Garden Centers of America has created a new award to recognize rooms befitting a ‘throne.’ At the association’s annual meeting this summer, GCA will recognize garden centers that have outstanding restrooms. According to David Williams, GCA president, one of the most important elements in the operation of a garden center is the restrooms. The customer base for independent garden centers is estimated to be 80-percent women, and one of the elements appreciated by women is a clean, fresh and well designed restroom.
Williams noted, in the recent bestseller by Paco Underhill, “What Women Want,” convenient and clean restrooms ranked very high in a woman’s decision of where to shop. In the book Underhill said, “If you think about every major new hotel or restaurant, you realize that having a fantastic women’s bathroom is a design statement that creates buzz.” Underhill, will deliver the IGC Celebrity Keynote address at on Aug. 18 at the IGC Show in Chicago.
In commenting on the new award, Williams said, “The GCA Bathroom Award will honor those garden centers that have recognized the importance of restrooms in their garden center and have done an outstanding job in making their restrooms a positive factor in the customer’s shopping experience.”
The GCA Bathroom Awards will be presented at the GCA Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Aug. 18 at the IGC Show in Chicago. The top award to be presented is the ‘Best of the Best Award,’ and the recipient will receive a plaque and a complimentary registrations for the 2011 GCA Holiday Tour in Detroit this fall and a the 2012 GCA Summer Tour in San Francisco. A Gold Award, Silver Award and several Awards of Merit will also be presented.
To enter the competition, garden centers must submit the store name, contact person, phone number, e-mail and physical address. Also include several pictures of the restroom in JPG file format and a brief paragraph about the bathroom, why is it designed the way it is and its benefit at the garden center. The information should be sent to info@gardencentersofamerica.org. The entry deadline is 5 p.m. (EDST), July 15.
Judges will review the photographs and descriptions, and evaluate the entries on creativity and comfort affecting a customer’s overall shopping experience. All independent garden centers are eligible to enter. Membership in GCA is not required to enter the contest.