This today from the Corporate Curmudgeon, Dale Dauten at HartfordBusiness.com:

"And I want to go further today and offer up this IBP (Important Business Principle): The men’s room doesn’t lie.

I know that sounds like the title for a Sen. Larry Craig biography, but in this case it’s a principle of customer service. I believe you can tell a lot about an organization from its restrooms.

Nobody makes a profit on the restroom, although an amazing restroom can be a marketing tool (see the photos at www.urinal.net). In fact, it is precisely because the restroom is not a profit center that it serves as a measure of how much a company cares about its employees and/or customers.

...let’s give some appreciation to the management of those places that try to make the restrooms restful. My favorite is the San Diego International Airport, where the entrance has glass blocks with a bit of sand and a seashell in each one. You know someone cared."

Dale further explains that Gary Loveman, President of Harrah's Entertainment and former Harvard business professor used his knowledge of the most frequently asked question at casinos ("Where's the restroom?") to help shape a customer loyalty campaign.

The focus at Skip to the Loo! has primarily been directed at a "marketing to women" strategy. (The men in my family are ambivalent about restroom cleanliness and decor.) It is interesting to read commentary suggesting that men can also be influenced.