Is Your Commercial Cleaning Company All Promises But No Action?

Finding people that will TELL you they are going to do great work and deliver on their promises to you is easy. Finding people that will actually DO great work and in fact, DELIVER on their promises is quite another story. Were business more accountable in the past or do we just like to imagine the past a more idyllic, simpler time? So many commercial cleaning companies will make promises about their service in order to secure your business. However, like in any business, promises can be easy to make and hard to keep. So, ask yourself as a Facility Manager, is your current office cleaning company actually doing what they said they would? Are they living up to what they promised you and your facility? Are they living up to what you hoped? Are they delivering a reasonable level of service in your facility? And if not, how can you as Facility Manager sort through the promise breakers to find a reliable office cleaning company that will consistently do their best to deliver on their promises to you?

Don’t Let Your Cleaning Service Give You Little More Than Lip Service

No matter how well priced a service may seem, if you have to chase down your cleaning staff to get it completed, it isn’t worth the money. Getting less service than you need is never really a bargain at any price. As a Facility Manager in a demanding position, you need your office cleaning to get done without you having to be constantly on top of it, after all, isn’t that one reason you outsourced your building cleaning? Incredibly enough, in the building services industry, sometimes just doing what you say you’re going to do goes a long way with customers. So it’s so disappointing to find your cleaning teams continually failing to meet your expectations and deliver on their promises. Worse yet, when you finally take the time to complain and let your commercial cleaning company know you aren’t happy with the level of service and they still don’t fix the issues, it can be down right frustrating. You are likely inundated with other things that need to get done aside from trying to manage your supposedly professional office cleaning company. Not only that, but with tighter budgets and more responsibility, you’ll find that if you focus on your office cleaning service you won’t have time for other important tasks that really need your attention. After all, there are some things only you can really do, making sure your commercial cleaning company is getting their jobs done really shouldn’t have to be one of them. What you and every Facility Manager need is a janitorial company that will do what they said they would in terms of services, without being repeatedly reminded.

Shopping Locally Has Some Major Upsides

As the Facility Manager of a large facility or multiple facilities, it can be easy to think that perhaps we need to work with a large, national commercial cleaning company in order to get out needs met. What few fail to recognize is that there are very few instance in which you need a national janitorial company to clean and maintain your building. In fact, often these very large national janitorial companies can make it harder not easier to get customized, responsive, consistent cleaning services. Think about it, to such a giant company, providing connected and customized service is a pretty big ask. For most facilities, a large local Michigan commercial cleaning service can offer nearly all of the benefits of the national janitorial company with all of the benefits of a local Michigan janitorial company. Not only does it help keep tax revenue right here in Michigan, you’ll find that these larger, local commercial cleaning companies have all the benefits of the “big national guys” without any of the drawbacks of those very small cleaning operations. Not only do they have the manpower and buying power to service larger facilities at a reduced price, they aren’t so large that you’ll be lost among other contracts allowing you to get a customized cleaning experience tailored for your facility. It’s not unlike Goldilocks and the three bears, when it comes to janitorial companies, often the national companies are “too big”, the smaller operations are “just too small” and the mid to large size established, professional companies are “just right.”

People Are the Cornerstone of Any Service Company

Any responsive, professional service company has an understanding that their staff are their single most important resource. Think about it, it is the front line office cleaners, custodians, day porters, medical office cleaners and such that come in and out of your facility each day. It is these people who are in the field, in your facility, moving about your building doing the care, leaning and maintenance. As such, the frontline staff need to be well trained, and above all, a good fit for your facility in order to ensure success. So when talking to prospective commercial janitorial companies, make sure to ask about their people services and processes to get an idea of how any prospective cleaning company sees and treats the people who will be providing services in your facility. A company that takes time to recruit, screen, and hire employees correctly will have a lower janitorial turnover rate and subsequently provide a better service. So ask any prospective cleaning company, how do you recruit employees, how do you screen them, do you do comprehensive background checks? What does your employee training look like? How do you manage and motivate your teams to do their best work? Companies that take these steps will almost always want to show you what sets their teams apart.

Find The Company That Has It All

Your facility is likely not only in need of basic cleaning and often it can be difficult to coordinate multiple contractors to get things like repairs, floor care, carpet care, construction cleaning, handyman services, window cleaning, preventative maintenance and other types of janitorial services done in your facility. However, this can all be avoided if you contract with a single Maintenance company that offers a wide menu of related services. This will not only save you time but also money because working through a single company allows you to negotiate with the same point person. It is easier and more affordable to offload needed tasks to a company you already trust and have a relationship with.

The Clearest Pricing Is The Best Pricing

When you go to the grocery store, would you buy something that didn’t have a price tag that you could understand? Most of us wouldn’t so why would you settle for a commercial cleaning company that does the same thing? A transparent price point allows you to easily compare janitorial bids apples to apples style so that you can determine what is truly best for your building. Second, an unclear bid is often a sign that your prospective cleaning company is either inexperienced or that they are intentionally trying to obscure fees and other charges. Don’t partner with a janitorial and commercial cleaning company that won’t or can’t give you a clear, accurate building quote, your planning and budgets require it.

Does Your Professional Cleaning Service Understand Cleaning For Health?

A solid office cleaning service doesn't just clean to make things look good, they clean using the science of bacterial and viral spread to make sure that what looks clean actually is clean. The best of these companies understand touch points, how to effectively reduce infection and disease, cleaning for health, proper restroom cleaning, Smart Cleaning, and Green Cleaning processes as well as which chemicals to use where. If you are partnered with a company that isn’t cleaning with health in mind, you are putting yourself and your employees at risk, especially during cold and flu season. Well-trained office cleaners will not only keep your building sparkling they will help you maintain a clean, healthy work environment.

Referrals And Certifications Are Powerful Tools For Finding Your Next Partner

The best way to find a solid commercial cleaning company is through the recommendation of another trusted industry professional. Similarly, you can also use relevant industry certifications like the ISSA’s CIMS (that is, the Cleaning Industry Management Standard) to help you determine which companies have demonstrated their ability to provide a superior standard of service. CIMS certification measures a number of areas that translate directly into better service for you the customer. While there are no quick tricks to finding the right commercial cleaning company for your building, this certification can help you narrow down your list of prospective office cleaners, and, with a little research, you can find a partner that will service your facility at the highest level for a long time to come. You deserve better service, fewer headaches and a commercial cleaning services that will keep the promises they make to you.

Here at Stathakis, we combine state-of-the-art innovations in office cleaning and care with proven training and industry practices to give you the service your facility requires. If you need office cleaning services, connect with Stathakis. For more information on how you can get offices cleaner than they have ever been, please contact us at #800-278-1884.