Commercial cleaning company office building

How The Right Commercial Cleaning Company Can Make Overall Building Maintenance Easier

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A commercial cleaning company normally does not get involved in the overall building maintenance of a facility.

But whether your business caters to students in a dorm, office employees, patients in a medical facility, or travelers and guests in a hotel they will form an overall opinion about your company based on their experience of the physical aspects of the facility.

Initially, your customers expect quick and hassle-free parking.  When they enter the building they expect a clean, comfortable, and well-functioning building.  If they don’t get that, their attitude changes.

It’s important to make sure your building maintenance staff is trained to improve customer attitudes and provide great experiences for a long-lasting, positive impression of your company and facility.

When this occurs, they will leave with a positive experience.

Sometimes You Need More Than Just A Commercial Cleaning Company

Does your facility operate like clockwork? If you operate your facility by outsourcing each service to a different company you are going to end up wasting a lot of time.  It takes up valuable time to look for someone you can trust to deliver the standard of service required by your facility.  If you make a quick decision and just go with the most impressive looking sales presentation, you are likely to end up paying a high dollar and still, you may end up disappointed.

Outsourcing individual services to different companies demands more of your time supervising and explaining how your building works.

Consistency is another consideration.  If you have several companies you turn to for various needs, each will have its own staff turnover.  That means the quality of service is not likely to be consistent… then you are back at square one, trying to find a company that can provide the standard of service you require.

Ease Your Building Maintenance Burden With Seamless Care

Think of it this way:  If you hire an established, medium to large, experienced commercial cleaning company they will have much of the building maintenance expertise you will need from time to time.  You may not need building maintenance services every day, but a relatively large commercial cleaning company will have specialists “floating around” in the area that they can pull to provide the services you need.

Since this kind of commercial cleaning company is already working in your facility, their project manager will be familiar with the requirements of your building.  They will be able to orient and train the building maintenance person rather than you getting stuck with that task, when you could be doing other things.

You wouldn’t have to worry about consistency of service because the people looking after your facility will know what you expect.  They have been providing the standard of cleaning that you expect, so they will make sure their building maintenance people perform to that level.

Maybe its window washing, preventive maintenance or commercial handyman services. Or, it could be HVAC repair or light construction. If you already have a good relationship with your commercial cleaning and janitorial services contractor, why not work with them to coordinate other needs within your building? Skip phone calls, hiring, supervising and follow up with multiple service contractors and pass along this part of your business to a company you already have a relationship with that you trust.

Problem solved!

When you hire a commercial cleaning company look for their ability to do a variety of tasks, as a company, even though you won’t need all of their services every day.

Evergreen Building Maintenance has been a leader in the commercial cleaning business in BC and Alberta.  With a full time crew of 156 fully trained personnel and growing; we can provide a wide variety of building maintenance services on an “as needed” basis.  Some of our services include:

  •     Building Maintenance
  •     Commercial Cleaning
  •     Janitorial Services
  •     Property Caretaking
  •     Landscaping Services
  •     Parking Lot Maintenance
  •     Bundled Services
  •     Technology & Innovation

Call now for a free, confidential commercial cleaning and building maintenance quote:   1-888-559-6870 or 250-999-2796

We are a Kelowna commercial cleaning company that can help make overall building maintenance easier!

Kelowna Janitorial Services – Get Better Results With The Same Budget!

Shopping mall and parking lot - Janitorial services cleaning company

How To Know If Your Janitorial Cleaning Services Company Can Deliver A Quality Service

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commercial cleaning services security

Commercial Cleaning Service Security – Can You Trust Them To Be In Your Building At Night?

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Your commercial cleaning service company will often need to get into your building after business hours.  You don’t necessarily want someone vacuuming or mopping in the presence of your clients and busy staff.

Sometimes the nature of your work demands a great deal of security.  You can’t let just anyone wander around completely unsupervised.

Banks have that problem.  So do police stations and jails.  In fact, because of our privacy laws and customer confidentiality, a lot of businesses would lose the confidence of their clients if there was a security leak.

Here are a few things your commercial cleaning service should be doing to make sure your interests are secured:

  1. All Commercial Cleaning Staff Members Must Have Background Checks

    You don’t want people with criminal records in your building at night. Your commercial janitorial service must provide assurance that they do a thorough background check of their employees including getting police reports.

  2. Commercial Cleaning Service Security Requires Mandatory Drug Testing

    A reputable commercial cleaning service must be able to provide some sort of evidence that they do drug testing on ALL employees. Even though privacy laws may prohibit providing information on specific employees, ask for evidence of drug testing procedures including names of the drug testing companies they use.

  3. Communication With Non-English Speaking Staff

    Commercial cleaning companies often employ non-English speaking staff. When you want to communicate information about hazards and sensitive areas you need to make sure everyone clearly understands.  It is important for your janitorial company to provide someone on the cleaning team that is fluent in English and is smart enough to understand what you are saying.  They must also be able to communicate that information to the rest of the staff.

