[Adam P]

did a quote on Thursday and it's the biggest building we've been asked to quote for. customer said she's send dimensions across to me with the floor plan as i honestly have no clue on the size but unfortunately there is no numbers on the plan so I'm still waiting on those but thought I'd post to see what advice others can say.

the first thing i'd like to know is how common is it for companies to go back to the client asking more questions they've perhaps missed or now realise they didn't get a clear answer on? for instance i was expecting the lady to email me a specification of what they want, but instead they've only sent a specification of how they need the hard floors to be cleaned so i'm left in the dark in quite a few areas which i was expecting to be explained. I now need to ask many questions and i don't feel comfortable doing it, unless of course it's a standard thing that happens all the time? It doesn't help as the lady clearly saw i was young and this was perhaps a bit too big for me so this'll onl further her thoughts on this when it was just a mistake that when she said she'll send maintenance guidelines they are wanting i thought it was for building and not the floors.

the next question i have is there is loads of hard floor in this building which the public will be in and out of all day. it's mostly ceramic off-white tiles but also black/grey safety flooring in bathrooms and staff areas. This is going to get dirty very quickly and they've mentioned they'd like this machine cleaned daily if suitable. it's large areas of open space so a decent machine will be needed. I've never had to do this so no clue on what machines we should be looking at, but also what type of cleaner. I imagine a small lady isn't going to be able to effectively handle the machines required.

at a guess from what i saw we'd be looking at 8 cleaners there for 3 hours in the morning (including weekends) though when i get my questions answered hopefully i'll have a better idea. i assume to be competitive at this point we will be paying less then our current £7 per hour? if so what about the person who will operate the hard floor machine? would the suggestion for this be hire cleaners for the week days, and then separate cleaners for the weekends who will be paid at the same right, even on Sundays?

finally for the minute, does anyone have a specification of how long cleaning tasks should take and how much area a cleaner can cover per hour? as i've got the plan i can simple count each toilet, each desk etc, and then how large the open spaces are once i get the dimensions.

[Robert Parry]

Been here before! 
 how do you do site quotes?
« on: March 16, 2010, 01:18:17 am »   

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this is one area i think we are really under performing in as our approach to it probably isn't as professional as other companies. what i'd like to know is what people on here do when are on site giving a quote? i.e do they have a sheet of blank paper and just start making notes? do they have a printed sheet with sections ie. bathrooms, offices, kitchens, etc?

what about taking photos? does someone take notes, another take photos? if not photos what else could the other person (assuming there is 2 people) do whilst the other takes notes? perhaps both take notes as there can be a lot to get written down?

how also do people do the visit? i assume straight away do a site visit, then go sit somewhere and sell the services?

finally what do people take with them? we have a folder with business cards, bit of information about us, copy of insurance, terms etc. anything else we should bring? i seen window cleaners say portfolio of work? do commercial customers want to see this?

anything else we could do to improve our visits to ensure we get all the information needed, as well as come across as professional and prepared?

we are learning as we go but lately with so few commercial quotes it still feels a bit amateur when quoting commercial properties and i'd like to get better.

any advice is welcome. 
 
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Robert Parry
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     Re: how do you do site quotes?
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2010, 01:32:38 pm »     

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Being prepared is the most vital aspect of the survey.

You have to remember that each quote/survey, actually costs you time and money, so it is in your best interest that you do everything that you can to land the job.

However, the request comes in, you should obtain as much relevant detail as you can concerning the likely services that your prospect requires, this will help you when you actually visit your prospects premises, after all surveying a school is different to surveying an office or warehouse.

You should ensure that your survey form is tailored to the type of property you are surveying, make sure that you have plenty of forms! You should also leave plenty of space to make freehand notes. Also make sure you have at least 2 pens, sods law can come into play!

Taking photo's, at this stage, is not a good idea in my opinion, perhaps after landing the contract, to use as a benchmark perhaps, with the clients permission, of course. You could also use the images within your advertising, again with the clients written permission.

Your assumption that you should jump straight in to the actual survey, is a mistake. One that is repeated by nearly all contractors every day.

How can you ascertain your clients needs, without first undersatnding their problems and requirements!

You should suggest that you find somewhere to sit and have a chat about service levels, their exact requirements, cleaning problems etc. You should lead the conversation so that you gain an insight into exactly what they want from your service, you should listen to what your contact has to say very closely, making detailed notes.

When you are confident that you have obtained all the information that you require, you spend a few minutes explaining to your prospect how you work, and what makes you different from your competitors, you can usually tell if your contact is taking this on board, and this will again help you decide on the quality of this lead, and so will determine how much effort you put into the written quote.

You should then suggest that you carry out the detailed survey of the premises, filling in your survey form with the relevant details, making notes about problems, specialist items or tasks etc. You should never, ever, criticise their current/previous cleaners!

Let me explain the above!

Your contact, will only be to aware of the problems, they will not thank you for rubbing their nose in it! You may well have to take on the current staff under TUPE, so please, tempting though it is, please refrain from doing it.

There, are of course, subtle tricks of the trade that you can use, but I will not go into that here  .

After the survey has been completed, you should always ask if your contact has any questions, or feels that you may have missed something. Assuming that your contact is happy, then you need to thank them for their time, and hand over your business card and some advertising material/brochure etc.

