We’ve all heard and are probably sick of empty promises. You know those times when someone promises they’ll do something, but never intended to in the first place.
Some of us may have even experienced this before, maybe even had to deal with the fallout of an empty promise.
And for sure, it can absolutely suck when this happens. But what’s worst of all, is it makes you lose trust in the person who you thought was going to deliver their promise to begin with.
Unfortunately, in some parts of the commercial cleaning industry, this happens to clients. They request that cleaning tasks be done only to realise they are never actually being fulfilled.
Take it from us at In-Tec, we’ve heard all the stories. Many of our clients came to us after they were experiencing problems with their previous cleaning company asking for help. Of course, it's natural to need help when you don't trust your cleaning company.
So, how did our client learn to trust a commercial cleaner after their previous bad experiences?
They were able to find a commercial cleaning service that is trustworthy and who they can rely on every time, without exception.
So, we thought what better way to show you how our client built trust with us than writing a case study.
We have kept the clients name and their actual location private, due to confidentiality reasons as they are an actual client of In-Tec! Our clients expect information to be kept confidential as it can go into sensitive matters such as cost.
I’m sure you would feel the same way and would prefer to keep all your details safe.
To help paint a picture of the process undertaken with this client from start to finish, the case study will cover off on the following (in two parts):
The problem and result –
- The clients’ problems with their previous cleaning company
- How the client came to a solution
- How the client felt about partnering up with In-Tec
Site specifics –
- The description of the site
- The labour allocated to the site
- The set-up costs for the site
- The monthly cost for the site
Although this case study is for anyone and everyone, it does cater to those of you who have a large site (over 1500sqm). In the site specifics section of the study, we go into the diagnostics of the site which details information such as the areas we clean and how much their overall costs are. If you’re looking at finding details on pricing, then this will be the section for you!
And with that all said, let’s begin.
What were the clients frustrated about with their previous cleaning company?
It can be frustrating when someone promises they will do something, but you find out they haven’t right?
This is how our client felt with their previous cleaning company. They were sick of being lied to and sick of being given empty promises.
So, what happened?
The client had asked their previous cleaning company to scrub an extremely dirty hallway. A few days later, they were informed that the scrub had been done.
However, during our first meeting with the client in 2018, they relayed to us that there was no evidence the scrub had been done – the hallway didn’t look any different. After an investigation was conducted, it was later found that the cleaning company had deceived the client – they never scrubbed the hallway!
As you can imagine, this was infuriating for the client as a simple task could not be completed.
The previous cleaner was unwilling to listen to or react to the client’s needs.
In other words, they were just plain untrustworthy.
How did the client come to a solution?
It is clear that the client was having a major problem with their previous cleaning company.
So, how was the client able to come up with a solution to their problem?
The client leant on us to advise them on how often their site needed to be cleaned, and also what actions needed to be implemented to bring the site back up to standard.
“Come back to me with what you think needs to be done” – these are the exact words our client asked of us.
After consideration, we suggested that the cleaning frequency should be increased from 5 days a week to 6 days a week due to the manufacturing nature of the site. We could have made an argument for the site to be cleaned 7 days a week, however, we decided that it wasn’t paramount – we wanted to keep their overall price down (Sunday wages for a cleaner are double time and a half).
To bring the site standard back up to where it needed to be, we recommended that an extensive deep clean would be the best way to do this.
This entailed:
- Cleaning and sanitising the entire areas we were responsible for
- Disinfecting the site (with Oxivir through the electrostatic machine)
- Carpet cleaning (including deep grease removal)
- Floor scrubbing (tiles and epoxy)
- Stripping and sealing (lunchroom vinyl floor)
- Glass cleaning (all internal glass)
The client reviewed our suggestions and was happy to proceed with the updated weekly cleaning frequency and an initial deep clean. They knew it was the best option to ensure their site would stay clean constantly.
On a side note, we have recently started supplying this site with consumables such as toilet paper, hand towel, and soap, which has reduced the cost for the client - another win for the client.
So, how did the client feel about partnering up with In-Tec?
Trust is extremely important in every aspect of life whether it be between two partners, family, and/or between businesses and customers.
