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Hiring a Cleaning Company? Things You Should Know!
Hiring a cleaning service is easy, but hiring a cleaning service that best meets your individual needs can be a bit tricky. Here are eight basic questions that you should ask any cleaning service you are considering. Please make sure to check with your provincian offices to verify the information contained in this article applies to your province.
Insured and Bonded?
This is always a hard question to ask. But it is an important question in the event something is damaged or stolen. Insurance is the most important. Bonding only protects the company in the event someone in the company is arrested because of an accusation. At least make sure their company is insured before hiring them. It also may not be a bad idea to get an Insurance Binder sent for your property. Ask the cleaning service to call their insurance agent to have this done. This will show that the company will be covered for services offered in your office.
Licensed business?
Verifying the legitimacy of any business that you are considering to hire is of the utmost importance. You never want to let anyone into your office that might be giving you false information.v
Who will be inside your office ?
It is best to be aware of how many people will come to perform the cleaning services, and who these people are. You may also want to find out who the supervisor is (if there is one).
Will the same people be cleaning your office every time?
This is good to know for many reasons. It will give you an idea if the cleaning company has a high employee turnover rate. Usually this question will bring on more questions than it answered, but that's a good thing. Be sure to ask as many questions as possible. Cleaning services generally have a high employee turnover rate anyway, so don't be too surprised... It is hard work!
Who provides the cleaning equipment and supplies?
It is very important to ask this question. Some cleaning services don't bring any supplies or equipment and will expect to use yours. Don't be caught off guard.
What services are offered?
What you really want to know here is what items get cleaned, and how thoroughly the cleaning service cleans everything. Here are some questions to get you started: Is the furniture feather dusted, or polished? Will windows be cleaned? What about the glass on your front door? Fingerprints on walls? Will the edges of the carpet be vacuumed? Stairs vacuumed? Will the back and the sides of the toilet be cleaned? Does any furniture get moved and vacuumed under? Lampshades dusted? Will the inside of the microwave get cleaned?
It is extremely important to get all of this out of the way right upfront. It prevents a good relationship from souring and will allow the cleaning service to price the job more effectively. Some customers are happy with cleaning just the inside of the toilet, cleaning the mirrors, and a quick vacuum of the carpets. You need to be sure you make the cleaning company aware of how "Picky" you are (or... are not).
What happens if you are not satisfied?
Always be sure you let the cleaning company know if something is being missed AND when things make you happy. If there is a problem, you will want to tell the people who do the work in your office first, rather than their boss, as this can create tensions. If the problem continues, then you will need to contact the owner or manager of the cleaning service. Always be sure to keep an open line of POSITIVE communication. Be sure to leave thank you notes when things went well and be very careful how you mention a problem as people who do cleaning usually take a negative comment about their work very personally and this will create problems for everyone. Be sure to allow room for oversight. There are hundreds of items in your home that need cleaning, it's ok to miss one here and there.
Cost
Cost should only be considered when all other questions have been answered. Never compare a cleaning service based solely on cost! The cheapest isn't always the best.
