The 7 Things You Must Look For In A Janitorial Proposal
You have decided to go out for janitorial proposals.
Maybe you are a brand new company and this is the first time you have looked at hiring a janitorial company.
Or, you are an established company that is unhappy with your current service.
Perhaps you just want a competitive bid to make sure you are getting a fair and going rate.
In any case, there are certain things you should be looking for when you go out for janitorial proposals.
We have listed what we believe to be the top seven, based on customer interviews and surveys.
1.
Quality of Presentation Does their bid look professional? Remember, everyone wants to put their best foot forward.
Is their proposal typed and printed on company letterhead? You do not want to look at a proposal that is handwritten.
Letterhead shows the permanence of their company.
Did they package their proposal in a presentation folder? A single page bid, simply handed over or faxed in does not show seriousness about their service or their consideration of your company and time.
A professional janitorial proposal should stand out in its quality and content.
2.
Is Their Presentation easy to understand? The price is the main thing clients are interested in.
Is the price easy to find? Are their explanations of service broken down, so that everything is covered? Besides price, you should have a break down of what is to be done at each service.
What types of service are included in the price and what services costs extra.
Make sure that everything is clearly stated.
Nobody like "gray" areas.
Once a proposal is handed in, you should get an immediate feel that this is a good proposal.
If you feel that there was not much time or effort in the bid, it is probably best to exclude this proposal.
3.
Are references provided? This may be the first time you have heard of this company.
You have no way of knowing anything about their quality of service unless you ask current customers.
Local references are best.
What good does it do you if there are other offices in different cities that have happy customers? You will be doing business with the company in your town.
If they have no local references, or the references listed give bad reviews, you definitely do not want to use that company.
4.
Do they have commercial general liability insurance? Any company proposing janitorial services for your facility should provide you a copy of their commercial general liability insurance.
This covers any damage that may take place to your facility, whether it is a workmanship issue or deliberate damage done by that company's staff.
Without this, if any damages occur to your property, you would not have a guaranteed way of recouping your loses for the damages.
Sure, you can sue the company, but if they don't have the insurance, chances are they don't have assets to cover your losses either.
Every reputable company will have this coverage.
You will also want to call the insurance company binding this policy to make sure it is valid.
5.
How are their customer service issues resolved? The best customer service is 24 hour availability to the customer.
How can you contact them if something is not being done? This should be provided in the bid process.
Same day and next day resolution are also acceptable industry standards.
6.
What type of training do they give their personnel? Everyone thinks they know how to clean.
In reality, very few do without the proper training.
Are there written or online programs in place that deal with general cleaning practices, blood-born pathogens, and hazardous materials? An established cleaning company will have practices and procedures in place for every situation.
7.
Do they use long term contracts? This should be explained upfront.
Be sure to read the fine print.
The industry standard is thirty day right to cancellation.
Beware of one year or longer service agreements without a cancellation policy.
Otherwise, you will be trapped in a contract with little hope of resolution.
In closing, going out for bids does not have to be a hassle.
By now you should have a feel for what established companies provide and how to spot non-reputable ones.
By going over the above seven steps with any new vendor, you should weed out the bad vendors and save much heartache down the road.
Maybe you are a brand new company and this is the first time you have looked at hiring a janitorial company.
Or, you are an established company that is unhappy with your current service.
Perhaps you just want a competitive bid to make sure you are getting a fair and going rate.
In any case, there are certain things you should be looking for when you go out for janitorial proposals.
We have listed what we believe to be the top seven, based on customer interviews and surveys.
1.
Quality of Presentation Does their bid look professional? Remember, everyone wants to put their best foot forward.
Is their proposal typed and printed on company letterhead? You do not want to look at a proposal that is handwritten.
Letterhead shows the permanence of their company.
Did they package their proposal in a presentation folder? A single page bid, simply handed over or faxed in does not show seriousness about their service or their consideration of your company and time.
A professional janitorial proposal should stand out in its quality and content.
2.
Is Their Presentation easy to understand? The price is the main thing clients are interested in.
Is the price easy to find? Are their explanations of service broken down, so that everything is covered? Besides price, you should have a break down of what is to be done at each service.
What types of service are included in the price and what services costs extra.
Make sure that everything is clearly stated.
Nobody like "gray" areas.
Once a proposal is handed in, you should get an immediate feel that this is a good proposal.
If you feel that there was not much time or effort in the bid, it is probably best to exclude this proposal.
3.
Are references provided? This may be the first time you have heard of this company.
You have no way of knowing anything about their quality of service unless you ask current customers.
Local references are best.
What good does it do you if there are other offices in different cities that have happy customers? You will be doing business with the company in your town.
If they have no local references, or the references listed give bad reviews, you definitely do not want to use that company.
4.
Do they have commercial general liability insurance? Any company proposing janitorial services for your facility should provide you a copy of their commercial general liability insurance.
This covers any damage that may take place to your facility, whether it is a workmanship issue or deliberate damage done by that company's staff.
Without this, if any damages occur to your property, you would not have a guaranteed way of recouping your loses for the damages.
Sure, you can sue the company, but if they don't have the insurance, chances are they don't have assets to cover your losses either.
Every reputable company will have this coverage.
You will also want to call the insurance company binding this policy to make sure it is valid.
5.
How are their customer service issues resolved? The best customer service is 24 hour availability to the customer.
How can you contact them if something is not being done? This should be provided in the bid process.
Same day and next day resolution are also acceptable industry standards.
6.
What type of training do they give their personnel? Everyone thinks they know how to clean.
In reality, very few do without the proper training.
Are there written or online programs in place that deal with general cleaning practices, blood-born pathogens, and hazardous materials? An established cleaning company will have practices and procedures in place for every situation.
7.
Do they use long term contracts? This should be explained upfront.
Be sure to read the fine print.
The industry standard is thirty day right to cancellation.
Beware of one year or longer service agreements without a cancellation policy.
Otherwise, you will be trapped in a contract with little hope of resolution.
In closing, going out for bids does not have to be a hassle.
By now you should have a feel for what established companies provide and how to spot non-reputable ones.
By going over the above seven steps with any new vendor, you should weed out the bad vendors and save much heartache down the road.
