Is Your Commercial Cleaning Service Ripping You Off?
There’s a reason why you’re here reading this article.
Something just isn’t quite right with the current commercial cleaning company you’re working with.
But you just can’t put your finger on it. What could it possibly be?
“Are they overcharging me? Are they sending untrained cleaners to my site? My workplace isn’t ‘that’ clean. I don’t think they supervise the cleaners because they aren’t using the type of equipment I thought they would.”
I get it. I understand that there are so many questions and thoughts running through your mind about how your cleaner could be ripping you off.
If you’re afraid you may be getting ripped off by your current cleaning service, or need help with what to look for, worry no more! At In-Tec, we’ve created this list of the 10 top ways to tell if you’re being ripped off by your cleaning service.
The 10 things your cleaning service could be doing to rip you off
It’s time to find out the 10 sneaky things your commercial cleaner could be doing with the intent to rip you off.
And I want to disclose that not all cleaning companies do this! There are those of us out there that put our clients first and want to deliver the best service we can to them.
Let’s get straight into it.
Sign #1: They are missing the obvious
The bins aren’t taken out.
The glass is smudgy.
The kitchen bench is sticky.
The paper towel dispenser is empty.
Dare I say more?
If your cleaning company is missing the simplest of tasks, then you aren’t getting what you’re paying for.
Remember, the definition of a cleaning company is “to remove dirt, germs, bacteria, and viruses from your workplace to keep your staff safe and healthy.” If they’re unable to achieve this (it’s literally in their job description), then you’re being ripped off.
Sign #2: High employee turnover
While on the surface, this may not seem like a big deal to you, it really does affect everything.
Let me explain exactly what’s happening internally.
- The new employee is trained (in most cases this is poorly)
- The new employee thus feels unsupported, unappreciated, and uncomfortable (as they don’t really know what they’re doing)
- Their cleaning standard isn’t up to scratch
- Complaints begin to arise from clients
- The employee is then disciplined for not performing to expectations (but remember, they weren’t trained properly…)
- The employee is sick and tired of being treated badly so he begins his job search
- A new employee starts again
This system will repeat over again and again and again.
When a commercial cleaning company does not train their cleaners properly, high employee turnover is bound to happen! But sometimes it doesn’t even have to do with training. Unfortunately, modern slavery in the cleaning industry is so rampant that it’s causing high staff turnover.
Plus, in some cases, the time spent to find a replacement cleaner all the time is costly and is more than likely coming out of what you pay the cleaning company…
Sign #3: Sham contracting
First of all, sham contracting is just downright illegal.
But let’s think about what happens when a third party who is cleaning your site damages something, or at worst, is caught stealing…
Who is liable?
You may think it is the cleaning company that you initially engaged. However, due to the legal system, this could easily be shifted to the third party (someone you never interacted with) and you could easily be left in the lurch. Especially if the cleaning company walks away from you as well.
You’ll generally find this happens with contractor-based cleaning services as they contract work out to third parties.
Sign #4: Subpar training
This one is pretty obvious.
Poorly trained staff leads to poor performance.
If you’re paying for a professional cleaning service, you should be getting professionally trained cleaners.
Every cleaning business has a different training program they follow (if any). One of the biggest issues with franchisee or contractor-based cleaning models is that they do not invest in proper training.
“But Paul, does training even matter? Can’t everyone clean?”
The short answer is no, not everyone can clean properly.
Cleaning a commercial business is not the same as cleaning your home.
Here are some bad common practices that you should look out for (a result of no training):
- Incorrect order of wiping things in the washroom
- Using the same cloth for wiping down all surfaces e.g. using a cloth to wipe a toilet and then cleaning a kitchen bench straight after
- Using a string mop and bucket to clean the floors (an i-mop or pulse mop should be used)
If you spot any of these bad practices or any others, then your cleaning company is ripping you off.
Good, professional cleaning companies will provide their team with ongoing education on the newest skills and techniques to assure your site is as clean as can be.
Sign #5: Poor communication
Are your complaints, inquiries, or issues even being heard?
Do you feel like you’re constantly emailing or calling the cleaning company and getting not even a whisper back?
We’ve all experienced this before in one way or another.
It can be extremely frustrating when no one will listen to you or get back to you. It’s never a good sign when the people you do end up complaining to never take the necessary steps to address, fix, and prevent the problem from reoccurring.
What’s worse is when you don’t even know the relevant person to complain to!
If your cleaning service is poor at communicating, then you should highly think about finding one that puts you at the forefront.
Sign #6: Short visits
Again, you may have experienced this before however have you thought about it like this?
You accepted a quote that seemed too good to be true and it turned out it was.
When a quote is realised to be too low, unprofessional companies make cuts to bring the margins back up. Generally, this involves your cleaner visiting your site for a shorter time than needed or expected without ever mentioning it to you!
Does this sound familiar to you?
Sign #7: Poor supervision
Let me start this off by saying it’s 2022.
