The importance of edges
27/08/11 01:41
Why are edges important? What edges are we talking about? We are referring to the edges of the floors. They are important because their status affects the look of the entire floor. When we walk into a room our eye is not drawn to the empty spaces in the room. It is drawn to the shape of the room and the objects in it. Now the shape of the room is, of course, defined by its edges. So if we walk into a clean room with dirty edges the entire room looks somehow flawed. That’s right, a floor can be bright and shiny and if the edges are even slightly dirty, the whole room seems off in a way. The room can seem older, out of style, or generally uncared for, simply from having dirty edges.
Why should this concern you, the business owner? In my experience, a lot of “cleaning professionals” don’t clean the edges. It’s not hard to do; a simple firm swipe with a mop, or a little extra time spent with a vacuum attachment will do it. Yet for some reason, they usually get left, forgotten, dirty. A particular problem occurs when a strip-and-wax is going on and the edges aren’t cleaned. When that wax goes down on top of dirty edges, they will remain that way until the next strip and wax is done.
To sum up my little declaration: inspect your edges. If they are dirty, it might be time to get a new cleaning company. It’s something to think about.
Thanks for reading.
Luke McCain, owner of Omniclean
Why should this concern you, the business owner? In my experience, a lot of “cleaning professionals” don’t clean the edges. It’s not hard to do; a simple firm swipe with a mop, or a little extra time spent with a vacuum attachment will do it. Yet for some reason, they usually get left, forgotten, dirty. A particular problem occurs when a strip-and-wax is going on and the edges aren’t cleaned. When that wax goes down on top of dirty edges, they will remain that way until the next strip and wax is done.
To sum up my little declaration: inspect your edges. If they are dirty, it might be time to get a new cleaning company. It’s something to think about.
Thanks for reading.
Luke McCain, owner of Omniclean
How to get scuff marks off of floors
27/02/11 18:51
Don’t you hate those black marks all over the floor? Scuff marks come from soft-soled shoes and people who tend to walk a little funny. It sure can be annoying when your beautiful floor has what appear to be little scratches all over it. But scratches they are not. In fact, they’re quite easy to remove. Here is how:
Most scuff marks can be removed simply by rubbing your toe on them. No, I don’t mean you have to do this barefoot, unless you like that kind of thing (we won’t tell anyone). Indeed, all you have to do is place the toe of your shoe on the scuff and wiggle your foot around, it’s that simple. Alternatively, you could use a damp mop and rub with some pressure on them and they will come off. But what about those really bothersome scuff marks that seem to be permanently embedded in the floor? They come off easily too! Here’s the secret: WD-40. Yep, all you need to do is spray some of that stuff on your scuffs, wait a few minutes, and then lightly rub with a paper towel. The scuff will come right off. Of course, make sure you get all the WD-40 off the floor or you could have a lawsuit on your hands (it’s slippery stuff).
I hope you enjoyed this information. Check back here often for further cleaning tips.
Thanks for reading,
Luke McCain, owner of Omniclean
Most scuff marks can be removed simply by rubbing your toe on them. No, I don’t mean you have to do this barefoot, unless you like that kind of thing (we won’t tell anyone). Indeed, all you have to do is place the toe of your shoe on the scuff and wiggle your foot around, it’s that simple. Alternatively, you could use a damp mop and rub with some pressure on them and they will come off. But what about those really bothersome scuff marks that seem to be permanently embedded in the floor? They come off easily too! Here’s the secret: WD-40. Yep, all you need to do is spray some of that stuff on your scuffs, wait a few minutes, and then lightly rub with a paper towel. The scuff will come right off. Of course, make sure you get all the WD-40 off the floor or you could have a lawsuit on your hands (it’s slippery stuff).
I hope you enjoyed this information. Check back here often for further cleaning tips.
Thanks for reading,
Luke McCain, owner of Omniclean
Can you compliment your cleaning company?
25/02/11 14:08
Well, can you? Are they doing a good enough job that you can tell them? Perhaps all you have for them are complaints. If so, it may be time to consider getting a new cleaning company. At Omniclean, we take the job of cleaning very seriously. We like to say that we provide premium cleaning for premium people and businesses. It shows in what people have said about us. Consider just a few examples:
“It’s hard to find good floor people, that’s why I’m staying with you.” That was said by the owner of a local health food store after some contract issues came up (obviously we got them cleared up).
