Restrooms and highway stops are not conveniences, but necessities

"Among many things I want to say, I really wish you guys could revamp the toilet system of the gas stations under your management. Redesign and maintain it to become a hygienic system with frequent cleaning. I think that would make you stand out compared to your competitors."

With the exception of some locations in the city center with very limited space, most gas stations throughout Vietnam are spacious enough to build a decent restroom. Some may even have enough space to build a separate restroom for employees and one for guests. The employee restrooms tend to be well-cleaned, while the guest restrooms tend to be wet and smelly.

All businesses proclaim that the customer is king, the age-old mantra of the corporate world, but not all kings are treated equally. Some customers have received rather sub-par products and services.

I remember my trip from Thakhek border in Laos, which connects to Udon Thani, the major metropolitan in northeast Thailand. Stopping at a nearby gas station, I saw a small café designed like a wooden cabin. It was very cute with a lot of facilities like a clean restrooms and beverage services. I sat on the porch to enjoy the drinks on a hot summer day, feeling relaxed after a long day of travel.

Humans all need to visit toilets. We do this more frequently than almost every daily activity, including eating or sleeping. Nevertheless, in Vietnam, most people still look down on the importance of toilets. These facilities in most tourist attractions or public spaces are rather poorly maintained and lacking frequent care.

Several years ago, the owner of a gas station in southern An Giang Province built 10 toilet cubicles for public use. He said that everyone could use these toilets, regardless of whether they buy gasoline from his shop or not. The owner also said that he did this initiative after seeing how inconvenient it was for travelers, especially women and elders, to have clean toilet breaks on the way.

I also thought of a potential synergy business relationship. A gas station owner can partner up with a small café. Customers stopping on the way to fill up the gas tank can also get a drink, a win-win business relationship. Both businesses can contribute parts of their profits to the maintenance of shared facilities like toilets.

Toilets are not the only important facilities being overlooked in Vietnam. On a larger scale, there are also highway stops, which are generally considered necessary for long travel.

During one business trip to survey the logistics infrastructure in several different countries, we deliberately noted down how other countries designed their highway rest areas.

Our general impressions were very positive, as all the stops were nicely designed and very large. Most of the stops have food stalls and mini supermarkets, while some even have a small playground for children and well-designed areas specifically for photo-taking.

Toilets are, of course, always present. In Japan and Taiwan, the toilet areas tend to be rather large and spacious. In Italy, every few kilometers would have a rest area, with very different designs. Besides large stops with gas stations, there are also small stops or sometimes just a safe parking lot where drivers could take a quick nap or enjoy the scenery for a few minutes before continuing their journeys.

Tuan, the owner of a logistics business with vehicles operating across the country, said that he had basically visited every single rest area on the main north-south country route. He was very surprised when a beautiful highway from Ha Long to Mong Cai in Quang Ninh Province did not have a single rest area for almost 200 kilometers. Toilets, or rest areas in general, are considered to be lower priority than the main highways.

There have been more highway rest areas with full amenities, but those are often considered the exception in Vietnam, Tuan said.

Pumping gas, charging electricity, taking rests, toilet breaks, eating, and drinking, are the basic needs of long-distance travellers. Business owners like Tuan are also aware of these demands. Why are they not met?

As infrastructure in Vietnam is changing and improving at an incredible speed, it is only a matter of time before such facilities and basic needs should be met.

*Tran Thanh Hai is an international trade expert.