Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing an office cleaning company

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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when
choosing an

• office cleaning company

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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
an office cleaning company
Contents
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Introduction
The six mistakes
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1. Failing to clearly communicate your needs and
expectations
2. Choosing a provider solely on phone and email
contact
3. Choosing a cleaning company based on price
alone
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4. Overlooking the cleaning company's systems
for delivering on its promises
5. Neglecting to ask for (or follow up with)
references
6. Failing to carefully review the final contract
before signing off
Summary
About Roboclean
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
an office cleaning company
Introduction Choosing an office cleaning company
isnt easy! It can be a daunting task as you
choose the company thats going to clean your
premises to your expected standard. With hundreds
of different cleaning suppliers offering a
puzzling array of services and products, deciding
what type of cleaning support you need can be
confusing. Furthermore, it can be difficult
to understand who and what represents the best
value for your business. From super-low prices
and high-pressure sales to unqualified
technicians and near-worthless information, how
do you ever find a qualified, competent,
professional office cleaning provider? You start
by reading Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid
when choosing an office cleaning company. In
this fact-filled guide, youll discover how to
avoid the six mistakes when choosing a contract
cleaning provider, as well as learning How to
recognise the attributes of a professional
cleaning company Why you shouldnt get a quote
by phone The importance of considering the
decision process Why you shouldnt judge cleaning
companies just on price How to prepare your
companys cleaning specifications before getting
a quote What questions to ask Why you must check
references Why you should consider your companys
future requirements The importance of doing
research before signing anything What your
cleaning contract should cover How to check the
contract / agreement before signing it How to
review the results Why you need a guarantee Our
aim is to help you identify and hire the very
best cleaning company for your premises and
avoid costly mistakes.
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
an office cleaning company
Mistake number 1 Failing to clearly communicate
your needs and expectations You should prepare
your companys cleaning specification before
getting a quote. Determining the cleaning needs
of your business premises makes it easier for you
to avoid confusion and unnecessary
misunderstanding with cleaning suppliers. For
example, simple statements such as floors to be
cleaned weekly is open to interpretation as it
doesnt state whether this means mopping,
sweeping, or vacuuming. Then theres the type of
surfaces involved (marble, wood, concrete,
carpet, vinyl or linoleum). You should also
determine how big the space is that you want to
be cleaned. Other questions to consider are how
often you want cleaning to be done, the hours the
cleaners will be in your premises, your budget,
and when you want the cleaning to start. Some
cleaning providers can begin immediately, while
others may need longer to recruit and train their
staff. Failing to communicate your needs and
expectations will leave your potential cleaning
provider guessing about the scope of your
cleaning requirements. Even if you can only
provide some of the information, it allows the
potential cleaner to suggest solutions at
various price points to meet your underlying
goals and budget. If you have a limited budget,
be sure to distinguish must have services from
would like services. We suggest our clients
use a three-tiered system in which they designate
areas as high priority, normal priority and
low priority. Here is a sample cleaning
checklist All cleaning is conducted outside of
normal office hours (after 6.30pm or before
900am Mon Fri) The cleaner is issued with a
security proximity fob and alarm codes, for which
they are responsible at all times The premises
will be fully secured upon leaving, unless there
is a member of staff present Cleaning to
commence on ltINSERT DATEgt An induction of the
premises and full instruction on the alarm system
to take place before this date
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
an office cleaning company
Mistake number 2 Choosing a provider solely on
phone and email contact The mistake most
businesses make when sourcing a cleaning provider
is to pick up the phone or email businesses and
get quotes. But calling a cleaning company and
asking them for an immediate quote wont give
you any real idea of the company, its services or
its staff. So how do you discern the real deal
from the too good to be true smooth-talkers?
Carefully source out a couple of local cleaning
providers with good online reviews, and invite
their representative to visit your premises and
assess your requirements. The process of
inviting several cleaning companies to bid for
your cleaning contract and walking each company
through your companys specific cleaning
requirements can be tedious, but dont rush the
decision. Make sure each sales representative
sees every room or space on the premises so they
can provide you with a detailed quotation.
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
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Mistake number 3 Choosing a cleaning company
based on price alone For years, prices have been
driven down simply because it is so common to
compete on a low-cost basis. While price is
undoubtedly an important part of your decision
making process, it should not be the only factor
on which you base your choice. In the highly
competitive world of contract cleaning, it is
tempting for a supplier to offer you a loaded
cleaning specification for very little charge.
