Commercial cleaning is a lucrative profession and cleaning services are always in demand. Because of this, it’s also a highly competitive industry, which means commercial cleaners need to find ways to stand out from the rest.
There are a number of common mistakes that commercial cleaning companies often make, and if you can avoid the main ones you will already be ahead of the majority of your competition!
Here are the five most common mistakes commercial cleaners make:
- Using the wrong materials.
While you need to keep costs low, using substandard commercial cleaning products and materials can cost you more over the long term. Using the wrong materials for the job means that the job will take longer and this equates to higher wage costs. It can also compromise the quality of the result, which will affect your business reputation over the long term. Always use the best quality commercial cleaning supplies you can and make sure they are designed for the purpose you have in mind.
- Using the wrong tools for the job.
In the same way that using cheap and nasty cleaning products is a false economy, out-dated tools and equipment may end up costing you more over the long term than investing or upgrading to the right tools will. Make sure your employees have access to the tools they need to get a fast, quality result and you will keep them, and your clients, happy.
- Cleaning at the wrong time of day.
This is a common mistake we see commercial cleaners make. Cleaning can be very disruptive to offices and other working environments so it’s important to be mindful of employee working hours. If an office building is usually occupied until seven or eight at night, ideally cleaning should take place later and/or on weekends to reduce interruptions to staff. Alternatively, apartment buildings and unit blocks should be cleaned during normal weekday working hours to minimise disruptions to occupants. If you turn up with your carpet cleaning machines at 7am on a Sunday morning to a residential building you are not likely to be well received!
- Overscheduling and rushing jobs.
Nobody likes to turn down work but trying to do too much can mean compromising on the result. Rushed, overworked cleaning employees are not going to deliver an outstanding result and this could lose you business over the long term. Don’t give your staff more than they can handle for the sake of extra cash, better to turn down work or hire more people than risk ruining your reputation.
- Hiring the wrong employees.
Your employees are the professional face of your business and this means you should hire with care. Make sure your employees are polite, presentable and always check their references. One bad hire can really damage your reputation and lose you customers so never be tempted to skimp on standards for the sake of lower wages.
If you can avoid these five common pitfalls you will already be ahead of many of your competitors and on the path to growing a successful commercial cleaning business.
