The COVID-19 pandemic marked a turning point for self-service kiosks. As social distancing and contactless service became the order of the day, kiosks provided a ready-made solution.
Automated self-service had been gaining traction in sectors like supermarkets and fast food well before the pandemic. But now, with the urgent need to reduce human-to-human contact, the adaptability of kiosk technology came into its own. Whether it was retail, food service, healthcare – any type of operation you needed to let people self-serve in sweet isolation in order to cut down transmission risk – kiosks were the answer.
There was a certain irony about that, however. Sure, self-service tech is effective at reducing in-person contact. But kiosks are also very hands-on pieces of kit, with touchscreens the main interface. All those different hands touching and swiping make public-facing touchscreens quite the vector for the transmission of germs.
The pandemic is thankfully a bad memory. But kiosk hygiene remains very much relevant. As many as four in five peoplethink that public touchscreens are unhygienic. Cleanliness is therefore part and parcel of creating a winning kiosk experience.
So how do you keep you kiosks clean and hygienic? Here are our pro tips, from cleaning regimes to making the right equipment choice for your environment.
1) Wipe down your kiosks every day
There’s no escaping it. If you want to keep up hygiene standards for your kiosks high, you have to make cleaning them a daily routine. Focus your attention on the touchscreens – these are, after all, where hands will be in contact with the machine most. Use a lint-free microfibre cloth to avoid the risk of scratching the screens, and a recommended screen-safe cleaner like an isopropyl alcohol solution. Always spray the cleaner onto the cloth, not directly onto the kiosk, as the fine spray particles can get into gaps in the casing and do damage to sensitive components inside.
2) Have hand sanitiser at every kiosk
Hand sanitiser isn’t as in vogue as it was a few years ago. But a lot of people are still more hygiene-conscious than they once were, and having hand sanitiser bottles available at every kiosk provides extra reassurance.
3) Make use of voice assistants
Touchscreens remain the most common type of interface found on kiosks by a distance. But AI voice assistants are making their mark. Not only do they provide a highly accessible and user-friendly means of interacting with a kiosk, they are also a no-touch option that can help reduce the number of hands coming into contact with the machine. You don’t have to think about replacing your touchscreen entirely with a voice assistant. It’s good to give people the choice, and maybe give a gentle nudge towards voice for certain tasks that don’t really need anyone to touch a screen.
4) Choose anti-bacterial casings and surface protectors
Kiosks built for certain sectors such as healthcare and food service routinely come with special anti-bacterial casings and coatings to help maintain the high standards of hygiene required of all equipment in such settings. But there’s no reason why these can’t be used to improve hygiene anywhere a kiosk is used.
5) Keep an eye on the latest tech developments
Finally, technology is constantly evolving, and people are coming up with innovative solutions to present problems all the time. For example, one kiosk manufacturer has recently introduced a self-cleaning kiosk to the market that makes use of UV light to kill any unwanted germs that get on the surface. One day in the not too distant future, all kiosks might take care of their own cleanliness in a similar manner.