  4. Fully Bonded And Insured

    Things can go wrong. Employees can make mistakes.  Sometimes the wrong person can get the job on the cleaning company’s team.  Make sure your cleaning company is fully bonded and insured.  If something goes wrong, including theft, you don’t want to end up with the bill.

  5. Check References

    In addition to all of the above make sure you get several references. Check to see if your cleaning company has consistently held long-term contracts with several of their clients.  Find out how long the employees have been with the company on the team that will be handling your contract.  Ask around among other facilities managers about what they have heard about the company you are considering hiring.  Do a check on the Internet to see if there are reviews or media reports about the company.

Screening a commercial cleaning company for trustworthiness can never be perfect, but you can get a good “feel” for the attitude of the management from the consultant you are working with.  Keep good communication lines open with that person to address any concerns and adjust practices to suit your business.

Evergreen Building Maintenance has long-term experience working with banks and government offices.  They have provided commercial cleaning staff for police services and criminal detention centres.  Sometimes it can take six to eight months to go through the enhanced security clearance.

Whatever your needs, Evergreen Building Maintenance can provide the commercial cleaning service security cleared staff to look after your building responsibly.

Call now for a free, confidential quote:   1-855-824-8450 or 250-869-5165.

Evergreen Building Maintenance hires and trains people you can trust.

Commercial Cleaning Service and Janitorial Services

How To Get The Best Commercial Janitorial Service On A Tight Budget

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Commercial Cleaning And Janitorial Services

Top 3 Things To Look For When Hiring Commercial Cleaning Services

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The right commercial cleaning company provides more than just a professional appearance.   Research shows that if the working environment is dirty there are long term cognitive effects on employees.  If your work environment is not clean it can have a negative effect on your bottom line!

A study published in the Journal Of Occupational And Environmental Medicine shows that the right commercial cleaning service will strengthen the well-being and morale of your employees.  This has direct implications for increased productivity.

Nobody wants to do business with a company that has dirty facilities.  It’s a direct reflection of your office and your company.  No matter what kind of company you are, hiring the right commercial janitorial service is very important for your success.  This makes choosing the right commercial cleaning service one of the most important decisions you, as an owner, or your human resources department can make.

It can be very tempting to choose the least expensive cleaning company when comparing quotes but remember:  you get what you pay for.

Hiring a commercial cleaning company is not an easy task, but if you do it right, you can find a commercial janitorial company that will be an asset to your business for years to come.

Here are the top three things to look for when you want a reliable commercial cleaning service for your building:

  1. Every company has different needs. Make sure your cleaning company offers the services you need based on the type of work you do.

    Work with the cleaning company’s consultant and map out the exact services you need.  Here are some examples of what to think about:

    1. Maybe you just need a simple vacuuming and dusting service
    2. Carpet and upholstery cleaning
    3. Cleaning of the toilets and washroom facilities several times a week
    4. Hardwood floor cleaning
    5. Power washing
    6. Parking lot cleaning
    7. Window cleaning
    8. Special event cleaning
    9. Special cleaning of certain rooms that are used in the evenings or early mornings

  2. Find out how many years they have been in business and what accounts they have with a business similar to yours.

    Do you really want your facility to be a training ground for your new commercial cleaning company?  Experience matters.  When you work with a  company that has been around for a while they will have long term employees and quality.

    Experienced companies are just better at what they do.  You want a company with years and years (preferably, decades and decades) of experience.   Mistakes that the new companies are stumbling through haven’t been an issue for the bigger, older companies forever. Techniques perfected by the older companies have been molded by wisdom and elevated by experience.  The new guys are still struggling to master the basics of their craft.  Sure, their work may be cheaper, but that’s because it’s of far less quality.

    Same thing applies for your industry.  If your cleaning company has experience with your industry, you will have a far better experience than if they don’t.

  3. Do they have the right kind of insurance? Not only do they need to have insurance, but your commercial cleaning company needs to have the right kind of insurance.

    Fly-by-night commercial cleaning services won’t be able to provide proof of insurance.  Look for clauses that ensure that protect you from legal liability if something happens to their workers while on your premises.  Make sure your cleaning company has general liability insurance, worker’s compensation, automobile liability and an umbrella policy.  Verify coverage so you have peace of mind that you won’t be liable for mistakes made by your cleaning company.

Evergreen Building Maintenance has over 30 years of commercial cleaning services experience.  They have many experienced teams that have been with them “forever”.  All employees are specially trained with the latest “green” commercial cleaning techniques and have the right tools for the job.

Call now for a free quote.

Our professional consultants will walk through all the steps needed for your business and design a custom solution so your building looks good, feels good and reflects the high standards you value.