Although their budget increased, the standard that In-Tec’s cleaners have provided day in and day out has dramatically improved the cleanliness of the site.
In-Tec were able to earn the trust of the client – something the previous cleaning company was not capable of doing. When we promised a job would be complete, we have delivered every time. We have been able to provide the client with a reliable and high-quality cleaning service. This has resulted in the client re-signing a contract with us for a further term.
Although we lived up to the client's expectations, we do make mistakes - just like anyone does. However, the client appreciates that we own our mistakes and most importantly, do not lie to them.
Here’s some more information on the site specifics
To paint a better picture for you, we thought it would be a good idea to include some facts about the client that may provide you with a little more insight into who the client is and their monthly cleaning cost.
Description of the site
So, we need to describe the site first, to give you an idea of what the client does and what areas we clean within their site.
This client is a very large manufacturing site that covers approximately 5 acres of land. They have 2 main buildings on site that consist of:
Building One -
- Directors’ offices
- Directors’ amenities
- Operational offices
- Office and manufacturing lunchrooms
- Office and manufacturing toilets
- Lab areas
Building two (two story) –
- Sales and dispatch offices
- Sales and dispatch lunchroom
- Sales and dispatch unisex amenities
- Truck driver toilets
- Truck driver lunchroom
- Gatehouse
Does your site have similar areas that need cleaning?
How much labour is allocated for this site?
Next, we need to consider the amount of labour that is allocated to the site – this is a major factor that influences cost.
The allocated labour per week for this site totals to 27.5 hours – these hours are undertaken after-hours as the site is cleaned from 6pm onwards.
What did the equipment set up cost for the client?
Just as a tradesperson needs their toolkit to build a house, cleaners need their equipment to clean a workplace.
Equipment for the cleaners is included in a set-up cost for the site. Set up fees are an investment that In-Tec makes on their behalf that is built into the contract with the client. During the contract length, the client pays a percentage (not all) of the set-up cost.
The equipment used at this site included:
- Tersano Unit with Stabilisers and Spray Bottles - $1965.26
- PacVac Battery Vacuum and vacuum bags - $1499.08
- Interclean Aqua Flat Mop - $343.04
- Greenspeed microfibre cloths (green, red, blue) - $146.42
- Greenspeed microfibre mop covers - $62.70
- I-mop XL (utilised from existing equipment) – replaced batteries and squeegee before went out to site - $8112.94
- White Magic Blocks (sponges) - $22.22
As you can see, the total cost to set up the site for the cleaner was $12,151.66 (inc GST).
Of course, the above items are the main things needed for the site. However, there is a list of other items such as spray bottles and buckets that are not itemised - you know, the things that a cleaner needs to complete the tasks.
How much does the client pay per month?
So, after all of this, how much does the client pay for our commercial cleaning service?
The answer - $5,552.08 per month with In-Tec.
The client had to increase their previous budget by approximately 25% to partner with us. But remember, we did suggest increasing the cleaning frequency from 5 to 6 times a week. So, this did affect the site’s overall monthly cost and budget increase as we added an extra day of cleaning.
If you haven’t read our article on how much a cleaning service costs hourly, then we totally recommend having a read of it as it gets into all the factors that affect cost. You’ll walk away with all the information you were looking for!
Let’s snapshot the main points
There you have it - a detailed case study that explains how our client learned to trust a commercial cleaner after their previous bad experience. In-Tec have been able to provide our client with a trustworthy service that is delivered day in and day out. We were able to ease the client’s worries – no longer do they have to feel as though they are being handed empty promises on a platter.
We also went in-depth into the client’s site specifics to paint a better overall picture for you.
- The site cleaning frequency increased from 5 to 6 times a week (total labour allocated per week is 27.5 hours)
- Their cleaning equipment set up fee is $12,151.66
- Their monthly cost is $5,552.08 (they increased their budget by 25%)
If you're reading this and you're having problems with your current cleaning service, or you're reading this and you’d like to partner up with a reliable commercial cleaning service, schedule a call with the team at In-Tec. We’re here to help.
If you think you might be ready to choose the right commercial cleaner for you, download a copy of our 10 questions to ask before hiring a commercial cleaning company eBook below.
