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On this page, we answer
many of the questions potential customers ask us.
Why do you undertake the “Client’s
Requirements Survey” with all your office cleaning, and
warehouse and industrial cleaning customers? We just need
someone to clean our building?
The Client’s Requirements Survey, allows us to precisely
tailor our service to your needs and meet your expectations.
Your current contractor has obviously failed to meet your
expectations, hence the need for change. This is why we
believe that only by closely listening to our prospective
clients, we can overcome many of the problems you have
experienced in the past with other contractors.
The other people, who came to do a site
survey, only had a quick look round our premises. Why do you
insist on measuring each area in our office or warehouse so
accurately?
Using the latest and most accurate laser measuring tools
available, we ensure that only the actual cleaning area is
measured. This means that you do not pay us for cleaning
“dead or unused” space. We also carry out unit counts and
make notes containing details of the surfaces present, to
allow us to specify the correct cleaning procedures unique
to each type of surface and piece of furniture. This allows
each surface or item to be properly cared for, and has the
added benefit of prolonging not only the aesthetics but the
useful life of each surface or item, thereby lowering your
total cost of ownership (TCO).
Why do you use different colour
mop’s/buckets and cloths, our old cleaners only used to use
one?
We use industry standard colour coding for all tools and
equipment, such as mopping equipment, brushes and cloths.
This minimizes the chances of cross contamination between as
an example kitchen and toilet areas. By ensuring rigid
compliance to internationally recognized best practice, we
cut down the risk of infections being passed to your own
staff.
Your quality control programme sounds
impressive, but why do I have to complete it? Is that not
what we pay you for?
Your right of course! However, how much time and money did
you waste chasing or complaining to your previous cleaning
company? Wouldn’t it be better just to spend just a little
time each month or week ensuring that the standards set by
you are actually being reached?
Of course each of our supervisors check the standard of work
each day, and our area mangers check the quality of the work
being carried out monthly but at the end of the day, it is
your, and your employee’s, opinions that really matter.
Also, by putting our quality programme in place, we ensure
that the number of complaints that you as the manager of the
cleaning service have to deal with falls dramatically,
freeing up your time to concentrate on other things.
All the cleaning contractors we have used
in the past have just supplied a simple quote and after
starting just a few sheets of paper. Why a large ring bound
folder full from you?
When visiting your site to complete the survey, our
representative will show you a very thick manual, containing
all the information that you need concerning the cleaning
contract. This includes all the information that you will
need in order to satisfy the Health & Safety Executive, the
Environmental Health Officer from the Local Authority, your
Insurance Company and other internal and external bodies.
It will also contain lists of all equipment on site, the
maintenance and repair of the equipment, such as PAT testing
dates etc. It will also keep safe your cleaning staff's
training details and certificates. It has a section for you
to keep your completed quality control audit forms and
reports, as well a very detailed work schedule that tells
you exactly what has been cleaned and when.
As new legislation, work tasks and updates become necessary;
you just insert these into the manual within the relevant
section.
Can you supply all of our washroom and
consumable supplies such as toilet rolls, sanitary units,
air fresheners etc, at a reasonable cost?
Yes we can. This can also be a very good way of saving money
as well, as our buying power enables us to supply high
quality consumables at very competitive prices. It can also
help by cutting down on your own administrative costs, as
you get one invoice, from one company—no need to spend time
controlling stock. We do all that for you using a “Just In
Time Ordering System” (JTO). The system also means that you
don’t have to find either the space or the money to hold
your own stocks of frequently used items.
When we hire you to do a builder's clean
or construction cleanup, why do you need to ask what needs
cleaning and put this information down onto your
construction cleanup work schedule? It’s obvious isn’t it?
This is a vital part of the whole process. This enables us
to give you an accurate quotation and realistic timescale
for completion of all works required. It can also save you
valuable time and money, as sometimes trades may be
responsible for the cleaning of any fixtures or fittings
that they have installed. As an example, it may be better to
get the electrician to clean the new light fittings after he
has installed them, thus saving both time and the need to
hire or install separate high access equipment, during the
latter stages of the construction.
You also insist on having our site manager
sign off each area as it’s completed. Why?
One of the biggest problems with construction cleanup’s is
the dreaded re-do of an area. The cleaners complete an area.
Then other trades come into this completed section to
complete unfinished work and leave without cleaning up their
own mess. This can cause major problems, such as late
handovers, bad feeling amongst trades and cleaning staff,
escalating costs etc.
Once an area has been cleaned, the cleaning supervisor will
inform the site manager, who will then inspect the room.
