Don’t waste your first meeting with a cleaning contractor!

Let’s assume you are reviewing your cleaning provider and have a shortlist of cleaning contractors you want to see.
You have scheduled meetings with the contractors.

Why is this first meeting important?

Impressions count – how professional is the contractor or their representative?
This is an opportunity to screen – ask questions
Avoid the risk of ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’ – if the contractors don’t accurately understand your needs, your frustrations and your exact building specifications the output you will get (the cleaning plan/proposal) will be poor
Get it right, first time – a happy office and management makes your life easier; plus changing office cleaners is frustrating and takes time (and money)

What does a productive meeting look like?

You have done your homework and drafted a scope of your office/property cleaning requirements (see our earlier blog for tips on this topic)
Both you and the contractor have allocated enough time to get to know each other’s businesses and assess the cleaning needs
Go to a meeting room, away from distractions and share your requirements (interview each other)
Accompany the contractor on a building walkthrough discussing requirements (tasks/frequencies/expectations) in each area
The contractor should finish with a description of areas, dimensions, floor types, fixture counts and an understanding of special needs
At the end of this session – you both agree to next steps ie what the contractor will submit to you and when; and your process of assessment and timelines
FYI, the contractor should be able to identify cleaning faults (and note to fix them) during the walkthrough but shouldn’t spend their time denigrating the incumbent.

Beware the contractor who promises a miracle turnaround eg you have dirty tiled floors which are only being mopped with a neutral cleaner as part of routine servicing – they then hand scrub an aggressive alkaline cleaner used for a restorative clean onto an area (it looks great!) and they give the impression it will become the daily standard (hhhmmm….there’s a big difference between applications and cost – they should be explaining this)

Often, these steps may be missed. The results are:

• Wildly varying plans/quotes (can’t compare ‘apples with apples’)
• Specifications which aren’t tailored to your business
• A potential wrong decision
• Plus, the contractor may unwittingly underquote and struggle to meet your needs

So, with a little bit of prep and time allocated upfront, the whole start to supplier selection becomes a lot more productive.

We hope this advice helps.

If you have any queries or would like to chat about this further, please feel free to contact Duticall.

 

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog: ‘the key questions to ask a commercial cleaning contractor’.