A clean and well-kept space is necessary for the success of any business. And commercial cleaning services are the best way to maintain the cleanliness of your space for employees and customers. But not all cleaning services are created equal. Here is a short guide to choosing the right cleaning service for your business.
Avoid Services With These Red Flags
Selecting the wrong cleaning service can be bad for business. Before you start looking for a cleaning service, you should know some of the common red flags that you’re likely to see in a cleaning service that is low-quality or untrustworthy.
Few (or Untrustworthy) Recommendations
When you ask for recommendations from past clients, you either get few or none — or the ones that you do receive are suspicious: from businesses that are hard to get a hold of or seem to no longer exist. A good, experienced cleaning service will be able to provide multiple recommendations from local businesses. If you can get in touch with a business that has had direct experience with the cleaning company, they may help you decide if it will be a good fit for you. And you can always try contacting business colleagues for reviews and recommendations of local cleaning services.
No Documented Safety Program or Proof of Insurance
If a company can’t provide documentation detailing the safety training their employees go through, or the liability insurance they’ve purchased, it can be a sign that the cleaning service isn’t taking the proper safety precautions. In this case, accidents are more likely to happen on the job — and if they happen on your business’s property, you can be held liable in certain circumstances. You can also ask for documentation of employee background checks.
Prices Are Inconsistent or too Good to Be True
If a quote seems too good to be true, it probably is — either because the company is underestimating the costs or because they are cutting corners. If you can’t seem to nail down an estimate or hourly rate, or if the cleaning service doesn’t seem to have a pricing structure and avoids questions about what services are standard and which are extra, it may be a sign that the cleaning service will try to overcharge you later.
Little to No Experience
Every business starts with little experience and few past clients. But if a cleaning service seems especially new or inexperienced, it’s worth exercising some caution — in cases like this, it is much harder to know what sort of quality you’ll get from the service.
None of these red flags alone mean a cleaning service is low-quality — but if you see several or more, it’s a good sign that you should move on to investigating another cleaning service.
Finding the Right Fit
Even if you’ve found a cleaning service with strong recommendations, high safety standards, and an impressive resume, there’s a chance that they might not be right for your business.
Different cleaning services have different niches. When asking for references from past clients, you should ask specifically for references from commercial clients. A residential cleaning service may not be fully equipped to work with commercial spaces — if possible, go with a service that advertises itself as a commercial or business cleaning service.
You’ll also want to know what services these companies provide and what their pricing structure looks like. Most cleaning services provide standard services like mopping, vacuuming, and sanitizing bathrooms. But your business may need less standard services like carpet cleaning, floor waxing or computer and hardware cleaning. Ask prospective cleaning services about what services they offer, and which are considered premium services.
Not every good cleaning service will be CIMS-certified, but a CIMS certification is the sign of a cleaning company you can trust.
If your company is committed to environmental friendliness, you can look for a cleaning service which uses environmentally friendly cleaning products exclusively. (A CIMS GB certification can tell you that a company is both trustworthy and qualified in green cleaning.) Note, however, that green cleaning services may be harder to find and charge more than standard cleaning services.
Choosing a Cleaning Service for Your Business
For a business to be successful, it needs a clean space to operate out of. A cleaning service is a must, but you will need to do some research before you commit. Avoid common red flags and look for the services you need to find the perfect cleaning service for your company.
Bio: Nathan Sykes is the editor of Finding an Outlet, a source for the latest in IT and business news and trends.
