Ladies on the Armitage site are being encouraged try out a new “e-bidet” to help the company understand how well the product functions.
User feedback is crucial in the decision-making process for our product development teams so colleagues are being urged to give it a go and leave their comments anonymously and confidentially.
Where a standard bidet (above, left) just has a wash function, this electronic bidet (above, right) – also known as a smart toilet or a showering toilet – has a nozzle which does the wash and an air dryer.
It has a heated seat and a remote control that allows the user to guide the wash nozzle, with another button for the dryer.
Innovation Engineer Louis Della-Porta said: “They have been around in Japan for a good 20 years and are very well established in that market. They use them a lot.
“It’s now picking up in Europe and a number of our main competitors have one. We don’t have one in our portfolio yet and this is a first look at understanding the functionality better.”
He added: “We would like feedback on how well it works, the effectiveness of the wash and dry function and is it a good experience?
“This is not just for ladies who work near those toilets. We would be grateful if ladies from across the whole site as well as visitors would leave us their comments.”
The e-bidet will be in place for the next three to four weeks in the first floor ladies toilets near marketing.
There are operating instructions on the cubicle wall about how to operate the remote control and a list of questions, with a post box in which to leave responses. It may be moved to the gents toilets after this trial.