For many, October means the end of the fiscal year, budget time, and entertaining of competitive bids. When choosing new commercial cleaning services it’s often very enticing to go with the least expensive provider, but it’s important to remember two famous idioms when shopping for anything: You get what you pay for and buyer beware.
When taking bids for cleaning it is always best to consider the following before making a decision:
How long has the business been in business? An established business shows that the proprietors aren’t “fly by night”. In other words, they have established a base of customers that keep their business going allowing them to stay in business. If a business is relatively new and has little history it is difficult to judge whether or not they will be in existence in the future.
How competitive is their pricing? It is usually not the best idea to deal with the lowest bidder because this is usually indicative or someone who will bid low just to win your business. A good rule of thumb -cheap commercial cleaning entails shortcuts and misses, it’s sloppy. Equally, you should be cautious of companies whose prices are too high, as these will be more difficult to budget for. It is usually a great idea to pick from a company that is comparatively priced to the competition, take 3 to 5 quotes and average them. The companies that are closest to the average from the group are the ones that should be examined more closely.
Always ask for references and verify them. Similar to interviewing someone for a job, make sure that a company you are planning on doing business with has references that check out. Just remember, once you choose a cleaning service, most have annual service agreements with a 30 day cancellation clause. Even with this clause, you still have to repeat the process of bidding out your cleaning if the service is not acceptable. Because of this, it is always best to ensure that you are dealing with a reputable company that has been cleaning other businesses. Call their references and verify that they exist and that they are happy.
What other products can they provide? Many cleaning services also offer sales of consumables. Items such as can liners, soap and paper towels. If you are purchasing these on your own, a cleaning service that buys products like these in bulk can beat your pricing and take this responsibility off your hands. A win-win when you consider cost savings, less worries and an increase in your ability to do your job.
What other services can they provide? If you want to have your carpet cleaned, you hire a carpet cleaning company. If you want to have your floor stripped and refinished you hire a floor maintenance company. If you want your windows cleaned hire a window cleaning company. Right? Wrong. Ask the companies that you want to do business with, what special services they provide. Chances are you will find that most companies perform commercial cleaning and various other services. This is called bundling and it can save you a lot of time, money and the issues of dealing with multiple service providers.
What type of training do they provide? You wouldn’t want someone that wasn’t trained how to work on cars to fix your car. In the same way, you should only have personnel who are fully trained in how to properly perform commercial cleaning to clean your office. Ask about the training that is being used by the companies that you choose. This will help to ensure that everyone that they employ knows how to properly clean your office.
At JAN-PRO, over 20 years of commercial janitorial service have allowed us to develop a vast range of positive references. Our experience in virtually every sector allows us to determine exactly where we should price our jobs to remain professional, yet competitive. JAN-PRO’s comprehensive training in general cleaning and special services allows us to provide consistent, high quality commercial janitorial services to a vast array of differing clients. With our bulk purchasing capabilities, most JAN-PRO offices can beat the pricing of traditional consumables companies.