The service will normally start well but then
deteriorate after a few months as the supplier
looks for ways to make savings. The old adage,
you get what you pay for really apply to this
industry. When reviewing quotes, some critical
questions must be asked. Firstly, which company
offers the better value for money? A
considerably lower bid than the average for the
same services should raise a red flag. It is not
safe to assume that the price difference is the
result of efficiency and slimmer profit margins.
Find out how the lowest bidder achieves lower
prices. With salaries, cleaning chemicals,
equipment, machinery and overheads rising,
competition necessitates lowering the cost of
cleaning, which means that somethings got to
give. And that something is often the quality
of cleaning, through Skimping on staff
training Using lower quality cleaning
products Cutting back on work supervision and
customer-support services Not complying with
certain aspects of your specification Of course,
this doesnt mean that you should always pick the
highest bidder. An exceptionally high bid could
be the result of inefficiently delivering
services, charging you for extras you dont
need, or recouping a premium associated with
being part of a national franchise. At
Roboclean, we take the view that every cleaning
operation has a time value attached to it and
therefore must contain an element of cost. As
long as you agree with this concept, we can
design a cleaning service to fit your budget,
and the service will remain constant throughout
the period of the contract.
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
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Mistake number 4 Overlooking the cleaning
company's systems for delivering on its
promises The size and structure of the cleaning
company you choose greatly influences its
flexibility, reliability and overall ability to
deliver on its promises. For example, a small
husband and wife operation might offer great
rates and a personable service, but they lack the
resources or manpower to ensure your account is
not neglected in extenuating circumstances. With
big contracts, will they have back-up personnel
to cover in a situation where one or more of
their regular cleaners calls in sick? On the
contrary, do your cleaning requirement call for a
large national cleaning service chain? Typically,
when you sign a contract with the big players,
they assign your contract to a third party
franchisee in your area. These franchisees are
normally individuals or small groups of
individuals who pay a fee to obtain accounts
through the national chain. While they do receive
training, the national chains generally skimp on
the supervision required to ensure that quality
standards are being consistently met. National
chains may be a good choice for large chain
businesses with multiple facilities in multiple
regions because, as well as the convenience of
dealing with central headquarters to service
multiple facilities spread across the country,
the account size of these businesses helps ensure
that their needs are prioritised and satisfied.
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
an office cleaning company
To ensure your prospective cleaning company can
deliver on their promises, here are some
questions you should be asking Are you insured?
Ask to see a copy of the companys insurance
certificate. The best office cleaning companies
should show you all their insurance information
before you sign anything Who are the staff
members that will actually be servicing my
facility? Are they direct employees of the
company, or are they sub-contractors and
franchisees? Do you vet your employees? Remember,
the cleaning companys staff will often be alone
in your premises and responsible for locking up
when they leave. It is therefore of paramount
importance that all employees are properly
vetted and DBS-checked What kind of supervision
or training (if any) is provided on site to staff
members servicing your facility to ensure that
the quality of service is being delivered? Does
the company have contingency plans / staff
available in the event of an emergency to ensure
that the service being provided is not
interrupted? If there is an emergency or problem
that arises at your business (such as the need
for emergency carpet cleaning), are they
equipped with the systems and staff to
respond? Do you have references? You should check
at least three references Do you clean any other
buildings in my area? How long have you been in
business? What sets you apart from your
competition? Who supplies the equipment and the
cleaning products? What other services do you
provide besides regular office cleaning services?
Will you provide me with the same cleaning
team? What kind of quality assurance programme do
you have? How often will your management team
visit? How quickly will you resolve issues if
there are any? Top companies usually resolve
issues with 24 hours and then follow up by phone
or email to check you are satisfied with the
final result
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
an office cleaning company
Mistake number 5 Neglecting to ask for (or follow
up with) references Just as you wouldnt hire a
new employee without first asking for and
checking their references, you shouldnt hire a
professional cleaning service provider without
doing the same. Any decent cleaning company
should be able to name at least two or three
relevant references, but dont just accept these
at face value. Invest a little time to contact
each reference to find out if they have had any
issues with the prospective company. If they did
have any issues, find out how quickly they were
resolved. You may also want to ask the reference
these questions Were you satisfied with the
service received from the prospective company?
Did the provider deliver what they promised in
terms of frequency and quality? Have you had any
complaints about the provider? If so, were they
satisfied with the companys response in terms
of timeliness and overall result? Do you have any
reservations in recommending the company to me?