Evergreen Building Maintenance will give you satisfying answers for each of the three questions for hiring a commercial cleaning company in Kelowna!

Kelowna Janitorial Services – Get Better Results With The Same Budget!

Morning Or Evening Office Cleaning – What’s Best?

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Your employees spend a lot of time at the office.  Clients come and go, there are meetings, food, lots of things going on that can create an unsanitary situation at work.

In order for people to feel comfortable at work you need to have a clean place.  But when is the best time to bring in the commercial cleaning staff?

The first thing you need to decide is if you need daily, weekly or just monthly cleaning.  It’s not so much a matter of budget, but it’s more about what’s needed to make your working space comfortable.  An unclean office can become a source of stress.  Nobody needs that.

Maybe in your office there are certain areas that need cleaning daily and other areas where once a month would be ok.

The other thing to consider is if people often end up working late, at the office.  If that’s the case, is it ok to have commercial janitorial staff come in at the end of the day?  Or, will it be too much of a disturbance for employees that have already put in a long, hard day.

Cleaning equipment can be quite noisy, so if the type of work people end up doing late in the evening or night requires concentration, then maybe it’s not good to disturb them?

The morning can be a good time to bring in the cleaning crews if people come in at a consistent time and things are generally a little slow in the mornings.  You don’t want cleaning crew getting in the way of clients or staff frantically scrambling to meet deadlines.

Another thing to consider is if people in your office often have client or other meetings at night time and the office needs to look clean first thing in the morning.

All things considered, it’s important to have a clean working environment.  Your circumstances would determine whether you should have a commercial cleaning crew come in in the morning or evening.

Evergreen maintenance has crews that can do the job at any time of day or night.  If you have a special event happening at your office and need us to come in extra, we can do that too.

Give us a call for a free quote.  All our services are 100 percent guaranteed.

Quality commercial cleaning in the break room

Quality Commercial Cleaning Plays A Big Role In Keeping Your Break Room in Order

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Many offices have a break room or a kitchen where employees and staff can heat their food up and eat lunch together. In modern offices, they can even consist of fun activities like pool tables and games. These spaces are so important to have a break from your desk, reflect on your day and catch up with other people in the office. An office’s break room, however, requires frequent and regular maintenance and cleaning due to the high volume of people traffic. Here are some important considerations to help keep your break room in order.

 

Maintaining food debris

Food debris can cause a huge mess if it isn’t properly cleaned in an office. If your office has carpeting, this can also be a breeding ground for germs and debris build-up. In the break room, it’s important to have a designated area for food that is kept clean at all times. This area should also have towels, paper towels, sponges, and soap and sanitization products to encourage people to clean up after themselves.

For those who choose to eat at their desks, include an area in the office where people can have access to items to clean up their desks and sanitize their hands and surrounding areas. This will ensure that there is always a strong standard of cleanliness in all areas of the office where food may be consumed.

 

Sanitization

Sanitization is also important for break rooms and lunch areas. The kitchen area is one of the number one areas where germs can spread quickly. If somebody, for instance, is carrying a cold virus but has not yet felt its symptoms and touches let’s say, a coffee maker, this virus could spread easily to other people.

How to remedy this: Ensure that areas are sanitized frequently by a professional quality commercial cleaning company. A regular and thorough sanitization process can make a huge difference to the spread of germs. Meanwhile, encourage your employees to sanitize their hands frequently even if they aren’t sick!

Could your office use some better quality commercial cleaning practices? Get in touch with us today to talk about scheduling regular cleaning and maintenance initiatives for your business!

Three Qualities of Top Commercial Cleaning Professionals

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Being a professional cleaner isn’t always what it seems. When you think of their work, especially when it comes to how the movies depict them, the job can come off as a lonely, boring or even repetitive. The truth is, the cleaning industry is a viable sector of the labour force in Canada and the Janitorial Services industry is expected to grow continually and widen potential customer bases.

The Worldwide Cleaning Industry association states that green cleaning is a current marketplace phenomenon and this need is being driven by customer demands for environmentally friendly products and services. Companies involved in this trend along with their workers are offered an abundance of work!

So sure, the job can have its challenges ups and downs, but doesn’t every job? Here are some of the top three qualities of cleaning professionals that you probably don’t associate with the janitorial industry.

Humility

Janitors and cleaning professionals are well-versed in what many people consider unskilled labour. But the truth is, highly trained professionals that follow specific cleaning protocols are some of the most humble people out there. Humility is a virtue — it’s being honest with oneself about ability, talents, gifts, struggles and weaknesses. It’s the ability to set one’s pride aside to work together as a cohesive team. It’s not basing your self-worth on others but a true connection with one’s self first and foremost.

