
Costly Pitfalls to Avoid When Choosing a Commercial Cleaning Company
Do you face many cleaning issues despite having a commercial cleaning company on your payroll?
Do you sometimes feel like firing your current janitorial company and getting a more effective one? Well, if this is your experience, then you need to evaluate your hiring process.
You could be making certain serious mistakes that deprive you of the chance to land good cleaning companies.
To give you some reprieve, here is a brief look at some of the costly pitfalls that you are probably facing when it comes to choosing and hiring an office cleaning company.
Opting for cheap cleaning companies
As a business owner, it is tempting to use every avenue possible to lower the costs associated with running your business.
However, when in need of a cleaning company, the last thing you should do is opt for companies promising low rates and quality services.
Cheap companies may be ill-equipped to adequately take care of your office cleaning needs. They may not have the equipment or the manpower needed for a thorough cleaning job.
This is not to say, however, that you should necessarily choose the most expensive cleaners in town. The idea is not to hire a cleaning company according to their rates.
To avoid this mistake, start by assessing the specific cleaning services that your business needs. Then, decide on how much you are willing to spend to meet such needs.
After that, request quotes from different commercial cleaning companies in your area and compare what each has to offer as far as your office cleaning needs are concerned.
With that information, you should be in a position to choose correctly without necessarily going for the cheapest company you encounter.
Not asking about the company’s specialization
Not all cleaning companies focus on the same kind of cleaning or are equipped to take care of your office’s cleaning needs. For example, there are commercial cleaning companies focusing on residential houses, while others focus on cleaning medical facilities. Such companies may not have the tools or skills to effectively handle an office environment.
To avoid this mistake, take the time to properly research the cleaners in your area. With the advent of the internet, this shouldn’t take you a lot of time since you can find such information on their websites. You can also obtain their contact information and call them to discover what kinds of services they offer clients.
Hiring a company without liability insurance
Hiring a cleaning company without liability insurance will place you in an extremely vulnerable spot. This is because you will be liable for any accidents leading to injuries and damages that may occur on your property while the cleaners are working.
This simply means that, should your property suffer damage during the process, or the cleaners get injured in the course of their work, all the ensuing financial losses will be your responsibility.
The simplest way to avoid such a huge risk is to simply ask the cleaning company for proof of insurance. Any reputable company will not hesitate to supply you with their insurance details. As another layer of security, you should also ask to see the licenses and certification of their staff.
Hiring a cleaning company without checking references
Some of the research that you do when searching for a cleaning company should be verifying references from former clients before you commit to hiring them. Through references, you can determine if they are the right fit for your business. If possible, you can call some of them and see what they have to say about the company.
You can also use the internet to search for reviews by former clients. If you don’t like what these clients have to say about the company, then you don’t have to work with them. To ensure your peace of mind and guarantee great results for your company, only choose companies with a good reputation and which former clients won’t hesitate to recommend.
Accepting a loose quote
Some of the worst commercial cleaning experiences you will ever have stem from companies offering you loose quotes without even stepping inside your office. These companies are the same that will offer you exceedingly low rates while promising to deliver A-grade results.
They will typically also introduce ridiculous clauses in the contract so that they can easily avoid responsibility if things go wrong. If anyone offers you a loose quote without bothering to get the details of the job, or even visiting the place they are supposed to clean, then be very careful about dealing with them.
Failure to read and understand the service agreements
As a business owner, you understand the importance of service agreements with those you are doing business with. It is always important to have a service agreement with commercial cleaning companies so that both companies can set liabilities and expectations straight.
Always ensure that you have such agreements in place before you commit to a cleaner. Additionally, ensure to read and understand every detail contained in such an agreement. Don’t just skim over it and then append your signature. Check out the clauses that feature the scope of the cleaning services and the company’s liabilities in case of damages or work-related accidents. If something is not clear or seems designed to disfavor you, don’t hesitate to ask for clarification and even modifications.
Hiring a company with temporary staff
There are certain commercial cleaning companies with very high employee turnover rates. As such, they primarily rely on temp staff that may be untrained in commercial cleaning. Engaging such a company can be a risky affair since the quality of their work may not be guaranteed.
To avoid this problem, be sure as to who will be cleaning your offices and try to get information about the employee turnover rates for the company.