Selecting the Right Janitorial Service

So you're ready to solicit bids from different janitorial service companies. You open up the phone book and are faced with several dozen companies! How in the world do you narrow down your choices to the right one for your particular needs?

Typically, there's a couple of different types of companies out there.

The "Mom and Pop." Usually, as implied, this is a very small, family owned business with zero or very few employees. Many times they only service one or two commercial accounts. On the plus side, a "mom and pop" cleaning service can provide loyal, long lasting economical service, that stays for years and years, if you find a good one. On the minus side, many of these small owner operator businesses have little or no formal training in commercial cleaning, safety, products, etc, and we've heard of many instances of them not having insurance, or using the wrong kinds of products that caused major damage (e.g.: ammoniated cleaner on finished vinyl tile floors, ugh! Ruined the finish.) The other minus is that most of them don't last long, and turnover can be quite high. However, the biggest minus of all, is that many of these "mom and pops" don't always fit the state of Wisconsin's definition of a "contractor" and if your company was ever audited, it could potentially be ruled that these are "employees" and not contractors, whereby you suddenly find yourself liable for unpaid back employment taxes and workman's compensation, not to mention the penalties that can go along with it. So beware!

The "Big Guys." The other end of the spectrum. (A note here: The big full color ads in the phone book aren't always the "big guys." Don't confuse them with the "newbie" janitorial service that got talked into a big expensive ad by a slick telephone book advertisement salesman!) Large companies listed in the directory will usually operate in multiple cities, and sometimes are nation-wide contractors. They frequently have many employees, sometimes in the hundreds. Pluses: If your facility has many locations, they usually have the staff and supervision necessary to accommodate multiple locations and cities. Also, in order to be competitive, these companies often offer cheap rates to attract a new client, but beware! They frequently try to lock you into a non-cancelable long term contract, which you can get stuck with, even if the service turns out to be lousy. The other minus is that there can be a higher turnover rate of staff, (nationwide average of 300% annually) and because of their lower rates, can sometimes have difficulty finding quality staff.

The "Janitorial Franchisor" I have enclosed an article on the following page about franchise companies. The concept of cleaning franchises, and a point of major emphasis, is that the franchisee that would be assigned your company's cleaning operates under a "proven system of success, training, and support" from the franchisor. They stress that their franchisees are business owners, and have a vested interest in the success and happiness of their clients. While it may sound attractive, remember that the franchise company takes a percentage (known as a royalty or administrative fee, usually around 19%! ) of each month's service fee from each of the franchisee's accounts, before sending the balance on to the franchisee. This in an industry that normally generates 3 to 5% pre-tax profit. Franchisees can also generally be charged two to three times the monthly billing for a typical contract. It is not uncommon for franchisees to become disillusioned after a short time on the job, and leave the business, causing a change in vendor.

The Small to Medium Size "Hometown" Services These can many times be the best source for all but the largest size companies' janitorial needs. Many times the owner(s) are entrepreneurs that have many years experience and hard earned knowledge. They work hard at keeping their accounts, because they aren't the "big guys" that aren't hurt by losing a couple of accounts here and there. They aren't looking simply to get another "sale" by obtaining your business, but rather develop a long term working relationship with your company, which is usually right in the same community that they live in. Another huge plus is they don't have the huge turnover in staff that bigger companies have, and in the good ones, the owners are still directly involved in customer service issues, training, supervising, and yes, even cleaning. Sometimes their pricing can be slightly higher, but since the quality of service is usually consistently better, and less of the customer's time is taken up with fielding complaints from a substandard janitorial service provider, it is usually worth the small increase.

One more note about any janitorial company's representatives that shows up at your facility: It is not uncommon for the sales person or representative that shows up at your facility to give you a quote has zero or little background in the janitorial industry. These commission-driven sales people do not have the knowledge, education or experience to properly listen, assess your company's needs, as well as devise an appropriate janitorial program based on your best interests. Here's a true story that illustrates this beautifully: One large janitorial service in our area recently sent one of their "professional" representatives to a place of business to assess the cleaning needs of a business. While they were walking thru, the client mentioned a long standing problem they had with unsightly mineral deposit build ups on the stainless steel drinking fountains. The representative of this other janitorial company actually told the client to "replace the bubblers, it was not treatable." When I was invited to the same company a week or so later to give a quotation on cleaning, and the same client told me about this, I went into the janitorial closet, found an appropriate product, (yes, a common acid based cleaner found in any well stocked janitorial closet!) came back, and within twenty seconds, had the water fountain clean, shiny, and 100% free of mineral deposits. Conclusion: Ask questions about any company's personnel training, education and janitorial background.