Strong work ethic

The truth is, whether you’re running the company or the one scrubbing toilets, if you’re working in the cleaning industry you likely have a strong work ethic. It takes time to complete a series of tasks quickly and efficiently in order to move on to the next job that could be one of five contracts within a day. A strong work ethic is not only important in the short term day-to-day aspect of the work, but it leads to future recommendations, relationships, recognition and reputation within your team and within the company.

They are team players

Working as a cleaning professional isn’t about being the centre of attention but it doesn’t make their work isolating. In fact, many cleaning professionals operate in tightknit teams.

Showing that you can work well with all kinds of people is a highly important characteristic when it comes to being a cleaning professional. Plus, if you let your guard down a little, you might even make some lifetime friendships out of your colleagues! Friends can also help you avoid sweating the small stuff when you have to deal with the challenges of the job.

So there you have it — the world of janitorial work is much more than what one would think. It involves well trained, humble and highly professional teams of people to get the job done. Are you in need of professional cleaning services for your commercial or industrial property? Get in touch with us today to get the process started.

Happy holidays from Evergreen Building Maintenance!

 

Is Your Janitorial Company Ready For Your Winter Commercial Cleaning Needs

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The cold weather season is in full effect but that doesn’t mean the cleaning season is over! In fact, winter brings with it a host of specific cleaning needs. As a business owner, you know all too well how there’s always tasks left to do. There’s always something that could use some sprucing up — so why not rely on timely, punctual and effective professional commercial cleaning services? Here are some considerations for your winter cleaning regimen.

Keeping the Effects of Snow, Dirt and Salt in Control

Winter brings on an additional need for cleaning professionals across the various industries.

We’ve written a lot about how it’s important to keep businesses clean for the health and safety of employees and customers — particularly when it comes to sanitization and controlling the spread of the flu and common colds. It’s also really important to keep government offices, commercial buildings and retail businesses from the buildup of snow, dirt and debris. This sort of buildup can actually wear at carpeting, discolour it and cause the need for replacements come spring time.

Regular steam cleaning helps to extract trapped salt or dirt that can get tracked indoors from outside. It helps to restore the appearance of entry ways and office carpeting by removing any stain-causing agents. A regular stem clean makes a huge difference to how professional and clean your business will look year-round!

Protect Your Flooring from Salt

Sand and salt that is used to combat ice has a rough texture that can strip protective coats from flooring. This can also make the flooring look messy and worn out and make your flooring slippery which can be hazardous. Even if you do a basic sweep or use entry way mats, the residue of the sand can spread easily to flooring and affect its durability and look. The residue must be cleaned with proper cleaning products in order to combat this issue.

Handling Harmful Liquids and Chemicals

Leftover puddles of chemicals found in ice and snow melts can also be extremely hard on the flooring of your business. They can also cause stains, make wood flooring swell, make laminate curl or present issues of mold and mildew if left unaddressed. A regular clean administered by a professional cleaning service can ensure that these damaging properties do not seep into flooring to cause any unwanted long-term issues.

Take care of your business’ property this winter by choosing Evergreen Building Maintenance. We can work out a schedule, task list and frequency that fit best with your business’s specific objectives. Get in touch with us today to get the process started!

Business Excellence Awards logo

Evergreen Building Maintenance Wins a Business Excellence Award for Sustainability

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Each year, the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce holds the annual Business Excellence Awards, an event that highlights companies who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in Central Okanagan. This year, at their 29th annual award ceremony at the Delta Okanagan, judges narrowed down sixty-two semi-finalists and thirty finalists. Evergreen Building Maintenance made its list of finalists and received the prestigious award for its sustainability efforts. The event was held in collaboration with Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP on October 13th.

Categories 

The Categories businesses were recognized for were:

  • Rising Star Business of the Year
  • Small Business of the Year
  • Mid-size Business of the Year
  • Large Business of the Year
  • Social Entrepreneurship Award
  • Young Entrepreneur of the Year
  • Business Leader of the Year
  • Sustainability Award
  • Distinction in Hospitality & Tourism Award
  • Marketer of the Year
  • Technology/Innovation Award

Evergreen Building Maintenance was awarded with the prestigious Sustainability Award at the event, which is given to ‘a company whose business practices embrace innovative approaches and techniques, which are cutting edge in contributing to environmental sustainability.’

The Process

Each year, nominations are received for the business and individual awards from across the valley. Once the nomination period has passed, a party is thrown in their honour and a detailed nomination package is completed.

This package is then reviewed extensively over an 8-month process by experienced judges. Once the finalists are selected, they are usually visited at their place of business by the judges in September before they make final decisions.

Businesses who win these awards receive valuable publicity and admiration within their respective sectors. We are happy to have been honoured with this incredible award and feel a deep sense of pride that our hard work and dedication to sustainability has been recognized!

Evergreen Building Maintenance is living up to its name when it comes to practicing sustainability and green cleaning initiatives. Learn more about the industries we work for and the services we proudly offer across Western Canada.