Once back in the office, you should then preapre your written quotation, using the information that you have gleaned from your site visit, once ready, deliver it in person ALWAYS, this speaks volumes to your prospect, it says quite clearly, that you have taken personal responsibility for this contract, you dont need to see your contact, they will hear that you deliverd it, that will be enough!

As you are quite new to the industry, nerves, will obviously play a part, cleaning has become more technical over the years, so learn and educate yourself, this way you can serve your clients better. The more surveys that you complete, the easier the process becomes, practice does indeed make perfect!

Regards,

Rob
 
 
 

[Adam P]

thanks for the reply but i'm asking different questions, not just a general how to do a survey/quote.

[Robert Parry]

Hi,

My earlier post was intended to help you understand the importance of being prepared to actually carry out a professional site survey.

Firstly, working from any measured plans is a complete waste of time, what any contractor is interested in is "actual cleaning square footage", after all there will be some areas that will be impossible to gain access to, voids etc. So if you rely on plans, you will charge the end client for these areas, when in fact you will not actually clean them, thus bumping up the price, and maybe losing the chance of this contract, due to cost.

You should also be aware, that just because the plans are measured, does not mean that they are accurate! You should always satisfy yourself, that measurements are accurate.

the first thing i'd like to know is how common is it for companies to go back to the client asking more questions they've perhaps missed or now realise they didn't get a clear answer on? for instance i was expecting the lady to email me a specification of what they want, but instead they've only sent a specification of how they need the hard floors to be cleaned so i'm left in the dark in quite a few areas which i was expecting to be explained. I now need to ask many questions and i don't feel comfortable doing it, unless of course it's a standard thing that happens all the time? It doesn't help as the lady clearly saw i was young and this was perhaps a bit too big for me so this'll onl further her thoughts on this when it was just a mistake that when she said she'll send maintenance guidelines they are wanting i thought it was for building and not the floors.

During any site survey it is vital to gather all the information that is required to prepare the quote, going back to the prospect to ask questions, clarify details etc, may colour your prospects opinion on how suitable your company may be to service the contract. You may get away with one or two minor questions, but the "need to ask many question"?

The specification that this client is going to send you, will probably be the manufacturers guidelines, this will not take into account, the use or wear of the floor in your client's building, the frequency of cleaning, and indeed the type of cleaning will be dictated by your client's need, budget and expectations. Your client, will very probably lack the techinical knowledge to make this judgement, relying instead on your expertise.

the next question i have is there is loads of hard floor in this building which the public will be in and out of all day. it's mostly ceramic off-white tiles but also black/grey safety flooring in bathrooms and staff areas. This is going to get dirty very quickly and they've mentioned they'd like this machine cleaned daily if suitable. it's large areas of open space so a decent machine will be needed. I've never had to do this so no clue on what machines we should be looking at, but also what type of cleaner. I imagine a small lady isn't going to be able to effectively handle the machines required.

Machine selection will play a crucial role, without seeing the site I am unable to comment, however, your local jan san supplier should be able to steer you in the right direction, after all its in his own interest to build a long and profitable relationship with up and coming young business people such as yourself. Just about anyone can operate modern machinery after training and providing the machine selected is fit for purpose.


at a guess from what i saw we'd be looking at 8 cleaners there for 3 hours in the morning (including weekends) though when i get my questions answered hopefully i'll have a better idea. i assume to be competitive at this point we will be paying less then our current £7 per hour? if so what about the person who will operate the hard floor machine? would the suggestion for this be hire cleaners for the week days, and then separate cleaners for the weekends who will be paid at the same right, even on Sundays?

Again I have no idea on what basis you feel that your labour force for this contract should number 8, is this the current staffing level? If so, the purchase or lease of the machinery to clean the hard floor, may well open up the opportunity to reduce the staff levels, as machines will complete the task much faster than old manual methods that may be in use currently.

Shift lengths of 3 hours is the maximunm in my opinion, as boredom and a fall in productivity tends to come into play after this.

Pay rates would need to be above the min wage level in order to attract only the best staff. (my opinion only).

Regarding weekend work rates, again you would need offer a good rate of pay to ensure that the staff you take on would actually turn up for each shift, no time and a half/double time would in my opinion = no staff! And yes, seperate weekend staff. Same deal on Bank Holidays.


finally for the minute, does anyone have a specification of how long cleaning tasks should take and how much area a cleaner can cover per hour? as i've got the plan i can simple count each toilet, each desk etc, and then how large the open spaces are once i get the dimensions.

Again I have no idea about the size of building, type of building, projected footfall, staff numbers etc, etc. But if you try to cost this by using unit counts, area etc, you will be miles out!
Different types of buildings have different productivity levels, your client's expectations will also play a massive part in your final costings.

As a general rule, providing the cleaning specification is reasonable and not full of a lot of detailed work, or the building has lots of high end fixtures/fittings/furniture etc , is mostly open plan, the cleaning productivity could well be quite high (3000 to 4500 sq ft per hour), however I am guessing, that the building has staff working there whilst your cleaners are on-site, an allowance must be made for this, maybe even as high as an additional 30% increase in the time alloted to complete each cleaning task.

It also goes without saying, that your H & S procedures should be spot on to minimise the chances of slips, trips etc, whilst the building is occupied.

Regards,

Rob

[Pristine Clean]

WOW!, another post that simply blows your socks off! Superb Rob.

[Robert Parry]

Hey Dave,

How are you?

Keeping busy I hope!

Regards,

Rob