The Best Forecourt Loo category always creates much hilarity at our annual awards ceremony. It was even the subject of a jokey exchange during a Radio 5 Live discussion about the event the morning after. However, the quality of a minority of Britain’s roadside facilities can be no laughing matter.
Having visited more than 100 petrol stations during the almost one year I have been editor of Forecourt Trader, I must say I have been less than impressed with the standard of some of the conveniences in this part of the convenience sector.
Recently, on my travels as an on-the-road judge for the awards, I visited – in rather a hurry – a forecourt in a large industrial city. The member of staff told me the toilet was shut and suggested (quite seriously) I relieve myself around the back of a next-door garage that had closed for the day. Not a good look for a middle-aged woman, and also rather annoying when another customer overhead and explained that the lavatory was always closed as staff didn’t want the hassle of dealing with less than respectful customers.
Another forecourt that was under consideration for the awards shortlist was discounted after I visited and found their toilets overwhelmingly reeked of stale urine, which must have been there for days if not weeks. That same location had a flooded floor, with no warning sign up, nor paper in any of three separate toilets.
So, this is why I think this particular award is so important. To be a great forecourt loo does not mean the facilities have to resemble something you might find in a high-class hotel or next to the boardroom of a leading bank. In fact, the toilets at this year’s winner, Essar Lea Gate Service Station in Preston, were modest in appearance. Yes, there were attractive large-format images of local tourist attractions in the passageway outside, but the lavatories themselves did no more than they were supposed to do.
There was no exotic animal-themed wallpaper or gold taps like we saw from the stunning 2023 winning Tout’s site, which would not be out of keeping at The Ivy restaurant. This year’s winner was very plain in comparison.
But what stood out was how impeccably clean the toilets were – that and an appealing aroma of lavender.
Okay, you might argue that this could have been down to the timing of my visit. Was it just luck that I happened to be there immediately after they had been cleaned? Essar Lea Gate also has the advantage of being a newish site, so the loos have not suffered from inevitable wear and tear. However, I do not think so. Essar says it has a “rigorous” cleaning and maintenance schedule, with deep cleans factored in. It certainly felt like a consistently impressive level of cleanliness was being insisted upon. In its entry, Essar says it likes to think of customers using its toilets as guests visiting their home. When you have the neighbours around for a dinner party, you would not dream of not having soap, or failing to give the bowl a quick scrub. In fact, Essar says it aims to make its lavatories “fit for royalty”. A huge difference obviously to being told to nip round the corner out of sight, something we imagine Her Majesty the late Queen was never requested to do.
Other finalists in this category also impressed with their commitment. MFG toilets are becoming instantly identifiable by their aquarium-themed decor, a look being rolled out across the estate. Penny On The Move’s ‘loo with a view’ in Crosby Moor near Carlisle has stunning landscapes of the Lakes that tempt you to make an immediate detour to soak in the glories of Windermere.
Perhaps one of the best that we have seen did not enter the category this year. EG On The Move’s newly opened Saddle Inn Services near Preston has conveniences akin to those you might find in a spa, with beautiful stone coloured tiling and smart bathroom furniture.
It is good to see forward thinking forecourt operators prioritising their loos, which are becoming ever more important as food to go becomes a larger part of the retail offer.
Bear in mind that many good forecourts do not even offer a public restroom. While we appreciate there can be practical challenges to installing loos, every forecourt must have at least a staff bathroom, so a failure to provide this service does raise questions over hygiene when ready-to-eat items are being sold.
And with electric vehicles becoming more commonplace, forecourts with an EV charging option will have to provide seating and eating areas, with toilets an essential part of the mix.
Many forecourts, of course, adopt a key-return policy, which can be a solution when there have been instances of ‘customers’ using the facilities for less than savoury purposes. While this can often be frustrating for the motorist, one business – the somewhat quirky science fiction-themed Inner Space Stations in York – turns the process into fun: the key comes with a Darth Vader fob.
Few members of staff are going to be rushing to volunteer to be loo-cleaner-in-chief, but it is impossible to overstate the importance of slipping on the Marigolds and providing a consistent, regular and thorough hygiene regime. And it has to be more than an employee popping in with a mop every few hours and signing the wall chart. The culture of cleanliness and quality has to come from the top. As well as basic scrubbing, broken cisterns, hand-driers, and leaking taps must be fixed, holes in the wall filled in, missing tiles replaced, and soap, toilet rolls and paper towels replenished. Never underestimate too the benefit of a regular lick of paint and powerful air fresheners.
Like litter on forecourts or freezers caked with inches of ice, a smelly, dirty toilet is an instant warning sign that here is a business that does not really give a fig about its customers or what they think. If a toilet is not clean, what other corners are being cut?
Toilets matter. On that light-hearted Radio 5 Live discussion with Rich Cross – aka social media’s Service King, and one of our awards judges – a presenter remarked that they would go out of their way to fill up at a forecourt with a good loo.
Yes, when the British discuss spending a penny it is always with a smile, but make sure that when customers are talking about your public conveniences they are doing so for the right reasons.
