where they are in the airport. Based on these findings, Epinion formulated recommendations on how the airport’s cleaning resources could be prioritised to once again achieve higher passenger satisfaction.
