Think About It

Once upon a time, M!X restaurant in Brookhaven was a place to see and be seen. In more ways than one.

The owners outfitted this hip tapas bar with high-tech bathrooms so funky, some people considered them reason enough to check out the place. Here’s the hook: the bathroom doors were made of colored glass. When they were unlocked, you could see right through them. When someone went in and locked the door, the glass frosted over for privacy. Very cool concept.

Alas, some M!X patrons found the lock a bit tricky, so they gave up and just went about their, um, business. No lock meant no frost, which meant anybody with line of sight to the bathroom got an eyeful.

Sloan’s, an ice cream shop in West Palm Beach, Fla., has the same set-up for its bathrooms. There, too, the patrons sometimes neglect to lock up, creating an inadvertent peep show. And at Sloan’s, the accidental voyeurs aren’t adults enjoying a night at the bar, but kids looking for nothing naughtier than a scoop of rocky road.

The owner of Sloan’s told a reporter the glass doors have been worth the occasional embarrassing moments, plus the $30,000 he paid to outfit his two bathrooms. He said people come in all the time to see the bathrooms and end up buying ice cream. Indeed, among the online reviews of Sloan’s, you’ll find as many recommending the bathrooms as the ice cream.

Nevertheless, we question whether this is really the best marketing tool for Sloan’s. Bathrooms that sometimes bare all may drive away families with kids – people who are more likely to become loyal, repeat customers than the techno-thrill seekers who stop by to see the bathrooms in action.

It’s only human to get excited by new technologies, be they bathroom doors or iPhone applications. But it’s important to look beyond the gee-whiz factor and evaluate the fit with your markets and your brand.

Put simply, technology that’s cool isn’t necessarily cool for you. Forget that simple truth, and you could really get caught with your pants down.