How To Have More Control Over Costs In Commercial Janitorial Services

Good commercial janitorial services companies will want you to be comfortable with their pricing.  They know, if you feel like you are spending too much, you will not keep them around for long. From the point of view of the commercial janitorial services company, it takes extra resources to get set up and into a routine when they get a new contract.  The supervisor needs to spend more time understanding your needs, staff needs to be scheduled and trained, a plan needs to be put into place, and so on. Once the up-front effort / expense has been taken care of, maintaining the crew and making sure things keep going well, is less effort. If you decide to find another commercial janitorial company within a few months into the contract, everyone loses money and time. It’s better from the commercial cleaning company’s point of view to discuss everything in advance so both parties have a common understanding of what is expected at the given pricing.

A Clear Commercial Janitorial Services Quote Should Include:

1. Cost of labour – how many employees will they need to do the job properly, so you are happy with the work?
2. They also need to know in advance, if the work requires specialized personnel. Typically, specialized workers will get paid more, so that has to be factored into the pricing quote.
3. Cost of equipment – depending on the size, scope and type of cleaning needed, the janitorial company will need to buy or make available the right cleaning equipment. Will they need to factor in that you have a relatively large facility and they will need to buy new equipment fairly often?Along with having the right equipment comes training.  Will they need to budget extra time and resources to train their staff so they can be effective in your setup?If the commercial janitorial services company is aware of the challenges, they can prepare for it by building the costs into their quote.If they run out of money or if there isn’t enough money to satisfy the business requirements of the cleaning company, they may be tempted to cut corners.  This is not good for your business.It’s better to get a realistic quote from the commercial cleaning company, up-front, rather than run into difficulties later on.
4. Insurance, taxes, benefits, management – these are also major expenses for any commercial janitorial services company. If you give them enough information to estimate their costs you will get a more clear quote.Make sure you give the same information to each company that does the quote for you.  That’s how you compare value vs. price.
5. Employee benefits – if a cleaning company offers employee benefits, it means they are used to employees staying with the company for long periods. It is best to avoid cleaning companies that have high turnover.  High turnover means employees have less experience, they are likely to do inferior work, they are likely to waste more supplies and cause damage through mistakes.It is a good sign if the janitorial company provides a good benefits package for their employees.
6. Direct costs – you need to let the commercial cleaning company know what quality of supplies you want in your facility like toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, etc.They need to tell you what kind of cleaning products they will use.  Some companies are committed to using “green” supplies wherever possible.  Many of these “green” products are less reactive to people with allergies and health conditions.  If there is an extra cost to using these products, you need to know up-front, in the quote.
7. Management fees – If you have a small office or retail store, it may be ok to have a small, family run janitorial company. However, if you have a fairly large facility you will need a commercial janitorial company that has several different specialists in-house.  You will need a company that has several crews that can respond to different needs, time schedules and circumstances from time to time.In order to manage these teams the commercial cleaning company must have managers.  Managers cost money.  You need to know how many staff they are going to use and how well they will be managed and trained.  It’s important to know who will report to you and be accountable for expenses, security and quality of work.Give your commercial janitorial services company enough information so they can provide a clear pricing structure to address all your cleaning needs.
8. Profit – For a company to provide a quality service, they need to make a reasonable amount of money as profit. Get detailed quotes and references from several companies.  Find out if they have been in business long enough to understand all the costs they are going to incur in cleaning your facility.  If you have a company with experience that is charging a little less for their profit, you can probably go with them.  It is unlikely they will risk doing lower quality work, for fear of losing their reputation.

Evergreen Building Maintenance will give you a clear quote that you can understand. Through over 30 years of experience they have learned to gauge the amount and type of work required for many kinds of businesses and buildings. You can count on an accurate, competitive quote and dedicated teams to deliver a higher standard of cleanliness in your facility.