Have Shampoo - Will Travel - Peter Semadeni presented by Traveljam

Have Shampoo - Will Travel

I think the first time I experienced the frustration was when I was staying in one of my favourite hotels in Ottawa. I stepped into the shower and reached for the little bottle of shampoo.
Actually, I had forgotten to bring the bottle from the counter-top next to the sink. So , soaking wet and with water cascading on to the floor, I reached past the shower curtain and groped for the package of amenities. But wait…there were three bottles and I didn’t have my glasses on. I had left them in the bedroom. I absolutely could not read the label. Which one was the shampoo…..or the conditioner or body lotion ? The printing was so small that it was impossible to read. I am convinced that I attempted to wash my hair (the little that is left!!) with the body lotion.

But that was not the only problem. With wet hands, I could not seem to get a firm grasp on the round ball-shaped top on the little bottle. It was on so tight and was so slippery that I just could not open it. Why was it perfectly rounded – seemingly designed to afford the minimum possibility of traction on its surface? Not that this was the worst example of impregnable shampoo packaging. Budget hotels, after all, have the sachets that are absolutely impossible to rip open, especially with wet or soapy hands. Soap is wrapped in paper, which requires the use of teeth to set free!

This started me thinking of elderly hotel guests. After all I’m only middle-aged and I was experiencing problems. What about those with a touch of arthritis. Impossible to open the bottle unless some considerate hotel executive has thought to provide a top shaped or textured for ease of opening. Printing on shampoo bottles big enough to read without your glasses.

Older people already make up a sizeable and wealthy segment of the market…and this is about to expand hugely with baby-boomers aging. They certainly deserve consideration. It is only good business. And a clientele made discerning by a lifetime of experience will reward attention to details like this.

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Peter Semadeni
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