5 Tips for Selecting Your Next Cleaner

Cleaning is a task that you want done well by a professional without WORRY.  My goal with this article is simple. Let's bring all of your worries forward and talk about them. I've converted these top worries into a resource called the C3 Due Diligence Checklist. Feel free to use this tool and all 5 tips when your place of business or household is selecting your next cleaning service.

C3 Due Diligence Checklist

• Can we TRUST them in our office? Who is cleaning? Are they professional? Are they background checked? How many people will be in our building? Will it be the same people every time? Who will have our keys and alarm passcodes? Will our security information be protected? Will our important documents and proprietary information be protected?
• Do they have REFERENCES? How can we find out from others if they are good cleaners, fair-priced, and reliable? 
• Can we CANCEL at any time? Is there a contract we need to sign? Are we stuck in that contract regardless of their performance? How do we know the cleaning company will be worth signing a long-term contract?
• Are they LEGIT?! Are they a legal entity in our state? Are they insured to the required $2M in general liability? Are they bonded to protect our stuff from theft? Who takes the risk... them or us? Are we protected if something breaks or someone gets hurt? Will they send us a Certificate of Insurance? Will they sign a W9 vendor form? Are their workers fully legal to work at our office?
• Do they sub out the cleaning once we hire them! Do we get the owner, a trusted team member of the company, or do they farm us out to the lowest bidder? Are they a large regional or national company or smaller localized family business?
• Will they actually SHOW UP?! What if they don't show up for scheduled cleanings or call off? How can we rely on our office being professionally cleaned?
• Do they know how to CLEAN? Are they proficient in disinfection protocols after a major worldwide pandemic? Will we wonder if our restrooms and break areas are clean and safe? Do they have any cleaning certifications or specialized training?
• Do we have to deal with cleaning SUPPLIES? Do we have to provide all of the supplies or do they? Do we have to deal with restocking? How will we know when to order? Do they use their own supplies at other offices besides ours?
• What is their CUSTOMER SERVICE like? Can we reach someone when we have questions, issues or complaints? How long will it take for someone to contact us back? Do they have simple, automatic payment processing online? Can we pay by check if we prefer? Are they flexible and will they work with us?
• Do they have a solid QUALITY CONTROL system? Do they conduct QC on their own (proactive) or do we have to complain to get them to fix quality (reactive)? Do our complaints get addressed? Will we be complaining every Monday morning? Do they cut corners?
• Can we AFFORD a quality cleaning service?  Do we get what we pay for? How do I know what is a reasonable price for what we need?

I cannot answer for every commercial cleaning or janitorial company out there. I have been in the industry for nearly 20 years operating a cleaning service and coaching other cleaning services nationally. I can honestly say that I've seen EVERY THING. There are some really great companies out there and there are some really bad ones too! The best ones remove most, if not all of the worry from your cleaning decision. The worst ones only add more questions and doubts. I highly advice you follow these 5 tips.

5 Tips for Selecting Your Next Cleaner

1. Create Your Prioritized Checklist - Start with my C3 Due Diligence Checklist and answer the questions with your staff and/or household. Which are the most important? Re-priortize this list to fit your company's cleaning needs. This provides you with the questions to ask and the basis of your research between cleaning companies. 
2. Choose the Right Niche - There are so many niches in commercial cleaning alone. Here are a few of them: Professional Offices, Medical, Industrial & Warehouse, School, Daycare & Church, Post-Construction, Carpet & Upholstery, Tile & Grout, Floor Refinishing, Restaurant, Power Washing, Window, Large Janitorial Highrises, Complexes, Car Dealerships, Airports, and more. What about apartment cleaning, real estate presentation cleaning, and recurring house cleaning? These are a few of the niches under Residential Cleaning. Be specific in what you're looking for and contact the right type of cleaning company. Some companies do one niche only and others do many or all of them. Companies that focus on the specific niche that you're looking for are typically best.
3. Find the Best Candidates - Now that you know what questions to ask and which niche of cleaning you need, start with cleaning companies that you already have rapport and trust. Search your company records and emails. It is likely that a cleaning company has already visited your place of business and left you a proposal with quotes. If this company was not chosen in the past, find out why. They are a good candidate for a second invite. There may be cleaning companies with a great reputation that have marketed to your company in previous months or years. Do you have their information on file or in your inbox archives? Who do your colleagues use for cleaning? Call them. Are they happy with their service? Ask for a referral! Go to your Chamber of Commerce and see which cleaning companies are recommended by your peers. Do a basic search online and see which companies have the best overall ratings and reputation. Study their online profile and read articles they've written. Read their customer testimonials. You may see names you know and trust associated with a specific cleaning company. These are all great ways to build your list of companies to contact. 
4. Get Your Quotes - Choose the Top 3 candidates and invite them to do a walk-through estimate of your office. Schedule it on your calendars. If they don't schedule, they likely don't keep a calendar and are more likely to no-show you. If they no-show on the estimate, they will only get worse if you hire them! Request a formal cleaning proposal by a certain deadline that is reasonable for the cleaning service. Did they send a professional proposal? Did they meet the deadline? This is the second test if they are professional, reliable, and trust worthy. Read the proposal. Are there any typos or grammatical mistakes? Believe me, the details matter big time when you hire a cleaning service. Pay attention to this! If they slack on any details during the hiring phase, they will get worse after.
5. Select Your Next Cleaner - Do your homework! Compare the 3 professional proposals, quotes, and Agreements (or contracts). Which one matches your Due Diligence Checklist the most? Which company did you LIKE the most? This is so important. You should have a great "gut feel" about the cleaning service you choose. Make your choice and communicate thoroughly with your new cleaning service. Let them know when they miss something. They will become a reliabile partner in your business or household to remove worry and provide peace of mind.

Thank you very much for reading this article on how to select your next cleaning company. I hope it was a valuable tool for your company or household to find a high-value, reliable cleaning service to serve for years to come.

In the next article, I will re-write the C3 Due-Diligence Checklist as a reference and then answer in detail how the C3 Experience resolves every question posed as a worry.