On Site Cleaning Managers Should Work Closely With Property Manager

A key element in managing customer expectations is having a close, working relationship with the property manager POC (point of contact) who may or may not understand the negotiated specifications and requirements. Often, an incumbent manager will leave or transfer with a new person taking their responsibilities who may not understand the limitations clearly. Sometimes a new manager will seek to establish their authority and credentials with the BSC and tenants by choosing to reinterpret standards and expectations at the expense of prior understandings. 

When this happens it is important that the BSC on site supervisor not become defensive; rather they should go by the specifications (reasonably applied), listen carefully to what the manager is saying (and not saying) while looking for ways to accommodate them and stay in budget. An extreme example is that a manager may expect a full time day porter be present at a small account that is only budgeted for a part time worker (3-4 hours per day). Sometimes this is simply misreading the SOW (Statement of Work) that indicates when work is to be performed (such as between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.). Unless the SOW clearly specifies a given time for a task to be performed, the BSC should have the leeway to schedule the worker to take advantage of the best times to clean different areas. Without this leeway, the BSC may be spending more time and resources that they contracted to do.

This can be a delicate issue since it should be clearly understood that all tasks (unless otherwise noted) are performed to prescribed standards only once during the twenty four hour cycle in question. This is even more important in accounts serviced less than five days per week. More in future articles. 

Your comments and questions are always welcome. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean…

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678.314.2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.