It’s not just you, office cleaning prices can be confusing. On your office cleaning company’s side, they must account for labor, insurance and taxes, benefits for their employees, any direct costs like cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc., not to mention a management fee and of course, a profit. On your end, you have budgets, your building’s traffic and use patterns, your overall maintenance needs and requirements to consider. So there are a number of factors at play and yet, a professional, effective, experienced office cleaning company should be able to meet with you, tour your facility and provide you with a detailed quote that breaks down each item. They can even make recommendations on how to use Smart Cleaning, a method of identifying core needs in your building to cut costs without sending service below an acceptable level.
Here’s the reality, janitorial services have a cost. And the most significant cost in commercial office cleaning is labor. Your janitorial company must cover labor, equipment, supplies, administration and still make a reasonable profit in order to stay in business. So when you consider janitorial pricing and office cleaning prices, you have to look at what it costs your office cleaning company and what you are getting. If you are paying for labor hours you aren’t getting, any price is too high. If you are paying for a level of office cleaning services that fell from acceptable months ago, any price is too high. If you aren’t happy with the level of consistency and quality from your office cleaning service, any price is too high. If you work with commercial office cleaning services that offer transparent pricing, you can determine if what you are paying matches up with what you are getting.
Here’s where it can get especially confusing because it would be simple if just paying more assured you good service, but it doesn’t. In part because of a crowded janitorial marketplace, new startups flooding the market every year and competition for business, office cleaning prices do not always reflect reality, value or what you will really end up paying. Some office cleaning companies just don’t know yet how to accurately price their services. Others unequivocally low ball, hoping hidden charges, add ons and upsells will eventually get them to the number THEY need. Other companies may bid low in order to get your business but then offer services that are well below they level you need in your facility for effective maintenance. An worse yet, some companies, including national office cleaning companies, will charge you a premium for service that delivers no better than a cheaper priced office cleaning service. Of course price matters, you have a hard line you must meet, and yet, what is infinitely more valuable is the idea of value. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Your goal as a Facility Manager is to secure the best value at the most reasonable cost that falls within your office cleaning budget. You can really only do this when you have quotes from the most effective office cleaning companies, presented clearly in an ‘apples to apples’ fashion allowing you to make meaningful comparisons and chose the office cleaning company that best fits the needs of your facility.
Maybe you have a less than ideal office cleaning budget that you simply must work with so you think you have to shop a tier down for your office cleaning services. But you don’t have to settle for substandard service even if your cleaning budgets have been cut very thin. Often the best, most effective professional office cleaning companies are actually priced close to the startups and less effective office janitorial services. Why? Reliable, reputable, experienced commercial office cleaning services not only know how to price their services accurately to reflect the work needed in your facility, but they also have the equipment and systems to assure a level of efficiency that will be reflected in your office cleaning quote. Sometimes better service doesn’t cost any more. And experienced office cleaning companies use practices like Smart Cleaning to help you streamline services and costs to those you need most, helping you trim the fat and stay on target.
While very low pricing can be enticing, it is always better to partner with an established, professional office cleaning company. The most experience office cleaning professionals understand where you can reduce services and where you can't. They understand that low office cleaning prices can’t come with increased complaints and issues. The right commercial office cleaning service can help you figure out how to get the essentials covered and put together a cleaning specification that is reasonable and meets both budget and maintenance goals. It is when you pair quality service with on target pricing that you get true value. How exactly do you get more with less and nevertheless maintain the right level of clean? The answer is Smart Cleaning. Often, an office cleaning company creates a simple cleaning specification and follows it to the letter. These specifications are based more upon your building itself and square footage than specifics and how it is actually used. That means tasks like vacuuming each floor and clearing every trash can are done every time whether they are needed or not. Smart Cleaning empowers your office cleaning service with the tools and know how to concentrate on those areas of your building that see the most use and require the most attention. Less oft used areas still get cleaned but on a rotating or as needed basis.
So you don’t want to pay too much, you don’t want service to suffer and you want a good value and effective office cleaning services, where do you begin? While you might get a wide range of office cleaning bids, really your office cleaning pricing should be relatively straightforward. Labor normally accounts for fifty to seventy percent of your cleaning costs. Experienced office cleaners will spend more time asking you questions than pitching you. If they intend to price clearly and specifically or work with a reduced budget, they will want to tour your facility in order to best understand your cleaning requirements. Offices cleaning prices calculated upon square footage alone neglect a great deal of useful information. Information like the square footage of carpet, non-waxed tile, waxed tile and such can dramatically impact labor hours and price. Likewise, things like your employee population and number of restrooms can make a big difference in cost estimates. With complete information, your office cleaning company can present you with meaningful choices, their professional recommendations and the costs of varying options. Clear, transparent pricing arms you with the best information from which to make choices on what works best for your facility.
We provide commercial office cleaning to the following Southeastern Michigan Counties: Genesee County, Livingston County, Washtenaw County, Monroe County, Wayne County, Macomb County, St. Clair County. We offer effective, professional office cleaning services to the cities of Detroit, Ann Arbor, Farmington Hills, Dearborn, Farmington, Livonia, Plymouth, Downriver, Royal Oak, Southfield, Troy, Auburn Hills, Novi and more.