Want to know how we found out the importance of checking our work from the homeowner’s position? This is our story, one mistake to avoid with your professional maid service.
Understand where I’m coming from. I believe that we all strive to provide quality cleaning services. I’m only eluding to the fact that from time to time we get caught up in the race to get to the customer, deal with staffing concerns, being prepared with proper products, and staying on schedule for that day’s run.
Oh, and let’s not forget, we have to make sure that we turn a profit. Right? That is a must.
So, it has been my experience that within the first few cleanings of a repeated customer, it is easy to miss small tasks here and there. For example, lamps, light switch plates, moving certain items to dust/wipe around, baseboard, and so forth. As you know, the list could go on and on. Even if I went by my check off lists, still there were things missed. I couldn’t figure it out. Why were there were still mistakes?
This is one mistake to avoid
Anyway, on one particular occasion, I went in a customer’s home to pick up our team members. Since they weren’t quite ready, I checked the rooms that were already cleaned. All looked great. (Of course from the position that I was in, standing and walking around).
I didn’t want to get in their way so I sat at the desk in the home office to take some notes and wrap up the day. As I proceeded to collect my things and re-tidy his desk space as my team members left it, I noticed something. Two out of seven bookcases weren’t properly dusted. They were in an odd place to reach and you actually couldn’t see much of it from a standing position. You could only view half of the shelf, even when sitting at his desk. It was still noticeable to me and so was the dust left behind. Remember, I had already checked this space as cleaned. But it wasn’t. At least not clean from the position that I was in.
Sometimes check your cleaning from the position of the home owner to avoid mistakes.
This piqued my interest so I went into the bedroom. Yet another room I checked off as cleaned. Gheez. I actually sat on the bed and looked intently across the room. I’m telling you, like an Eagle! I focused in on the night stand right next to me. I saw that my team passed a duster across the base of the lamp but didn’t bother with the upper décor underneath the shade. Okay! Now I’m looking even more across the room, right. My eyes caught something else. A few dust bunnies underneath the radiator which should have been cared for with a duster and not the vacuum since it was an awkward fitting.
Now, to be completely honest, I have done this type of walk through after I cleaned a house. Yep, I disappointed myself. I mean, it is so easy to skip a step or miss an entire area. Being a business owner or an independent cleaner, it still isn’t easy to get it ALL right, ALL of the time. We have all kinds of things swirling around our heads fighting for our mental attention. So it is easy to “miss” certain items when cleaning.
My point is that it may be best to check all work from the position of the homeowners in order to get a better look at what they see. That way you could avoid any mistakes, any missed cleanings.
One great way to keep track of your customer’s desires is to keep a customer profile template handy.
If you need one, just complete the form below and grab a free copy.
It is the customer’s experience of your cleaning that really matters
It is the minor and most simplest of things to take into consideration. Imagine that you live in the homes that you service. What are some specifics that you would want cared for?
Here is what my partner and I decided to do…..
- Individualize our check off lists. Since every home wasn’t the same, then how could there be just one standard check off list? The lists would be a detailed as possible even listing if the home had extra concerns. Which is why we created the customer profile worksheet.
- Train all team members particularly to each home. Along with the individualized check off lists, the team members have to understand that there are various methods of cleaning. Such as, if one home has low radiators and we have to clean underneath, a vacuum won’t always fit so a duster will suffice to clean all around.
- Finally, and most important, observe from every position you can. Before you leave the home, sit in a chair and look all around. Get on the floor, yes, on the floor and look underneath all that you can especially beds and couches. You want to make sure to avoid any mistakes.
Always, always remember, that we are there to provide value of life to our customers and not just go through the motions of the day.
I encourage you to take your time and look at your customer’s home as if you lived there and decide if the cleaning you just provided was the best.
Share an experience in which you caught one mistake to avoid with your professional maid service. I would love to hear from you.
“The customer’s perception is your reality.” Kate Zabriskie
Until next time,
Happy cleanings
Creator of A Janitor’s Story®. I started my office cleaning side hustle at 20 years old. Years later, with the partnership of my husband and our amazing staff, my business grew to mid-six figures and fulfilled my wildest dreams! Now, 27 years STRONG, I’ve retired, and I help aspiring entrepreneurs to START and GROW their house and office cleaning service businesses to achieve their biggest dreams. I’d like to help you do the same.
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