Three Signs It Might Be Time For A New Cleaning Service

cleaningcoDo any of these scenarios sound at all familiar?

  •  –> Your current cleaning service may leave a lot of be desired, but you feel that looking for a new cleaning services will take a lot of time and attention that you just can’t afford to spend.
  • –> Perhaps your current service is doing a mediocre job, and it seems to be going through the motions… dust is building up on the top of the file cabinets and you’re certain the crumbs on the kitchen counter are the very same that have been there all week.
    –> Or, maybe some of your tenants have shared their displeasure with how clean (or not) the building has been of late.

Even if you’re not sure that now’s the time to change cleaning companies, there are several red flags that you should be watching for, including:

A Major Lack of Communication. When you call your cleaning service because of a problem, is it responsive? Does the service answer your messages or emails? Do they send someone out right away or do they not get back to you? Many companies may promise they’ll communicate your needs to the cleaning crew, but they don’t always follow through. Do you feel they are brushing you off or maybe ignoring your requests? After enough complaining, you might persuade them to send someone out, but what you’re promised in person hasn’t even been communicated to their cleaning crew. Good communication breeds consistency in both business and cleaning services.

Regular Mismanagement of Security Protocols. There’s nothing as important to your building and its tenants as its security. Whether you’re managing a small corporation or a complex of office buildings, leaving the doors unlocked or alarms unarmed allow strangers to gain entry into offices or perhaps the building after-hours. Since you have no idea who might be coming back that evening, be it a legitimate employee or maybe a recently-fired and disgruntled worker, an unprotected building is at risk.

Tenant Discontent. Every building vendor’s responsibility is to reduce and eliminate problems for property management. Is this true of your cleaning company? Or, are you receiving complaints constantly? Is the cleaning company responsive to the needs of your tenants? In all honesty, cleaning is done by people and it simply cannot be flawless every time – but it should be good. What steps are taken by your cleaning company to keep its pulse on the cleaning, the tenants and property management?

Going Forward…Of course, a single mistake is usually no reason to fire your current cleaning company, but if your frustration is building as the service level is dropping, then it may be time to ask business associates for referrals. Keeping current occupants satisfied and making your building attractive to potential new tenants is a shared goal of property management and vendors alike.