A cleaning contractor told me that his company maintained a five-story medical building in San Francisco. The management company that hired the contractor told him it had some “problem tenants,” so as to prepare him for what was to come. And what was to come were calls and complaints virtually on a daily basis.
The manager of one of the medical office suites in particular was very difficult to work with. Along with calling about all types of service issues on a weekly, if not daily basis, she communicated these problems in such a way that even the hardiest among us would begin to perspire.
One evening the cleaning contractor went to inspect this manager’s office before his cleaning staff had arrived. What he discovered was actually quite startling.
As large and busy as this medical office was, the manager still took the time before she left work to use a hole puncher and place little pieces of paper on top of window ledges, restroom dispensers, on the corners of desks, behind toilets, on the carpet next to walls, even on individual blinds covering the windows.
When the manager returned to work in the morning, the first thing she would do is look to see if the hole punch paper clippings were still there and if they were, it meant – at least to her – that the cleaning crew and not done their job. Finding any of the clippings on a surface, her next step was a phone call bright and early to the cleaning contractor to discuss a fist load of problems.
While most cleaning contractors have had or now have a customer or two that is difficult, if not exceptionally difficult to work with, this one I must admit would likely “take the cake.” However, contractors should know that in most cases, even a customer like this can be turned into a flag waver – someone who really applauds your service – with a little time and care.
Before discussing how, here are a few things cleaning contractors must always remember:
• Anytime we provide a service, we have a customer. Some will be a joy to work with and others may not, so just accept it.
• Sometimes, they do not know exactly what services we are providing. In this situation, it is the management company that hired the cleaning contractor, not this office manager. While she may call and complain, and want specific services provided, very likely she is unaware of exactly what cleaning duties your staff is responsible for or being paid to perform.
• Communication is vital. Apparently, a revolving door of cleaning contractors had serviced this building in the past. These contractors had one thing in common: over a period of time, they all simply stopped communicating with this and the other office managers. Each time, a few months later the service termination notice arrived.
How to Handle Situations Like This
Many years ago, I was in charge of the cleaning and maintenance of the Disney Company in California. My job was to oversee several buildings on the lot and, sure enough, in one six-story building, there was one manager that knew of every trash can or dispenser missed by the cleaning crew the night before along with any other cleaning-related problem by the time she got to work the next day.
After hearing her complaints every day, these are the steps I decided to take:
• I asked to have a meeting with her as soon as possible.
• In our meeting, I thanked her for her observations and for taking the time – each day – to point out cleaning deficiencies or issues.
• I told her that without her feedback, it would be difficult for us to improve our services for all the Disney buildings, which of course was our goal.
• I did take the time to review our scope of services with her so she was aware of exactly what services we were to provide on a regular basis.
• After that, I asked her to do me a favor. I asked if she would continue to call me on a regular basis and if we could meet on a regular basis as well; I also asked if I could use her as a resource to help us improve the cleaning and maintenance of all the Disney properties.
Well, a smile came over her face. Instead of viewing her as a “complainer,” I told her she was a teacher, a teacher that would help us improve the cleaning throughout the lot. She agreed to call whenever necessary; we did have regular meetings; and in time, she became our biggest flag waver, always raving about the high quality of our services.
