South Africa, Aug. 11 -- Carlzon's point was that reputation is rarely decided in the boardroom or the ad campaign. It is decided in thousands of unscripted seconds that most executives never see or think to manage. The office or client bathroom is one of the purest versions of that moment, and one of the least defended.

The data backs the instinct. A commissioned Cintas Corporation study, conducted online by The Harris Poll among more than 2,000 US adults, found that 74% of respondents say a dirty restroom leaves them with a negative perception of a business, and 68% form the same negative view when dispensers sit empty of soap, paper towels or toilet paper.

That is a reputation statistic wearing a facilities disguise, and PR teams wou...