Introduction
Every office, store, and other types of commercial space has a cleaning staff or gets their crew to keep the premises clean. However, professional commercial cleaners do a much better job while being cost-effective. You can hire one by searching for “cleaning services near me”. Let’s check out how you should select a commercial cleaning company:
The Selection Process
- Set your expectations – Before you search for a commercial cleaning company, you need to figure out what you want. You need to set a standard and make sure you hire a company that can meet them at your terms.
The cleaning service needs to meet the requirements of your industry and building without any compromises. You’ll also need to set a budget for the cleaning job. When the cleaning company assesses your business, they will provide you with a range of prices depending on the service they provide.
While there are plenty of companies that can provide you with extremely low prices, quality cleaning comes at a cost. You don’t want to choose a service that provides subpar cleaning and charges you more to fix their mistakes.
- Ask the right questions – The cleaning industry is competitive and that’s why shady companies implement all sorts of tricks to keep their prices low. When you hire them, you have to bear the consequences. That’s why it’s important to ask the right questions.
Ask the cleaning company about their quality assurance program, hourly rate, and how many hours they plan to work on your property every week. If the company doesn’t have a quality assurance program, you become responsible for the crew. That’s a major inconvenience. You want the cleaning company to do its job and be about your task, not the other way around.
You should also ask the company about employee training and a documented safety program. Reputed cleaning companies would hire and train their staff to work safely in commercial environments. Shady companies get cheap labor when there is demand and they won’t be able to work safely with all the precautions in a commercial environment. They will also lack safety gear and proper cleaning equipment.
Ask the cleaning company for proper documentation for their employees. The employees should have background checks and you should have that information before they enter your premises. Neglecting this step may result in loss of property without any way of recouping your losses.
- Flexible and comprehensive service – You’ll want a cleaning company that provides you with a vast range of services depending on your unique needs. They should be able to provide you with daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning schedules and should be able to handle all other cleaning needs.
Check the list of cleaning services provided by them. Every commercial cleaning company should have the following under their belt:
- Vacuuming
- Mopping
- Sweeping
- Laundry
- Dusting
- Stocking consumables
- Bathroom cleaning
- Carpet shampooing
- Computer and hardware cleaning
- Floor waxing
- Disinfecting
- Group Briefing – Ask shortlisted companies to attend a group meeting. Schedule a group meeting and ask each prospect to come with prepared questions. An experienced and well-reputed cleaning company would ask you detailed questions about your premises and would also like to know about your expectations. They will ask you about quality expectations, communication requirements and give you a detailed bill structure.
A group meeting is also the right time to ask for references from the prospects. Ask for at least four references of recent clients who have opted for their services. You can also visit the business of those clients and check their lobbies, service desk, washrooms, and other places for signs of neglect.
- Request for bids – When you have asked the shortlisted companies all the right questions and have thinned down the list, you can request them for bids. The bid is influenced by numerous factors. Everything from the size of your facility to the size and quality of the crew, and the products and cleaning equipment used.
Apart from the hard costs, you’ll also have to look out for nuances that differentiate those bids from one another. For instance, is a provider giving your organic cleaning supplies, advanced disinfection technology that prevents infection and diseases, and has an eco-friendly cleaning program? If so, their bid may be higher. You need to choose the bid that aligns with your priorities.
- Understand the prices – When you get all the bids and the prices of one provider are higher than the rest even when you consider sustainable and eco-friendly cleaning, it’s time to do more thorough. Ask the provider to justify the premium. It may be due to higher quality training of their staff, due to registration with the State Department’s Industrial Relations, or for some other reasons.
Once that’s done, you need to call the other providers and ask why their prices are lower and if they are providing the services offered by those who are charging a premium. Check out the services they have missed or aren’t providing. Figure out if they have quoted you low prices just to win your contract. You don’t want the difference in paper to bite you during service.
- Hold the cleaning company and everyone in it accountable – You need to make sure to hold everyone accountable in the cleaning company. Everyone from the crew to team leaders and managers. Assess their quality assurance program and make surprise inspections of their work to make sure that they are consistent.
You can also hold yourself accountable. While you criticize their shortcomings, you can also acknowledge how their services add value to your business and make your business more appealing and hospitable to your customers. It works both ways.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to choose a commercial cleaning company, you should hire one for your business to keep it clean and make it more welcoming for your clients. To do that, you can search for “cleaning services near me” and choose a local cleaning company that has a good reputation and affordable prices.