A “general office” setting covers an extremely wide-range of industries, facility types and facility sizes. In order to make the best possible vendor choice you will need to play an active role in the process. That is, don’t just send the sales person around for measurements and wait for a price. Accompany them on the walk through of the facility; this is an important time for the sales person to understand how the facility is used.
The basic “rule of thumb” to consider is this: the more you want done and the more frequently the cleaning company shows up, the higher the price. Main points to consider for your general office:
- How much of the detail cleaning is the janitorial service going to? Will staff be responsible for keeping their desks clean? What about dusting?
- If the service doesn’t clean every day, then what happens when they don’t clean? Does the staff pick-up some light cleaning responsibility? If so, what?
- How much of a premium to do you place on the appearance of your hard floors? Depending on the type of hard floors you have, maintaining them is a high priority, even if it is just to make them appear acceptable. Is there an overall hard floor care program in place?
- How much of a premium do you place on your carpeted floors? Vacuuming is the first defense against dirty carpet, but people are messy: we spill and drop things all the time. Who will be responsible for cleaning up spots? (Typically, the longer a spot is left unattended, the more difficult it becomes to remove. Some water and a paper towel can do wonders if used immediately after a spill.) Is there an overall carpet care program in place?
- Know what your “High Priority” areas are and communicate that to your potential vendors—if the work schedule they provide you doesn’t highlight these areas in some way, then you know the sales person really wasn’t listening to you. High Priority areas vary widely from business-to-business. Here’s a tip: if upper-management or a customer has made a comment or complaint related to the cleanliness of a particular area…it’s a High Priority.
- What is the specific approach to restroom cleaning and germ control?