Have you ever purchased clothing online and received more than you bargained for? It doesn’t happen a lot, but when a cockroach scurries out of a box you got from some online retailer, you won’t soon forget. Have you ever stayed in a hotel and woke up to find a cockroach perching on the bristles of your toothbrush? If you have, you probably remember the name of that hotel. There are many places you can have a run-in with a cockroach. It could be the back seat of a cab. It could be in the restroom of a supermarket. But, seeing a cockroach in a restaurant is probably the worst. If you own or manage a restaurant, here are a few ways cockroaches can negatively impact your business.

First Impressions

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. If someone is sitting down in your restaurant for the first time, the last thing you need is for a cockroach to run across the table. Few things are as efficient at preventing repeat business like a cockroach sighting.

Before The First Impression

In this age of technology, you sometimes don’t even get a first impression. A cockroach sighting could result in a customer never setting foot in your establishment at all. Three years ago, there were apps developed to help people find out what restaurants in their area had the highest rating, now this ability is built right into Google and other search engines. We don’t even have to tap the name of a restaurant into our phones. We can just ask our phones to recommend good restaurants to us. More than ever, ratings can make a business thrive, or they can make it flounder.

Customers Get Sick

Do you know that there is a website that tracks restaurants where people have claimed to have gotten sick? That is the world we live in now. Customers are banding together to warn each other about potential threats. While this has the potential to create false reports, a business that consistently gets customers sick will not stay under the radar for long. In fact, sites like this have led to restaurant closures. While every cockroach we see does not have a disease, they are significant catalysts for sickness and should never go untreated. Cockroaches can spread diseases, harmful bacteria, worms, and allergens. It is best to make sure these insects are entirely excluded.

Employees Get Sick

As a restaurant owner or manager, you are acutely aware when reports of customer illness appear, but a much more subtle effect of cockroach infestation is employee sickness. When cockroaches are not dealt with appropriately it can lead to a significant increase in employee absenteeism. This can make it hard to man shifts but comes with the much larger implication of a worker’s compensation case or a lawsuit. While it is extremely difficult for a customer to prove that they got sick at a particular restaurant, an employee can easily make a case of ongoing illness in their place of work.

The Smell

Some cockroach species have a significant odor. This odor will not only create an unsavory environment in your restaurant, but it could also lead to unsavory food. Strong smells can affect how food tastes.

Low Morale

Every business does better when employees are happy. Morale has a significant impact on your bottom line. And cockroaches can have a significant effect on morale. Few people who like to work in a kitchen that has ongoing cockroach problems.

Let’s Be Honest

Not every customer has katsaridaphobia (that’s a fear of cockroaches) but there are few people who will shrug off a cockroach sighting in a restaurant. Not every cockroach has diseases or harmful bacteria on its shells, but cockroach infestations and illness go hand-in-hand. It just isn’t worth the risk. If you’re seeing cockroaches, take action to arrest the situation.

At Action Pest Control, we protect businesses from cockroaches and other commercial pests through the application of industry-leading pest control methods and products. If you need assistance developing a comprehensive pest control plan for your business, reach out to us today. Before restaurant pests invade, take action and get Action.