Once signed off, the room or area is out of bounds to all.
The completion form also lists any last minute snagging that
still has to be completed. Any trades who still have work to
complete in these areas are then also responsible for
ensuring that they clean up after themselves, thus saving
the main building contractor both time and money.
We need a price very quickly for a
particular job, and your office has explained that you
cannot give us a quote from plans. You insist on sending
someone out to survey the premises. Why?
Plans only tell half the story. Some trades are better at
cleaning up after themselves than others.
As a very quick example, some painters mask off windows and
doors. Others don’t, which may mean we have to remove lots
of paint from glass, floors and doors, furniture etc. This
takes a lot of time and requires skill and attention to
detail, which obviously could increase the costs greatly. We
aim to give you a great price, whilst delivering a reliable
quality service.
You only offer Hot Water Extraction carpet
cleaning. This means that the carpets will take time to dry.
Many of your competitors offer Low Moisture or bonnet
cleaning. Why don't you offer these services?
Most carpet manufacturers specify Hot Water Extraction (HWE)
cleaning as the preferred cleaning method at regular
intervals. This ensures that all containments are removed as
much as possible from the carpet. Low Moisture cleaning
methods are, in our opinion, only suitable for maintenance
cleaning, i.e. to slow down dirt ingress into the carpet
fibers.
We use only the very latest, portable and truck mounted
equipment and air driers. Most carpets are dry within 2 to 3
hours. We also offer an out of hour’s service at no extra
charge, so we can clean your carpets without disturbing your
staff during their normal working hours.
But won’t wetting the carpet risk
shrinking or discolouration?
During the site survey, tests are carried out to confirm the
type of carpet. This ensures that the cleaning operative has
all the required information to enable him to clean the
carpet using the correct chemical at the right temperature.
The risk of either shrinkage or colour fading is very, very
small from cleaning itself.
However you should be aware, that other factors can result
in discolouration. Sunlight changes carpet colours over
time. In some heavy traffic areas colours may appear
different due to wear, damaged pile, etc.
I notice that you offer both Water Fed
Pole and Traditional Window Cleaning. How do you decide
which to use?
Water Fed Pole window cleaning is specified for first floor
and above glass in order to comply with current Health &
Safety legislation. Traditional window cleaning methods are
used internally and on ground floor level glass.
Because you use the Water Fed Pole system
of window cleaning isn’t there an increased trip hazard
created because of the hose’s used?
We put a number of safety precautions into place.
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All of our hosing is bright yellow in
colour.
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We place an appropriate number of
warning signs in the area where work is being carried
out.
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We cover hoses with hose humps to
lessen the chance of people slipping or tripping over
hose’s that run across footpaths or door entrances.
During the site survey,
your representative noticed that we have “Altro” safety
flooring. I mentioned that we were not happy with the
standard of cleaning being obtained by our present
contractor. He explained the procedure that your company
uses, but it sounds very expensive!
Safety flooring is normally only installed where it is
actually required in order to minimize the risks of slips
and trips. Improper maintenance of this flooring can
severely restrict its anti-slip properties, opening up the
possibility of legal action being brought if a trip or slip
takes place. Safety flooring is normally rough to the touch,
in order to maximize grip underfoot, wet mopping will
generally do nothing more than move dirt about causing the
floor to become dis-coloured over a period of time. Correct
maintenance will prevent this. It need not be expensive if
the task is completed on a regular basis.
We have vinyl flooring in our premises,
which we have mopped on a daily basis, but it still looks
dirty. Our present contractor tells us that it needs to be
stripped and polished but has not explained what this
actually means. Can you?
Vinyl flooring is quite a low maintenance type of floor, on
a daily basis, single solution mopping using a neutral
cleanser will be all that is needed, after being swept to
remove loose debris.
However, in order to keep its appearance, the floor will
need to be maintained correctly by stripping old polish and
seal by using a chemical stripper and rotary machine. Once
the coatings have been removed, a new seal needs to be put
down, and 2 or 3 coats of non-slip polish needs to be
applied. Actual foot traffic within these areas will
determine the frequency of this service.
Cleaning and maintaining hard floors means
they will be out of use for some time doesn’t it? How do you
get round this?
On a daily basis most hard floors will be swept and mopped,
always ensuring not to over wet the floors and using the
correct chemicals for each floor type. During these
operations, we place warning signs at the appropriate
sections whilst cleaning and waiting for the area to dry.
For the more aggressive maintenance tasks, we place safety
signs out in the required areas and arrange to carry out
these more intensive tasks out of hours or weekends at our
standard rates.
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