If cleaning your home or office becomes too much of an ordeal for you to handle alone, then it may be time to call in a professional cleaning service to help. By doing so, you can rest assured that your office or property will be properly cleaned and taken care of, while giving you back the free time and energy you need for more important things—such as spending time with your family or completing tasks that are critical to growing your business.
However, just because you need a cleaning service doesn’t mean you should rush out and employ the first one you see. Not all cleaning services are made equally, especially when it comes to things such as pricing, customer experience, and quality of service. One may charge you a very low price for their service, but end up not doing much cleaning at all. Another may offer premium cleaning for a premium price, but also fail to deliver where it counts the most.
Spare yourself the headaches and the unnecessary expenses by searching for these qualities in your potential cleaning service before signing them on.
Friendliness to customers
The first and most basic quality that you need to look for when it comes to finding a dependable cleaning service is friendliness. More specifically, you’ll want to see if the cleaning staff treats their customers in a friendly and polite manner. While some brusqueness is fine, especially if they’re the kind of cleaning service that handles intensive and heavy-duty tasks, they shouldn’t make you feel as if you’re stepping on eggshells around them. At the very least, they should be accommodating and receptive to your questions, concerns, and requests.
Well-equipped for the task at hand
A good cleaning service should not only have the right demeanor in treating their customers, but they should also have the right tools for the job. If they don’t, then any cleaning that they’ll be doing won’t be up to par.
So before hiring a cleaning service to look after your home or office, look at the equipment they use for cleaning. Do they look well-maintained and in good condition? Are their supplies of detergent and cleaning solutions looking full and refreshed, or nearly empty and dilapidated? Are they using the kind of tools you’d expect a professional cleaning service to use, such as microfiber towels instead of regular cloth rags?
Microfiber towels, in case you’re not aware, are highly-absorbent cloth towels that are really good at picking up dirt and grime. In fact, they can easily scrub off bacteria and viruses from surfaces, even without the use of detergents. If your cleaning service doesn’t even have microfiber towels in their cleaning kits, then it’s definitely time to switch to a new one.
Credible reputation among customers
So the cleaning service you’ve chosen seem to be well-equipped, and they were quite agreeable during your first meeting with them. However, that could just be how they are at first. To really get a handle of how a cleaning service is like when they’re on the job, check their reputation among their customers first. Look online for reviews or interview their past customers in person.
Ask about how the cleaning service’s staff conducted themselves while on the job. Was the cleaning they performed up to their standards? Were they satisfied by the cleaning service or did they have complaints? Do your best to have these questions answered and you’ll have all the information you need to decide whether your potential cleaning service is worth hiring or not.
Punctuality and efficiency
Another quality that a good cleaning service must have is their consciousness of time, as well as the consideration they show their customers who value their time quite highly. Look at their customer reviews again. Does it sound like the cleaning service staff consistently shows up late to their appointments, making their clients wait for long periods of time? Or perhaps the cleaning staff seems to like going on frequent breaks whenever they’re on the job, causing unnecessary delays and making the contract stretch on for too long.
These are red flags that warn you of a cleaning service that absolutely has no consideration for their clients’ convenience and must be avoided at all costs.
Having adequate insurance
Most of all, it’s important for you to find out if your cleaning service of choice has insurance. Many cleaning companies, especially smaller ones and those that have only recently started business, may not have the proper insurance that protects both you and its employees from legal liability should unforeseen accidents or events occur. Don’t hesitate to ask for proof of insurance—in fact, insist upon it. By having a cleaning service that’s properly insured, you won’t have to worry about things going awry in your property, even if it’s highly unlikely that they will.
Conclusion
Choosing a dependable and reliable cleaning service may prove challenging, especially if you’re in an area where you’re spoiled for choice and the competition is hot. However, by searching for the qualities listed in your prospective cleaning service choices, you’ll be sure to separate the wheat from the chaff and find the right one for you. Remember, you’re a paying customer, and it’s your right to be discerning about where you take your business to.