If your cleaning company does not use a digital app to communicate with, monitor, and track their cleaners then something’s not right.
A system like freshOps (the one we use at In-Tec) allows our operations support team to know when our cleaners check-in and out of a site. Another important feature of freshOps is that the cleaner’s entire scope of works for every site is included in the app. Once they complete a specific cleaning task, they can tick the box and move on to the next.
And what’s great about this is that you have access to it all through your own client portal!
Your cleaning company should also be using an app for audits when need be (see iAuditor).
You want to know that your cleaners are doing their job and fulfilling their expectations – this is achieved via supervision.
If your cleaning company don’t have any means for supervising their employees, then you’re most likely being ripped off.
Sign #8: Subpar equipment
It’s not just as simple as a corded vacuum and string mop and bucket.
Nor is it as simple as a paper towel or microfibre cloth from Bunnings.
A commercial cleaner must be fitted with the appropriate tools to do their job properly. This includes a backpack battery vacuum, a pulse mop, disposable microfibre cloths, chemical-free solutions, and even proper vacuum bags.
What…why does the vacuum bag matter?
Well, let me explain as this really does affect you!
Most commercial vacuums come with a high-quality bag and HEPA filter that captures 99.99% of dust. However, instead of using the high-quality bag and HEPA filter (as you would), some cleaning companies take them out and swap it for an open weave bag. The reason being is that the open weave bag holds more of the big stuff and vacuums quicker.
Although this sounds great, you’ll soon find out why it’s the total opposite.
In a 400sqm office area, the cleaner can save up to 10 minutes vacuuming…but what you can’t see is that they’re only capturing 20-30% of the dust or small particles only while the rest is coming out of the exhaust of the vacuum cleaner. And where do you think that’s going?
It’s going straight back into your site leaving it contaminated and certainly not clean.
Now that’s one way that an open weave bag affects you.
But there is another.
By swapping the proper bag and HEPA filter out for an open weave bag, your cleaning company are sneakily trying to increase your periodical cleans like carpet cleaning. Because dust and other contaminants are constantly landing on your carpets, they stay dirty which means you’ll need regular steam cleaning.
The cleaning company wins both ways as they save time (pocket labour costs) and make more money as you have to do periodicals more often.
It’s akin to going to a discount store and buying a vacuum cleaner instead of buying a Dyson – it doesn’t have the best quality, features, and filtration.
The moral of the story – you need to be aware of what your cleaning companies are using so you don’t get ripped off.
Sign #9: Subpar chemicals
You don’t want your cleaners to be using cheap and volatile cleaning chemicals like bleach and ammonia.
Yes, they may be quicker to use which may result in a saving to you in the cleaning charge, but what damage are they really doing to your site?
On a micro level, acid-based cleaners damage floor tiles by slowly wearing them down i.e. their protective coating. What you’ll find is that the tiles end up becoming porous, which means they trap more dirt, and thus get dirty more often.
And like we said before, the cleaning company benefits from this because you’ll need frequent periodical deep cleaning e.g. tile scrubbing. They win, you lose.
Some commercial cleaning companies also rip you off by using the wrong product for a particular job! At In-Tec, we’ve heard of cleaners using Jellybean air freshener to scrub floors…
“Hmm, that’s not what an air freshener should be used for…”
Although it smells nice, it doesn’t actually do the job which means the floor never gets cleaned the way it should. Again, the cleaning company wins because they can request more frequent periodical cleans for your floor.
Plus, chemical-based cleaners simply don’t do as good a job as chemical-free cleaning solutions. A good commercial cleaning company will always use environmentally friendly cleaning solutions. Read all about the best options in our article The 5 Best Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products of 2022.
Sign #10: No service guarantee
This one is simple but rarely offered.
Does your commercial cleaning company stand by their service with a guarantee (in writing)?
You want to ensure you get the service you pay for. A satisfaction guarantee will do just this.
At In-Tec, we have a satisfaction guarantee in our cleaning contracts. It states that if you’re ever unhappy with the standard of work delivered, you have the right to pay a partial payment of the invoice that you feel reflects the work undertaken. For instance, if you think we’ve only delivered 50% of the service, then you only pay for 50% of the total invoice.
Without a service guarantee, your cleaning company can easily rip you off as there’s nothing in writing!
Keep your eye out for these 10 warning signs
Don’t let one commercial cleaning company rip you off THIS much.
Find one that will deliver the service you deserve day in and day out. Trust me, we are out there.
I hope that by addressing these 10 warning signs, you’ll know exactly what to look out for when it comes to dealing with unprofessional cleaning companies.
If you feel like you’re getting ripped off and would like a second opinion, schedule a call with the team at In-Tec. Paul, our Managing Director will be in touch within 48 hours.
In the meantime, go ahead and read our article 6 Signs Your Commercial Cleaner is Doing a Good Job. It’s time to find out what you’ve been missing out on!