If you’ve been in business long enough, you’ve had one of those clients.
The kind that pays on time, sticks around for years, maybe even says the right things in meetings. But slowly, quietly, starts to grind you down. Something has changed.
They start to make your team’s job harder. They nitpick. They stop treating you like a partner and start treating you like a problem. Every interaction takes more energy than it should. And you start wondering why you're still doing it.
You justify it to yourself. They’re a “good” client. They’ve been with you forever. You’re still making money.
But it’s costing you more than it’s bringing in
I’ve been there. I’ve had to walk away from clients who were still profitable. Clients who, on paper, looked fine. But every time their number popped up on my phone, my stomach turned.
They didn’t respect what we brought to the table. They constantly second-guessed our decisions. They treated my team like we were lucky to have the work, like we should be grateful for every instruction, no matter how petty.
They didn’t want cleaners. They wanted puppets.
They didn’t want expertise. They wanted control.
And eventually, I had to admit, this wasn’t a rough patch. This was who they were now.
For example, we once had a client who started off strong. Collaborative. Solutions-focused. When problems came up, we solved them together.
But then they experienced a significant shift within their organisation’s ownership. Leadership and priorities changed. Overnight, the partnership disappeared. Suddenly it was all about cost. All about control. One day, they asked if they could have another cleaning company come watch my team clean, while we were still under contract. Not to collaborate. Just to observe us.
My cleaners, the heart and soul of our company, were rattled. As I pushed back on the request, I realised this moment told me everything I needed to know. This wasn’t a partnership anymore. It was a power dynamic. And it was one we didn’t want to be part of.
And then there’s the kind of client who asks for less service but expects the same result.
We had one tell us, “We want to drop our cleaning from weekly to fortnightly... but can you still keep the service price the same?”
No. Fortnightly cleans take more labour, not less, as more dirt, grime, and messes accumulates with less frequent cleaning. And if you’re trying to save $400 a month at the expense of your team’s health, your site’s cleanliness, and your company culture, then I’d argue your problem isn’t cleaning. It’s leadership.
“But Paul, isn’t it reasonable for client needs to change? Isn’t your role as a strategic commercial cleaning partner to adapt?”
Absolutely. And we do.
We’re not allergic to change. We adapt all the time. We update scopes. We retrain staff. We’ve walked through office renovations, management turnover, company mergers, worksite expansions and contractions … you name it. When a client communicates with us, works with us, and wants to find the right solution, we’re all in.
That’s the work. That’s the partnership.
But that’s the key word: partnership
The moment it stops being that, everything starts to crack. And if you ignore those cracks, they spread.
You start bending your business to serve someone who doesn’t respect it. You start burning time, energy, and morale on someone who sees you as interchangeable. And you start failing the clients who do value what you do, because all your attention is going to the one who doesn’t.
That’s the cost of a bad client. It’s not just emotional; it’s operational. It limits your capacity to serve well. And over time, it reshapes your business into something you never intended to build.
We’ve learned to spot the signs early now. If someone wants to change our service contract before we’ve even started, we say no. If they’re trying to shift the relationship from mutual to master-servant, we walk. Because that’s not what we do.
Cleaning might look like a transaction on the outside. But it’s not. It’s a service that runs in the background of your business, every single day. You can’t fake it. You can’t automate it. And if you want it done well, you need a relationship built on trust.
So no, we don’t chase every contract. We don’t bend to every demand. And we don’t apologise for walking away from relationships that no longer work.
Because the truth is, not every client is the right client.
But those of you who are? You’re the reason we do this
The clients who treat us like partners. Who value our expertise. Who trust our team to show up and deliver the right way, not just the cheapest way.
You’re the ones we go to bat for.
You’re the reason we hold the line on standards.
You’re the reason we walk away from relationships that distract, dilute, or damage the work.
When we say “no” to the wrong client, we’re saying “yes” to serving you better.
We’re keeping our time, our energy, and our best people focused on the clients who want real outcomes, not just cost savings. We’re protecting the integrity of your service by protecting the culture of the team that delivers it. And we’re making sure that when we show up on-site, we’re all in. Not burnt out, worn down, or stretched thin because we were afraid to make a hard call somewhere else.
So if you’re already with us, thank you. You’re the reason this model works. You’re the reason our team shows up proud.
Because at In-Tec, we don’t do perfect. But we do what’s right, for the people who want it done right.
And if you’re not with us yet, but you’re looking for a commercial cleaner who actually gives a damn (one who shows up like a partner, not a vendor), then maybe it’s time we talk.
What does it mean to show up as a partner?
We ask questions before we make assumptions. We get to know your site, your staff, and how you work. We notice the little things, like missing toilet brushes or green mush in the fridge. We also speak up when something’s not right.
We take your reputation seriously, because we know our work reflects back on you. When we clean your site, we’re not just making it look tidy. We’re creating the environment your staff work in, your clients walk into, and your brand lives inside. So, if something’s missed, if something’s not right, it’s not just our name on the line. It’s yours, which we don’t take lightly.
And when things go wrong (and they will, because we’re human) we take ownership, fix it fast, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s what a real partnership looks like. Not just a quote and a mop, but a long-term commitment to helping you win.
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