If you get caught short while you are out it is good to know you have a clean, fresh and well kept loo to head for. But when you are in an airport you are a captive audience.
That’s why it is refreshing to know that Manchester Airport has won an award for the standard of its own toilets. Perhaps unbelievably (or perhaps not, seeing as we live in an era of award giving) there is an annual Loo of the Year Awards Ceremony which takes place towards the end of every year. And one of the awards is presented to the airport which has the best toilets on offer.
Manchester clearly had no worries this year, as it scooped the prize. And it stands as a testament to the hard work that the 300 toilet attendants put in every day. Any airport is busy, but it is good to know that Manchester Airport has what it takes to keep their loos looking their very best all through the day.
In order to make sure any nominated toilet is worthy of receiving an award, the judges from Loo of the Year make undercover visits to them at unannounced times. This helps to make sure that no airport or other venue can be prepared for the visit, and enables the judges to see the loos in a realistic condition and setting.
This is no basic award either. There are one hundred different aspects that a toilet is scored on, and it must do well in all of them to stand a chance of winning the top prize. As Sarah Barrett, the head of customer experience at Manchester Airport, noted, the award could not have been won without the help of all those who work hard to keep the loos looking their best every single day. “They are among the many unsung heroes of Manchester Airport,” she said of the cleaning attendants who made the award possible.
Needless to say the attendants will be pleased that the award has gone some way towards recognising their sterling efforts. But perhaps the most grateful people will be those who use the many loos available at Manchester Airport every time they travel to and from it. Knowing you have a clean and hygienic toilet to use shouldn’t be a bonus, but if it has won an award then you know you can use it in comfort.