[Frankybadboy]

right had a new one thrown at me today


rich your so good with your window cleaning service have you thought about office cleaning.


answer no,but then me brain starts to tick over.

well they then asked me if i like to clean theres..and the office.

1.what do you clean in gernal.ie carpets vacum,polish desk etc,clean toiletsetc.
2.how do i charge,per hour,what needs doing.whats the going rate.??
3.do we use are own equipment,vacum ,polish

you get the driff,any help would be good,dont know if going to be worth it or not.

thanks rich

[johnny_h]

first thing is there a cleaner already on site? if yes look up TUPE ( transfer of undertaking protection of employment) be very careful if TUPE is involved

[Frankybadboy]

i believe its  a rolling contact mthly.any help

[Pristine Clean]

If its rolling then there is a cleaner.

You will need to take the cleaner on and employ them. - Under their existing employment contract and pay, holiday etc.

You will also be responsible for redundancy pay and that is payable from when they started with the original contractor.

Its not a headache if done right.  People get worried and there no need providing you follow the rules. At the end of it if there standards are not up to scratch you can sack them you just have to follow the disciplinary rules in there contract.

Is it worth it you ask?

That depends. Can you cover the contract if the cleaner is ill or on holiday. How many hours are they doing?

Would you be supplying the products like paper towels, loo rolls and liquid soap?

There are many ways to charge. Per foot, by the hour by task..

Generally you work out the square footage and as a rule you should know what to charge. For example, We work on 1500 square feet and hour some companies work on 2000 square foot and hour, I know of some pushing at 2500 an hour.

Rates will vary dependent on your profit margin and overheads and of course if its Volume you will price low. You may decide you want Quality and price higher but have less contracts.

As for the specification and equipment you generally supply black bags, bin liners, vacuum cleaners, buffers, mops buckets, dusters & polish or general wipe cleaner.

On average you will hear many people say price at £15.00 per hour but thats only in small amount of hours if its like say 10 hours per week you need to be more realistic like £11.50 and sometimes a lot lower.

You will also need COSSH Sheets for the chemicals and of course insurance to perform such tasks.

The cleaning is generally

Vacuuming
Polishing
emptying bins
Mopping
toilets
replenish loo rolls , soap
washing up or loading dishwashers

And whatever the client requests. Some contracts are very basic and some can be very complex.

Also you would want a 12 month contract. If you need any help just email me and I will be happy to help.

All the best


Dave

[Gilbert Sprous]

Dave is correct about TUPE and there are times when it is one of the easiest ways to take a contract.  You just retrain the cleaners and hold them to a standard and if they dont measure up you do the proper meetings and paper work and send them on their way.  But if you are able to retrain them and get them to standard then you dont have to go through the hiring process, you just step in and take over. 

There are some cases that you will not have to take on the current staff and you can find out by asking a few quick questions.  If the current cleaner is the same person who invoices them ie.. a sole trader you will not have to take them on.  If the current cleaner is part of a mobile team and this contract does not make up 50% of their working hours you will not have to take them on but most HR will tell you that using 60% - 70% is better.  If the current cleaner has not been in place for more than a year, they can be released pretty quick after contract hand over if they are not a good fit with your organisation, but make sure you do the meetings and paper work.

It sounds like you have a potential clien that wants you in and you can get most of the information that you want from them, if you have a solid relationship with them.  You need to find out why they want you in.  Is it that they think you can save them money or is it that the currrent cleaner is not providing the standard they agreed to when they took on the contract?  If it is the cost, you could ask how much they are currently paying and you could come in a little cheaper.  If it is standards you can ask for a copy of their current performance schedule and use that as your basis to start.  The performance schedule will tell you exactly what the current company is promising and not fulfilling.  If you decide to expand into more office cleaning you will definitly want to develop you own performance schedule.  As far as the equipment, ask them if the equipment currently on site belongs to them or the contractor.  I have found some places do have their own equitpment and I will use that until it falls apart and then replace it with mine. 

I would say from your post that they know that you do not currently do office cleaning and if they are interested in getting you in, they will be more than glad to discuss all your questions with you and probably give you the contract.  Just remember that you are going into a contract and you should have it in writing.  Performance schedule, Terms and Conditions, Price agrrement.

I have asked potential clients all the questions above and sometimes they give you an answer and sometimes they dont.  But when it was a referal from a current client (They want me in there) I almost always get the answers down to performance schedules and price they are currently paying.  If you dont ask then you definitely will not get an answer. 

Hope this helps some

Gilbert

[Frankybadboy]

thanks for the info lads i look into this and points taken.

thanks again frank