The holiday season can present an existential challenge for retailers, testing the skills and endurance of marketing and sales teams in a six-week race to reach revenue targets by the end of the year. It is not a time to inconvenience customers and staff with building maintenance or repairs.
“There’s a reason they call it Black Friday,” says Bill Schaphorst, vice president of business development at MaintenX, a commercial facility maintenance and repair company. “Because of the surge in traffic and sales on the fourth Friday in November, that typically marks the point where retailers shift from being in the red to the black on their books. Many of them depend on the holiday season for a large percentage of their annual revenue and profitability.”
To help employees focus on customers during this vital period, savvy restaurant and store operators put facilities in top form before the holiday crunch begins. That includes performing preventive maintenance on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and other building systems well before Thanksgiving, so facilities personnel can stay clear of the sales floor and stockroom until January.
Pre-Holiday Prep
Several national retailers that outsource maintenance and repair services to MaintenX reserve time each fall to focus on facilities. In fact, the push to complete repairs and have properties looking and performing their best makes the third quarter a busy time of year for facilities staff and service providers.
Schaphorst advises property managers to meet with facilities staff or an outside service provider for a pre-holiday assessment and strategy discussion, preferably before the end of September. This is the time to identify and schedule any work that still needs to be done before Thanksgiving. Use this opportunity to review communication protocols and procedures that will minimize disruption in the event of any emergency service requests occurring before year’s end.
One MaintenX client, a national grocery chain, schedules preventive maintenance for all its stores in the first three quarters each year but leaves the final months of the year clear. “In the fourth quarter, we’re told to stay away unless there is a crisis and to get any emergency work orders cleared as soon as possible,” Schaphorst says. “They want no interference with the sales floor and no service technicians or problems for managers to deal with, because it’s such a critical period.”
MaintenX
What should managers include in a pre-holiday check-up? Scott Rizzo, vice president and sales executive at MaintenX, recommends having a facilities expert inspect the property from top to bottom, inside and out, to identify damage or wear that is likely to require service soon.
“Good ventilation and climate control is a must to keep staff comfortable and encourage shoppers to extend their visits, so conduct any preventive maintenance due on the HVAC system. Also inspect the energy management system, if there is one, and make sure facilities personnel are familiar with its operation and protocols to follow in the event of a service outage,” says Rizzo.
Check roofs for damaged panels, loose material or standing water that can indicate sagging supports or clogged drains. Remove any obstructions in the building exterior and parking area, repair damaged pavement or potholes and trim landscaping to clear drives and walkways.
Refresh and Remodel
Servicing buildings at this time not only reduces the risk of holiday interruptions but can also make stores and restaurants more attractive and welcoming for shoppers, Rizzo points out. That is why some companies use the late summer months to repaint, repair and perform other upgrades.
“Beginning in the third quarter, many companies carry out refresh and remodel programs,” Rizzo says. “It’s a good time to replace any broken porcelain in the restrooms, steam the carpets and entryway mats, remove any graffiti and clean gum from the floors.”
While one of the goals of preventive maintenance and holiday preparation is to reduce disruptive service calls during peak sales season, managers may choose to increase some services for the fourth quarter. “They will most likely increase their sanitation service, with more pickups of cardboard, recyclables and trash,” Rizzo says. “Many restaurants will schedule more frequent trash collection when customer traffic picks up, to ensure there are no pests to worry about and to keep things as clean as possible.”
Finally, clarify with the facilities team any special directions for returning stores and dining rooms to normal operations after the holidays. Many retailers anticipate heavy foot traffic in their stores for one or more weeks into the new year as shoppers come in for merchandise returns and exchanges or to spend gift certificates they received. Decide when the store will remove any holiday decorations and inform outside providers if they will need to assist in aspects of that process, such as removing electrical connections from holiday displays.
In the countdown to Black Friday, retailers and restaurant operators are understandably focused on customers. But taking time for preventive maintenance and repairs today can be an investment, enabling operators to suspend disruptive maintenance activities during the holidays, Schaphorst says.
“Facilities staff don’t want to compromise sales, which is why they will do as much of their work as possible in advance. And if a safety issue comes up, it’s going to be addressed no matter what,” he says.
— By Matt Hudgins. MaintenX is a content partner of Retail & Restaurant Facility Business. For more articles from and news about MaintenX, click here.