Checking Janitorial Company References
You meet the cleaning service’s company representative
when they visit to price your work. All your hard earned
judgment evaluates this person’s character, as
they are your best guide yet about the people working
for the company. Maybe this will be the person with
whom you’ll deal, and you decide if you can really
work with them – if they are going to listen to
you when needs come up, or will you be looking for another
service again after six months of trouble. (The average
time a cleaning service lasts).
One more tool you have are references, which should
always be given with a quote. Be aware that a service
may have a “gold list” of customers they
make sure stay happy, and these may be the ones you
will talk with. But with that caveat, here are some
suggestions to evaluate references.
- How long has the company serviced this customer?
Anything over four years suggests a stable relationship.
Time enough for weaknesses in a system to show, for
changes in service to be adjusted to, and possibly
personnel on the part of either party to have changed.
- Is the reference similar to you? If you are a small
or big office, or if you have trouble spots like heavily
soiled production areas that bring dirt in, look for
these commonalities. A good reference is one you can
relate to.
- Is the reference near you geographically? If they
are this might mean better service with supervisory
personnel in the area more. It makes you easier to
look after.
- How enthusiastic is the reference? We’ve heard
everything from criticism (a competitors reference
described) to a prospective customer asking if the
reference was a family member! This talk with a current
customer is going to be one of your best resources.
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