Vivid Cleaning

New Year, New You

vividcleaning — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:58:14 +0000

I am not sure why people wait until a new year to start things; a diet, a new hobby, a lifestyle change, etc. When the calendar changes to a new year, it’s like a clean slate. A new beginning.

Why not make the most of it? Have you written down your personal and professional goals for 2012. It’s not too late. As far as work goes, what do want to happen this year? A new client, many new clients, a new job?

I have a simple professional goal for 2012. I want my clients to be so delighted with our service that we are doing business together in 2013. Sounds simple, right? It will take hard work, a dedicated team of people and a passion to serve. I am up to the challenge.

Our clients are the reason why we are in business. Without them, we have nothing. I don’t want them to just be happy, I want to them to be delighted with our service. So much so that they feel compelled to tell others how delighted they are. That is our goal for this year.

Of course, personally I want to exercise more, lose weight, read more, etc. I say this every year but this year I really mean it. Seriously.

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

The Secret to Success

vividcleaning — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:51:08 +0000

I recently returned from a cleaning industry trade show calledBSCAI, which stands for Building Service Contractors Association International. The biggest benefit for me is the learning opportunities from seminars given by leaders in the industry. Some started their companies over 30 years ago.

In one seminar, a quote was used that has since stuck with me. The person who said it was unexpected, but very powerful nonetheless. The person was Mary Kay Ash who founded Mary Kay Cosmetics and she said, “Pretend as if every person you are talking to has a sign around their neck that says MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT”.

Think about that. Every person. It’s true that when most people leave a job, it’s not always about money. People want to feel appreciated. What people? All people. Don’t you like to feel important, wanted, appreciated? I do and I bet you do too.

As I started to think about this, I thought about how powerful this statement actually is. It not only applies to employees and clients but to friends, neighbors, parents, siblings, your kids, your spouse, etc. It goes on and on.

The reason that I called this The Secret to Success, if a person can do this almost every time, they have to be successful. People will listen to them and they will be respected. Next time you are talking to someone, please remember that sign around their neck.

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

Do The Right Thing

vividcleaning — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:15:10 +0000

I hear frequently from clients and prospective clients that they have used several different cleaning companies in the past. “We have gone through them like water”, one of them told me.

I heard that again just this week. My response was, “I haven’t lost a client yet”. Afterward, I started to think about why that was the case. Am I doing something totally different from other cleaning companies? I hope so. I thought I would share my 4 strategies for client retention by Doing The Right Thing:

1. Hire Right
This is where I think a lot of cleaning companies go wrong. They hire warm bodies to push around a vacuum. It all starts with having high expectations and putting a system in place to reach them. My cleaners have to have experience with the right attitude and be willing to do anything to make a client happy.

2. Train Right
All cleaners can get better and it’s important to give them the tools they need to succeed. I work with each new employee and make sure they have a thorough understanding of the task at hand and what is needed to exceed the client’s expectations.

3. Supervise Right
You can’t just hire them, train them and leave them alone. All cleaners need to be supervised to make sure the job always gets done correctly, not just in the first few months. I also make sure that each crew has the right tools and supplies to be successful.

4. Be Right With The Client
One of the reasons we haven’t lost a client is we don’t wait for it to get that bad. I regularly check with my clients to make sure they are pleased. If not, we fix it right away. If we are doing what we should, there should not be any surprises at renewal time.

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

Green Cleaning

vividcleaning — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:01:43 +0000

I get asked frequently about why we only use Green cleaning products and methods. That is a good question. Some cleaning companies offer it as a more expensive option. Some don’t have it at all. When I started my company, I wanted Green cleaning products and methods to be part of the company’s DNA. But why?

I felt it was important to protect the people who work or go toschool in the building. After all, isn’t that worth protecting? There is a ton of research on toxins in harmful cleaning products causing allergic reactions, making people sick, etc. I didn’t want to be responsible for that.

I felt it was the right thing to do for the environment. Those products need to be disposed somewhere. I didn’t want to be the cause of more problems by putting harmful chemicals down drain pipes or on green spaces.

At the end of the day, the Green Seal Certified products we use clean better than traditional cleaning products you may purchase at the grocery store. Read labels. You may be shocked at what you are applying to places that you eat, sit for most of the day and the area that you breathe.

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

The Golden Rule for Cleaning Companies

vividcleaning — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:30:07 +0000

The Golden Rule essentially states that: one should treat others as they would like to be treated. I am amazed that most of our clients and prospective clients are not being treated using The Golden Rule. Not even close.

Cleaning companies are not treating their customers how they would like to be treated themselves. Unless, people at cleaning companies who are responsible for client care would like to have their own space smell, be dusty all the time and generally dirty. I for one do not. Cleaners should be trained and supervised to clean as if it was their own home or office. If not their own because they are slobs, then clean like it’s a person you really care for. Your mother perhaps!

