I uncertain times, given banking challenges, inflation, labor and other shortages, I suspect we're soon to see commercial janitorial clients, ours and others, looking at ways to cut costs. Here's some notes I put together a few years ago, during another uncertain period:
When the economy went south a while back, many firms around the Valley cutback on facility cleaning - either dropping the janitorial service entirely, or cutting services to a minimum, with periodic jobs such as burnishing and refinishing tile, carpet cleaning, and window washing eliminated. (Or, if those periodic cleaning items were not included in the ongoing janitorial price, they were put off to another day.)
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with saving a few bucks, particularly if it avoids layoffs, or bankruptcy.
Sooner or later, though, deterioration of your facility and furnishings, due to lack of proper periodic maintenance begins to show, and expenses multiply - deep shampooing of heavily soiled carpet is considerably more costly than the bimonthly or quarterly carpet cleaning we normally provide; burnishing tile is a lot less expensive than the refinishing job that’s needed if you skip the burnishing.
Moreover, a building that is not being properly cleaned and sanitized - not just restrooms, but touchpoints through the building (due to a cheap but less than thorough janitorial service, or to one’s own untrained employees) - leads to a less healthy, and less productive, workforce.
Now might be a good time to evaluate whether less frequent but thorough cleaning and sanitizing schedule (perhaps once or twice per week in a smaller facility) coupled with periodic burnishing, carpet cleaning, window washing and so forth, might make economic sense over the long haul.
We clean a lot of facilities on that kind of schedule. Our client gets one reasonable and consistent monthly price, a better-looking and healthier workplace, and a happier and more productive staff.
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