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
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Mistake number 6 Failing to carefully review the
final contract before signing off Now that you
have done all the due diligence, dont make the
mistake many businesses do, which is failing to
closely check the final contract before they put
pen to paper. As with any contract you enter
into, dont assume that the specific details of
the service arrangement you have carefully
negotiated are accurately reflected in the final
agreement before signing. As with many contracts,
service contracts are often standard agreements
with certain key terms modified on a
customer-by-customer basis to reflect specific
details. This may seem obvious, but not everyone
read contracts before signing them. Have at least
one person not involved in the negotiation
process review the contract. Fresh eyes have a
better chance of catching mistakes,
inconsistencies and ambiguities than someone
close to the process. Your cleaning contract or
agreement should include the following Length
of service How long is the contract for? We look
at a minimum of 12 months Details of the
cleaning service What services will the cleaning
company provide? When will these services be
performed? How will it be performed? Detail the
specific areas that must be cleaned The cost A
cleaning company should be able to provide a
clear outline of the costs involved. This is all
part of the quoting procedure. The pricing
structure needs to be very clear. Make sure both
parties know what cleaning services are included
in the quoted price and what services are
considered extra
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
an office cleaning company
Frequency of the cleaning You will need to
specify the time and days you would like your
premises to be cleaned that will be convenient
and serves your needs. Who will supply the
cleaning materials? Most cleaning companies
supply all of their own cleaning supplies, but it
is still worth putting this detail into the
contract to avoid the possibility of costly
misunderstandings or disputes. What will happen
in case of disputes? Specify in the contract what
will happen if theres any disagreement between
you and the cleaning company. Ask for a 30-day
cancellation clause to be included in the
contract so that if youre dissatisfied with the
service, you can cancel the contract without
penalty. The communication channels that will be
used by you and the cleaning company. How will
you communicate? How often do you want to receive
a cleaning evaluation from the cleaning company
weekly, monthly, or once every three months?
Dont leave this to chance, put it in
writing. And finally the guarantee! Your
provider should be able to offer you a guarantee
of satisfaction. For example, if youre not
completely satisfied with our service and we are
not able to carry out a free re-clean, I
guarantee not to charge you a penny! It is a
bold way of conducting business and our clients
love us for it.
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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
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• Summary
• Lets recap
• Communicate your needs and expectations. Specify
  the cleaning service you require for your
  premises in as much detail as possible when you
  request quotes. Keep communication lines open to
  ensure any ambiguities are resolved and questions
  are answered before providers begin submitting
  tenders.
• Insist on a face-to-face meeting and a
  walk-through your premises. If possible, meet
  with someone that has the day-to-day
  responsibility in the prospective cleaning
  company.
• Remember that value is a more important metric
  than price in the final decision. Scrutinise very
  low and high bidders to make sure there wont be
  cost-cutting measures that could deliver poor
  results, or unnecessary add-ons that could
  inflate prices.
• A cleaning companys claims of superior service
  are only as good as its ability to deliver. To
  have confidence that you will receive whats
  been promised, take time to investigate how they
  are structured and what systems they use to
  deliver on promises.
• Contact each reference and ask lots of questions.
  Good providers will be able to provide at least
  2-3 references for facilities of a similar
• size to yours.
• Careful review of the final proposed contract is
  essential to make sure all specifically
  negotiated terms are included, that there are
  no inconsistent boilerplate terms, and that
  there are no hidden fees or policies not
  previously discussed. Finally, ensure that the
  expectations of both parties are clear and
  unambiguous.
• A little investment of time and diligence at the
  beginning can ultimately make the cleaning
  service provider selection process much easier.

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Six costly mistakes you MUST avoid when choosing
an office cleaning company
About Roboclean Roboclean has been providing
high-quality commercial cleaning services to
hundreds of satisfied businesses in Berkshire
and the surrounding counties for more than 10
years. When you work with Roboclean, you have
the confidence that youre receiving the most
outstanding service experience ever and the best
value for your budget. Above all, youll enjoy
peace of mind knowing that your facility is being
handled by professionals committed to your
long-term satisfaction, with a unique attitude to
customer service and contract management. We
know and understand how important it is for your
premises to be cleaned to agreed standards every
time, guaranteed. Youre sure to receive
Affordable cleaning services Efficient systems
of operation Proactive account management
Superior customer service Eco cleaning both
products and practices Trained, monitored and
supervised employees not subcontractors!
Reliable communication DBS-checked staff A
customised service plan to meet every budget
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Address Robocleaning Services Ltd   8
Crossways Silwood Road   ASCOT ,Berkshire,
UK   Zip SL5 0PY phone [phone]
494 Email info_at_robocleaningservices.co.uk
  Website www.robocleaningservices.co.uk