“I never have to ask them to do something; I notice it needs to be done, and in a few days they do it without me ever asking.” Does that sound like something you could say about your cleaning company?
“Wow! This place looks better than when it was brand new.” The manager of a surgery center said this after we did a strip and wax on the floors right after we got the contract. The building was 4 years old.
“Did you clean this place up just for me?”, said the Creve Coeur fire marshall while inspecting a building we clean. “No, it always looks like this,” mentioned the building owner. The fire marshall then replied, “This place is a lot cleaner than other buildings in Creve Coeur.”
Recently our supplier told us that although many cleaning companies come to their place to buy things, we are the only one they would trust to clean their building. That’s why they refer potential clients to us.
A job well done should be noticed. So, if we don’t hear these kinds of comments from our clients on a regular basis, we know we need to step it up a bit. Does your cleaning company have the same philosophy? It’s something to think about.
Thanks for reading,
Luke McCain, owner of Omniclean
“It’s hard to find good floor people, that’s why I’m staying with you.” That was said by the owner of a local health food store after some contract issues came up (obviously we got them cleared up).
“I never have to ask them to do something; I notice it needs to be done, and in a few days they do it without me ever asking.” Does that sound like something you could say about your cleaning company?
“Wow! This place looks better than when it was brand new.” The manager of a surgery center said this after we did a strip and wax on the floors right after we got the contract. The building was 4 years old.
“Did you clean this place up just for me?”, said the Creve Coeur fire marshall while inspecting a building we clean. “No, it always looks like this,” mentioned the building owner. The fire marshall then replied, “This place is a lot cleaner than other buildings in Creve Coeur.”
Recently our supplier told us that although many cleaning companies come to their place to buy things, we are the only one they would trust to clean their building. That’s why they refer potential clients to us.
A job well done should be noticed. So, if we don’t hear these kinds of comments from our clients on a regular basis, we know we need to step it up a bit. Does your cleaning company have the same philosophy? It’s something to think about.
Thanks for reading,
Luke McCain, owner of Omniclean
A word about pricing
24/02/11 16:30
I just wanted to share some thoughts about the price of cleaning. It seems many businesses are content to collect a number of bids from different cleaning companies and then accept the lowest bid. Does this really make sense? Look at it this way: if you were going to build a house, would you collect bids from a bunch of different contractors and then go with the cheapest? What would the end product be? No doubt you would agree you would have a house that is plagued with problems and falling apart from the get-go. Indeed, most people thoroughly research their contractor and then choose the one who does the best work.
Are cleaning contractors any different? Not really; if you go with a dirt-cheap cleaning bid, guess what you’ll get - dirt! I’ve seen this time and time again. A business hires an extremely cheap cleaning company, and they start out doing an ok job. Before too long, however, the cleaning company gets burnt out on doing this job and making only a little money. Their work starts to slip and the business gets dirty. This adds up to headaches and wasted time for the business person as they end up complaining and complaining to no avail.
So please, if you are searching for a cleaning company, do your research. Stay away from out-of-town giants who have new employees every two weeks. Check references. Interview the actual people who are doing the work, just as you would your own employee or a contractor who would be building your house. Don’t go with the lowest bidder. Remember, you might be giving the keys to your business to these people, or at the very least, they’ll be there with you often. So check the character of your prospective cleaning company, and go with one that fits you. You’ll be guaranteed freedom from worry and a very clean place!
Thanks for reading.
Luke McCain, owner of Omniclean
Are cleaning contractors any different? Not really; if you go with a dirt-cheap cleaning bid, guess what you’ll get - dirt! I’ve seen this time and time again. A business hires an extremely cheap cleaning company, and they start out doing an ok job. Before too long, however, the cleaning company gets burnt out on doing this job and making only a little money. Their work starts to slip and the business gets dirty. This adds up to headaches and wasted time for the business person as they end up complaining and complaining to no avail.
So please, if you are searching for a cleaning company, do your research. Stay away from out-of-town giants who have new employees every two weeks. Check references. Interview the actual people who are doing the work, just as you would your own employee or a contractor who would be building your house. Don’t go with the lowest bidder. Remember, you might be giving the keys to your business to these people, or at the very least, they’ll be there with you often. So check the character of your prospective cleaning company, and go with one that fits you. You’ll be guaranteed freedom from worry and a very clean place!
Thanks for reading.
Luke McCain, owner of Omniclean