Once you have decided to employ a particular company arrange an on-site meeting to finalise all the charges and the job specification. Many commercial cleaning companies are relatively small and will be employing staff specifically for your contract. It is a good idea to ensure a trial period for the company and for the individuals working in your premises. In the same way that you would select other staff partly on their perceived ability to meld with the rest of your team, so you will want to make sure of your cleaners. They will often be interacting with your staff and occasionally with your customers so you need to be sure they fit in.
Once the trial period has been completed you should hold a review meeting with your contractor to iron out any problems you might encounter and to book further regular reviews with them. You will need to keep the contractor informed, well in advance, of any major events that will impact on the cleaning schedule and if areas such as function rooms that are only used occasionally need servicing.
Finally don’t be afraid to complain if the service you expect is not being given, the last pub I ran the cleaning contract was in excess of £14,000 a year (it was a fairly large place with function room, outside areas and was very busy at weekends.) The last thing you need is a dirty pub and they need to be under no illusion that if they don’t perform to expectations that you will replace them.
Top Tip – if you feel you need to test your cleaning contractor in performing all the required duties they have contracted with you to do (especially those jobs that are done less frequently) then this is what to do. Get some 2p coins, cover one side with Tip-Ex and then number them with marker pen. Now go to places where you want to ensure that cleaning is done and hide a marked coin (for instance on top of picture rails). Record the location of each numbered coin. Tell your contractor that they have to retrieve and return the coins as proof of cleaning. Choose and record different locations for the next test. I have found this very useful when contractors have underperformed.
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