Your brother-in-law just started a cleaning company or you know someone who has a small firm, so you think you can get a deal while helping them out; so you hire them without vetting them or checking other vendors.
This often proves disastrous, because this method of hiring violates the three basic rules of hiring a cleaning company.
Don't forget that this is the company that will ensure the public face of your business is always clean.
For best results when you start the hiring process, obtain several proposals, compare what each offers, and making a selection not necessarily based on price.
Get Several Proposals Proposals are important when you contract a company because they:
- Lay out the scope of the work
- Lay out your responsibility, such as providing access to building, water, and power
- Indicate how and when the work will be performed
- Specify who provides equipment and supplies
- Include a sample of an employee check list as an accountability measure
- Provide information about the company
- Provide proof of insurance
- Offer references
Every proposal you receive should give you the basics of what the company will do and provide proof that they are reliable, based on their private business, positive references, and liability insurance.
A company should write a proposal only after seeing your building.
Surveying the square footage of your building or lease of the area to be cleaned helps determines pricing, and during a walk-through, you can specify any special requirements that might influence your final cost.
Compare the Proposals As you review proposals from a variety of companies, you should note any differences among them.
If you notice big differences in pricing for specific parts of the proposal, you should ask for clarification as to what is included in the service from the different companies.
Your goal is to have "apples to apples" proposals at hand.
With the prevalence of software for janitorial and maid services, proposals from many cleaning companies may look the same.
This is why it's very important to check references, the Better Business Bureau, and reviews on Angie's List, Yelp, and other review sites to gain some idea of the company's performance.
Consider Terms, Not Just Price The only way you can judge the quality of a commercial cleaning service is to try them out for a period of time.
Some companies may offer you a better price if you sign a long-term contract, but you don't want to be shortsighted and commit to a long contract based on price.
The ideal is for you to lock in guarantees for a long-term price with the shortest possible contract, such as a month-to-month contract with a three-year price guarantee.
A company that will do this gives you much more control over the quality of your cleaning.
If the cleaners assigned to your facility slack off or simply don't live up to their responsibilities, you're not locked into a contract and you can negotiate to correct the problem.
If they don't, you have the ability to find a new company to start the next month.
This way, you can ultimately hire the company with the best price and the most favorable terms.
Every budget conscious business owner wants to pay as little as possible to obtain the cleaning service they need, and as a result, they unwittingly put price above quality service.
They may underestimate or undervalue what is involved in cleaning a business establishment and just go for the lower dollar amount.
This can be a big mistake.
When choosing a commercial cleaning company, make sure to evaluate all the terms, not just price.