Office Cleaning, “Open Space”, February 2008

Today the customers consider a cleaning from two sides. They may use regular methods of surface cleaning without taking care of their quality. In this case the surfaces will earlier or sooner lose its qualities, and it can’t be cleaned anymore – it should be replaced. But it’s easier to avoid the problem than to solve it. The companies, which realize this simple truth, prefer to invest some amount of money into the cleaning services in order to keep the good condition of surface.

A complex approach implies a satisfying of customer’s demands.

The main cleaning services are:

• General cleaning

• Cleaning after construction

• Everyday cleaning

• Specialized works, including washing of windows and facades (regular and high-rise), dry cleaning of furniture and carpet, stains and chewing gums removing, etc.

“This kinds of services are essential for big business centers and private customers”, Sergey Matlach comments.

The general cleaning foresees the cleaning of different surfaces – floor, walls, plinths, windows, doors, furniture and bathrooms. The specialists advice to take care of the premises immediately after finishing the repair jobs.

Iryna Kladko, the manager of marketing department of Shaden Group, pay attention at the following situation.

“The cleaning after construction or repair, general cleaning after and before fests, shows, social and cultural purposes are the most essential kind of services”, she says.

“At the early stage of premises exploitation the cleaning specialists may point on the mistakes, made during the construction, and remove those in order to save an office owner from lots of problems in the future”, Maya Sikorskaya, the manager of cleaning company Lael, says.

When the cleaning after construction is already behind, everything what a customer needs is keeping their premises clean and periodically do the cleaning. If the customer is satisfied with a quality of cleaning after construction, the long-term collaboration with a cleaning company is possible. This is especially actually in a case if a premise has some special surfaces, which needs an individual approach to cleaning. For example, the machines, which are able to process the 100 sq. m. of area, may be used in the crowded premises.

Right now the cleaning companies, which have an individual approach to any customer, send their specialist for estimation of premises, making a list of necessary jobs and choosing of proper cleaning technologies. This flexible approach isn’t yet common in Ukraine, but the quality and assortment of services is growing each year. According to Sergej Matlach, the cleaning market has a pretty tough competition. That’s why a manager, which takes care of the company’s image, always should think about the education and training of staff.

Cleaning and Protection without Damaging

A customer always has a right to require the highest quality of cleaning. However, sometimes a cleaning company may even refuse to complete an order. A reason may be different details, which a company doesn’t want to be responsible for. A problem is in people’s desire to have lots of mirror materials, fabric draperies, portieres in their premises. These fantasies let designer do something very creative, beautiful, but really difficult for cleaning.

Maya Sikorskaya comments:

“While trimming the general offices, the elements like carpet, Venetian blinders, glass details, lots of fabric decorations (portieres, curtains, drapers) are commonly use. The silk curtains isn’t difficult to wash, but velour isn’t as easy for cleaning because of its ability to absorb the dirt, same with heavy compact fabrics.”

The next problem is Venetian blinds, the surface of which may dissolve after using detergents. Even though special cleaning technologies for blinds are already created, the cleaning companies still advise to use plastic hanging blinds, which are easy to wash and don’t get spoilt. The cleaning of floor coverings is even more complex, because people leave their shoe-traces on them. That’s why the parquet boards aren’t advised to use in the office: it gets easily spoilt by hills, and the works on removing these defects may cost much money. Those office owners, who consider using of stone tile as economy, are mistaken. This is cold and slippery metal, which also may be damaged really easily.

The most optimal and convenient material for cleaning is low-fibers dirt proof carpet. Its price is directly proportional to its reliability. Even though this material needs to be cleaned just once in three months, the technology of its cleaning is also special. For example, the most used technique of carpet cleaning is filling it with big amounts of water and vacuum cleaning it together with dirt. The method is effective under the condition of keeping the elementary rules of cleaning and drying. That’s why it’s necessary to choose a cleaning company very carefully.

The others technologies work in different way. At first the big dirt is beaten out of the carpet by small heats. Then the surface is processed with stain-remover. The last stage is slight damp cleaning. This is the best and the most convenient method, however not each cleaning company may afford such sparing technologies because of its high cost.

If it’s about the office trimming, it’s recommended to use a corn-tree. It’s dust-proof, has a low price and high ecologic features.

