In this economic climate, many businesses are looking for ways to trim expenses. Along with coffee service and employee perks, executives often look at cutting back on janitorial service. However it doesn’t have to be that way.

Just like company employees, vendors such as janitorial service need to demonstrate value to the company, its employees and its customers. Once you are able to represent the value of your service to the firm, you will quickly find out that you are less likely to lose a customer in hard times.

So what do you do to keep a customer happy?

1. Say Thank You – How would the employees at a customer’s office react when they arrive at their office with a small token of appreciation – such as an Andes mint – sitting in their office/cubicle with a note from you when they arrive in the morning? That’s a very affordable way to surprise and amaze the employees in an office you clean. That small thank you will pay long dividends for your business.
2. Go the Extra Mile – Employers are looking for employees to go the extra mile right now. Employees are putting in long hours; taking on extra assignments and doing anything they can to keep their job. Your firm is no different. Make extra sure that the entire office is clean and add a few extra features you may not be doing. For example, dump out and clean the office coffee pot with a small note that it has been “sanitized” by your firm. Water plants with fertilizer and let the owner know you took care of it for them.
3. Keep in Contact – They say out of sight, out of mind. Visit your good customers and check to make sure everything is to their satisfaction. If it is, go the extra mile. If not, implement immediate changes before losing the customer. At least you will have advance notice.
4. Offer a Discount – If a customer has been with you a long time, offer them a discount. It could be a one time “anniversary” discount or a regular 10 percent off for long term customers. Reward your long term customers and they will be customers for life.
5. Ask How You Can Help – Ask your customers how you can help network and grow their business. If you network regularly to find new clients, look for business opportunities for your existing clients. If you are out their making sales and driving revenue for their firm, they will be less likely to eliminate your service when times are lean.

Remember this old marketing slogan – It’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than find a new one!

Self-improvement - what does that even mean? So many speakers, coaches, consultants, and gurus have used the word until it’s almost lost all meaning.

However, the concept behind it is one of the most powerful and life-changing ideas you will ever experience - if you truly grasp it.

Be

The core idea of self-improvement is simply being better. It doesn’t really matter how you measure it or in what aspect you’re better - just so long as you’re a better person today than you were yesterday.

Maybe you know something today you didn’t know yesterday. Perhaps you improved on a certain skill. It may be you’re just a happier person today. Whatever it is, you have improved yourself since yesterday.

Think of yourself as an ocean tide - you’re either rising or falling, but you’re never at rest. That’s how we are - we’re either growing or contracting, but we’re never at rest. So, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. There’s no in-between.

Plan

You can haphazardly become a better person. By learning one fact each day or being nicer to one person tomorrow than you were today, you’ll gradually improve.

But if you really want to improve yourself and your life, you should plan it. Perhaps not down to the minute, but you should at least have some guidelines about what you want to do and where you want to go.

Where do you see your life in five years? Picture it and write it down. Now, what do you need to do in order to make the picture you’ve just put down in words become a reality?

Set

Work backwards - set a series of goals that will eventually lead you to the ideal you want to achieve. They should be realistic, achievable, and concrete.

Act

Decide how you’re going to reach each of those goals. How will you know when you’ve reached one? What do you have to begin doing today to reach your first goal?

You don’t have to be overly ambitious. Just by having a general plan - and by acting on it - you’ll be amazed at how much you’ve improved your life and yourself in just a year. Try it.

There has always been a huge debate over which cleaning method is best for your carpet, steam cleaning or dry cleaning? In my 13 years in the carpet cleaning industry, I have been exposed to both sides of the fence, having worked for dry and steam cleaning companies.

"Shaw Industries" is the largest carpet manufacturer in the world, if you go to there site, they will suggest having your carpet steam cleaned. As far as I'm concerned, this settles the debate. Since they have to honor warrantees, they want the consumer to abide by there guidelines to keep losses down to a minimum.

Do you think they would recommend steam cleaning if they thought that dry cleaning would reduce the amount of claims? Steam cleaning has received bad press, which really started back in the 70's when steam cleaning was just evolving into a popular cleaning method.

Carpet machines back then weren't very efficient, leaving the carpet wet for 24 hours or more. Dry cleaning companies used this as a selling point for their services. Times have changed drastically, steam cleaning machines that are mounted in vans produce very hot water and are extremely efficient in water recovery, leaving the carpet dry in 4 hours or so.

If carpet cleaners use an extra dry stroke while cleaning, dry times can easily be less than two hours and with new extraction devices, the dry time can get even lower. So how do dry cleaning companies sell their services now? The same way they did back in the 70's, through customer fear of having soggy carpet the next day.

This is simply not true! The fact of the matter is, sometimes steam cleaning can be dry before dry cleaning! Dry cleaning is inferior to steam cleaning in every aspect. It does a poor job of removing soil and it leaves chemicals in the carpet which can cause yellowing from the high ph.

I think more consumers should be aware of the facts and not let hype control their decision making when it comes to carpet cleaning. If more dry cleaning customers had their carpet steam cleaned, chances are, they would never go back.

Bobby Walker
13 year carpet cleaning veteran
Owner/Carpet Cleaning of Dallas
http://www.dfwcarpetcleaning.com

Janitorial Service Business Tips: No Receivables Problems

Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in a world where there were no money problems? Where everyone paid promptly and in full?

Unfortunately, we don’t.

While there isn’t any practical way to avoid 100% of receivable problems in your commercial cleaning business, there are ways to avoid them or to keep them from escalating.

Be Clear Upfront

The number one thing you can do to avoid collection problems is to have a standard policy that you clearly communicate to each client before signing a contract for a project or recurring service.

One policy is to require a certain amount upfront. Explain to your client that one way you keep you prices low is by not having many loans. You’re able to pass those savings on to your customer. Because of that, you require part of the contract amount upfront to pay for the necessary supplies and labor.

If it’s a one-time project, you require a percent of the estimate (perhaps 10% - 30%). If it’s a recurring monthly project, you can prorate the invoice for the first month, and request the full amount for each month’s service at the beginning of that month.

Whatever your policy is, be crystal clear about it to your client and have it in writing.

Monitor Accounts Receivables

If you’ll regularly monitor your accounts receivables, you’ll can catch issues before they turn into real problems. Sometimes there’s human error - the client forgot to mail the check. Sometimes there’s a client issue - you’re not fulfilling your contract and they want to get your attention.

Whatever the case, you’ll find it much easier to tackle the problem immediately. If you only review invoices once a month, you may already be weeks behind before you realize it. That means weeks of expenses piling up and no income to pay for it.

Communicate Clearly

You can’t afford to assume that the check will eventually arrive in the mail. If your client hasn’t fulfilled their end of the bargain when it comes to paying their invoice, address it immediately.

You don’t have to be rude or aggressive - you just need to have clear communication so both of you understand the issue. By communicating with you client immediately, you can both figure out what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future. Make sure you both agree to the solution. Then, send an email to make sure you understood what you agreed to (and to have a paper trail, should the problem escalate).