“If you ever want truly understand the value of working with an office cleaning service, try hiring an employee to clean your place for you,” Steven said. “I did that, and it was twelve kinds of nightmare. Let me tell you 3 specific things that went wrong when I tried hiring a cleaner, and 1 simple thing I did to make things right.”
Issue number one: Before you hire a cleaner, you have to advertise for and interview potential cleaners.
“You would not believe how much time I wasted trying to hire a cleaner. First you have to create an ad for this cleaner, and then you have to put it in the newspaper and online and all of that – but that’s after the job is posted internally, because if you don’t do that, it’s a hassle. Lots of people need work right now, and so I wound up getting more applicants than I really wanted to deal with. You have to look through all of these applications, and try to figure out who would be worth interviewing. Then you have to set up the interviews and meet with all of these people. Two people didn’t even show up when they said they would, which wound up being a total waste of time. Then you have to check references and do the background check. It takes forever.”
Issue number two: Not everyone who says they know how to clean actually knows how to clean.
“I learned this one the hard way,” Steven explained. “After all of this production of finding and hiring a cleaner, the guy does a – well, let’s just say sub-standard job. The toilets were not cleaned. The trash was left outdoors next to – not in, but next to – the dumpster. Who does that?”
“I found myself coming into the office every morning with a sense of dread. What wouldn’t be done this time? Our boss is fairly understanding, but if we’re paying someone to clean the place, it had better look clean when she gets here!”
Issue number three: Hiring an employee comes with expenses that hiring a office cleaning service doesn’t.
“The first issue is all the supplies and materials that’s needed to clean an office. That stuff is not cheap. And on top of that, every time you add an employee to payroll, certain expenses go up. It’s unavoidable,” Steven said. “Your workman’s comp goes up. Your insurance premiums go up. This person needs a uniform. All of that stuff adds up, and right now, when everyone needs to be careful with their money, you need to be sure hiring an employee is the right decision. In our case, it wasn’t.”
“When it became clear that our current cleaner wasn’t working out and that I’d need to replace them, I was not happy. But then someone suggested I look into hiring an Avon office cleaning service. So I called to find out what was involved, and it turned out to be faster, cheaper, and much less stressful than hiring someone ourself. Highly recommended!”