In this industry, what I have noticed is a general lack of caring. They get paid by the hour to be there, push a vacuum around and only respond when the clients gets angry. Is this acceptable behavior for any industry. Not to me. One of the reasons I chose this industry to is change that perception.

Cleaning companies should care about the places they clean, the people they clean for and take pride in their own work. Period.

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

Canterbury Enterprises

vividcleaning — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:37:32 +0000

I have the privilege of serving on the board of directors for St. Louis-based. Canterbury Enterprises. Canterbury is a not-for-profit sheltered workshop who employs individuals with disabilities. For over 27 years we have helped enrich the lives of our employees by providing them with meaningful work, on the job training and providing a nurturing environment where they become contributing members of society.

The staff and the employees are amazing people. The director is Charlie Fischer and he does such a good job of making that place run like a well-oiled machine.

Canterbury looks for work in the areas of packaging, fulfillment, light assembly, bulk mailings, pad printing, kit building, inspection and salvage.

If your company or anyone you know has work in these areas, please consider outsourcing to Canterbury. You can contact me or call Charlie directly at 314-781-3999 or email him at cfischer@canterburyinc.org.

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

Trust Me

vividcleaning — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 06:44:49 +0000

“Trust me”. Famous last words. As soon as I hear someone say it, I don’t trust them. Being in the cleaning business, I am amazed at what some companies have been caught doing in a workplace. For starters, stealing money or personal belongings. If not that severe, only spending a few minutes on the job, doing a poor job, etc.

How can you trust a cleaning company? The short answer is that you can’t, well, not completely. In reality, can you trust anyone 100% of the time. When you are considering a new cleaning company, a few basic questions include: Are you bonded and insured? Do you conduct a background check on all employees?

There are other questions that you should ask that aren’t so obvious. Please consider asking: Will your cleaners ever bring non-employees to my office space? Do you conduct surprise inspections? If so, how often? Do you ask your employees to sign a code of conduct policy? How can I be sure that my office space will be cleaned the right way every time? What do I do/who do I call if I have an issue?

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

Image Is Everything

vividcleaning — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:43:59 +0000

One of the best business quotes that I ever heard was, “Everything communicates and everything matters”. In business, everything you say, do or print says a lot about your company.

The same could be said about your office. What does it say? Does it say you are a quality, high performing organization or a group of people that really don’t care? Think about it.

I got a call from a client today asking that we take extra care in cleaning tonight because a large client will be visiting them in the morning. What do you think they want their client to see?

Don’t just consider clients and prospective clients. You may say, “it doesn’t matter because they never visit us”. While that may be true, your employees are there everyday. A clean office will improve employee morale. Give them a reason to be proud of their workplace. Your employees are your greatest asset.

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

“You Will Never Find Good People”

vividcleaning — Tue, 03 May 2011 06:35:17 +0000

Before I started Vivid Cleaning, almost every person I talked to said, “You will never find good people”. You know what? They were right. I found great people!

My dad always told me that if you pay peanuts, you’ll get monkeys. I have a wonderful group of dedicated, hard working individuals. These people have families and other responsibilities that keep them coming back to work and performing at a high level.

I have team members that go above and beyond to make sure that every client is happy. We continually get great feedback on our team. Either because their work is outstanding or because of other things like trust, reliability and honesty.

I got a call one time from a gentleman who lives in Illinois but was in the city for lunch. He left a $700 cell phone in the restroom. It was found by one of my day porters and returned it to the restaurant right away. It was the week before Christmas. This gentleman said, “I know what time of year it is, I know how easy it would have been to take and I know how hard your people work. Thank you for hiring great people”.

You are welcome sir. That call put a smile on my face for a week. I am so glad to have great people on my team!

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.

Walmart – Always Low Prices, Always

vividcleaning — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:43:36 +0000

In all fairness to Walmart, this story was from 2005. However, it does give us visibility to how they reach their low prices.

Affidavit says Wal-Mart execs knew of illegal workers

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A pair of senior Wal-Mart executives knew cleaning contractors were hiring illegal immigrants, many of whom were housed in crowded conditions and sometimes slept in the backs of stores, according to a federal agency’s affidavit.

After one of the contractors repeatedly mentioned that many cleaning subcontractors were known to be using illegal immigrants at Wal-Mart stores, the affidavit said Bertschy commented: “And they load them up into one or two apartments and they take a family of five and pay them $1,000 a week, that’s probably a dollar an hour if they’re there seven days a week and they’re not paying taxes because they’re not getting paid a fair rate compared to U.S. standards, then they start stealing from the store to make up the difference.”

Federal raids later found immigrants crowded into small apartments or trailers in sleeping bags and, in some cases, sleeping in the backs of Wal-Mart stores, carrying their personal belongings from job site to job site.

Sad.

Vivid Cleaning is a full-service, Green commercial cleaning company in St. Louis, MO. Please visit www.vividcleaning.com for more information.