Happy Halloween sign

Happy Halloween! In anticipation of the spookiest day of the year, CleanLink reached out to readers with the opportunity to share their scariest experiences working in the industry — as well as what trends in the commercial cleaning industry scare them the most.

Below are the best responses garnered over the month:

Q: What is the spookiest experience you’ve encountered in a facility?

A: Two of our techs were in a church cleaning one night, and they heard some loud banging going on downstairs. They ran to a closet and locked the door and called the police. Once the police arrived, they realized it was only a tree branch banging on the side of a window!

A: We had been contracted to clean an old asylum that was established early in the 20th century and was being renovated. Our crew had been working the first night when I got a call saying they needed me on-site to witness something. I asked what it was and they told me I wouldn't believe them, just come. 

So down I went, and when I arrived, no one was working and they all looked a little worried. The crew leader brought me down a hall and as we we were walking he told me about a phone ringing on the wall in a room. He also showed me multiple scratchings in wooden window sills with phrases like “help me” among various other things. Finally we ended up at the room, and he said the phone would ring every time someone walked by or was in the room. I was like “so?” — Then the phone rang… it was a really old phone that hung on the wall — a dial up — and I was thinking “so what?”

That's when he pointed out to me that it wasn't plugged, in and I realized the wire was hanging down under it. I picked up the receiver to listen and it was like listening to the emptiness of space. We all left for the evening and the next morning, and I spoke with our client who admittedly confessed he knew about the phone. Ultimately, we never cleaned that room, in fact that room was demolished, and then we went back to doing the rest of the building with no mishaps. But certainly, that was by far the scariest thing ever happened to our crews while out cleaning.

Q: What trend in the cleaning industry are you most afraid of?

A: Slips and Falls

A: Low-ballers making it difficult for honest companies.

A: AI