Always try to tell them the positives as to why they should be joining our office cleaning company. You can tell them about how our office cleaners are carefully vetted, which always grows trust between us and the client. Also insurance is a big seller and mentioning it is very important if you can. Other points such as we do holiday & sickness replacements are good to mention and also the client can change the cleaner anytime they want. This will assure the client is not stuck with a cleaner they are not happy with.
With the new orders it is vital the client is contacted as soon as possible and the best way is to talk to them, however if they are busy then send them an email regards to their requirements. The reason it is best to talk is that you can build a good client/area manager relationship and also if things don’t go well down the line they will be less annoyed if you have built a honest & friendly professional relationship. This way they will stay with us longer.
Main thing to remember is the customer requirements are one of the most important things to get right when finding a suitable cleaning person to allocate for a client. So you have to make sure what date they want to start, also what is the earliest times the cleaner can start and the latest they can finish. By finding out what times the cleaner can start and finish may give you extra options to find more suitable office cleaners and the customer will appreciate a better cleaner. This day and age the gender of the cleaner that you allocate to an office cleaning job is irrelevant, however it is always best to check and make sure client does not mind having a female or male cleaner. Also check with them if the cleaner will be given keys, if so is there an alarm code too? It is also vital to ask if the client will provide the office cleaning products and equipment too or should we provide them.
You have to remember you will be the main person they contact so try to get as much information about the cleaning requirements. Once the order requirements are established then it is vital to put them on a job spec and also on the client notes. It is vital to put them also on Clients User Information so the requirements are visible all the time should a client call.
The user information is essential as all the office team can immediately look at it, should they need the information about anything to do with the cleaning should the client call at anytime and the area manager was not available
Once you have all the requirements you can then start to find the right office cleaning person for the cleaning job. This way you will get less or no complaints from the client and the office cleaner will also know what exactly the job requirements are. You then email the client letting them know who the cleaner is and also their contact details. On the email you can put all the information about the cleaner and the also letting them know that we, the office cleaning team are always on hand should they have any questions. You can also put on the email that should they recommend us to another office cleaning company we always look after the people who recommend us to other potential office cleans.
It is vital to put on the email should they have any questions at any time to call us so we can sort them out, rather than problems accumulating and then it is too late to rescue the situation.
When a task comes in such as an allocation, a to do list in Excel is essneitla. It means the allocator does not need to panic as they can slowly work their way through the list of tasks.
You will need a excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will have a row for each task. The columns have if the client is a new client or an existing one that needs a cleaner or holiday replacement or sick replacement or a one-off clean. It will also tell you where the office of the cleaning is located and what day/time/hours the clean is to be done. The spreadsheet can also be used for the client requirements, e.g. if they have pets, or ironing needed or the time of the clean. This will save you time looking into clients notes. Right tools and planning will always keep you one step ahead of your rivals as it will give you more time either get new clients or to have time when your existing client calls.
In the spreadsheet you can add all the cleaning jobs that are outstanding as you do get some changes due to one thing or another. The changes will be either a new client, or a change of cleaner required or the client wants a replacement due to her cleaner being on holiday or was not well. You can then put your jobs in date order so you do the more urgent ones first. Once the job is allocated then you can highlight the row in a different colour so you know it is done and then move on to the next job. Once the job is done, you will need to write the notes in the system so everyone knows what is going on and also put it in the cleaner’s schedule.
It is vital that all email/phone calls coming in are answered on time and also all the points are addressed that the client has asked about. Once again any emails that are sent to clients are saved as a copy in the client’s notes so everyone in the office can be aware of what is going on regards to the client and the clients cleaner. It is also important to write notes of each conversation with each client and save them too. This is so that other people in the office can be aware of what is going on, so you can remember what happened and resolve any conflicts for any allegations the client may make in future.
If you leave a message for the client then you will also need to make a note in their account and then also send them an email regards to the item you want to let the client know. This is so you have proof that they have tried to get hold of you, especially if they do not reply. A good relationship is built that way between and clients and they will more likely put a good review then not.
Gurvinder Ranshi