Its dose of dust also gets furniture, which is the most used element in most of the companies. After planning its cleaning, a customer should pay attention on the kind of technique used by cleaning company. You need to dismantle the furniture when using the old technologies, at the same time you don’t need to do that when using the modern technologies.

After the damp or dry cleaning the clean surface of the floor and walls is covered with protective layer, for example with wax. It allows simple removing of wax, wash the surface and apply the new protective layer. The wax is washed away just by the special detergent, that’s why it almost can’t by damaged.

The same situation is with furniture. It’s better to protect it, than clean. The cleaning companies offer the special cases for furniture, which can be cleaned and changed.

Amongst the other services you may name the industrial climbing – washing of the windows in the business-center. It’s very specific service, which needs special equipment and trained staff, and also the high-rise works.

According to Sergej Matlach, if the company can deal with the above-listed difficulties, it is conductive to its high image and reputation of the company and makes a good impression on the customer.

Sometimes the less refined material should be used in the trimming in order to avoid difficulties with its cleaning.

Pure Cleanliness

The cleaning of premises may be done any time – in the night, day or morning – according to the desire of the customer. The services may be single, daily or weekly.

“Concluding a treaty for everyday cleaning, the cleaning company should not only do the timely and qualitative everyday cleaning, but also the seasonal jobs: windows washing, floor cleaning, informing the customer about the new types of cleaning”, Iryna Kladko comments, “The customers prefer the everyday cleaning, specialized works, such as cleaning of facades, the high-rise washing of windows, washing of escalators, trash and snow removal, cleaning of roofs etc. As for private customers, the most popular services are the general cleaning and cleaning after construction, also the washing of windows and dry cleaning in spring and fall.”

Amongst the main forms of collaboration with cleaning company we may name the following:

• Daily service – regular cleaning of objects

• General cleaning or cleaning after construction – the short-term staying of the specialists at the object for performing different cleaning works

• Performing of specialized works, which are not a base for maintaining the cleanliness of trade or office center

The biggest amount of orders is in spring and fall, because people do the cleaning of premises after repairs and winter colds.

The average cost of cleaning services in Kiev is $1 for 1 sq. m. The cleaning of carpet may cost $1,5–3, the cleaning of Venetian blinds and velour – $5–7.

If the customer needs the expensive cleaning works, the cleaning company may do a discount, for example, in case, when the total cost of services is more than $200.

These are just rough prices, because each order is unique and is estimated individually (depending on the urgency of orders, volume of works, type of works – stains removing etc.).

By the Way…

It’s necessary to do a couple of cleaning works after the repair, because the dust will be there for a while, and one cleaning procedure is not enough for that.

The cleaning in winter is better to do at the end of the workday or at night, because after the cleaning of carpets, they need some time to get dried. In winter the cleaning works take 2-3 hours or 5-7 hours depending on the technique used.

Information

During the last few years, most of the customers estimated the advantages of works on the long-last contract, when the necessary works are done during the long period of time, and the client doesn’t need to worry about looking for cleaning company, estimating of the premises, explaining of volumes of jobs and requirements to jobs fulfillment, because all details are already named in the contract.

Type of Services – Cost (the data is presented by Shaden Group)

Complex cleaning (everyday and single) – 15 grivnas

Professional general cleaning – 15 grivnas

Cleaning of carpets and coverings – 15 grivnas

Cleaning of upholstered furniture – 75 grivnas for one piece

Cleaning of appliances (monitor, key-board, mouse, phone etc.) – 10 grivnas

Cleaning and polishing of firm surfaces – 25 grivnas

Cleaning of tile, parquet and other kinds of flooring – 15 grivnas

Washing of windows, mirror surfaces – 70 grivnas

Dry cleaning of Venetian blinds – 15 grivnas

Washing of doors, plinths and casings – 10 grivnas

Washing of tile and bathrooms – 250 grivnas

Washing of swimming pools and sidewalk tile – 10 grivnas

Cleaning of adjoining territory – 5 grivnas

Cleaning and removing of trash – 500 grivnas

The cost of cleaning works depends on the complex of ordered services, on the way of their counting. Mostly the price is counted for 1 sq. m. Besides, the price may be different for premises of 50, 100 and 200 sq. m

Source: “Open space”