Blog 01: Finding the right cleaner: Is it like online dating?

Many promise and few deliver.

It might be a surprise to many, but finding a good cleaning provider can sometimes be quite a similar experience. There are literally thousands of businesses that on the surface offer the same results, same services, same promises and so on. In summary, they offer complete and utter happiness. In fact, things may even work out for a bit. They pay attention to your needs, and you feel that finally someone is listening to your requests. You finally feel understood—maybe, just maybe your expectations weren’t irrational after all. What better feeling is there than to receive a call or a visit from your cleaning provider to check on you and make sure you’re doing well so you can simply tell them that everything is great and that you’re grateful to have finally found a business like theirs?

Hopefully, this is your happy ending, and if so, I wish you an amazing and long-lasting partnership.

If this is not how you feel, please allow me to tell you the rest of the story.

I’m sorry to say that this is when things get difficult. Please understand that even though you may feel that it’s not your fault, a relationship like this usually involves two parties, and issues like communication, promises, expectations, performance or even little things such as equipment or location can make huge impacts on your partnership. Let me explain:

One day, your cleaner fails or forgets to do something. As you know, it’s perfectly normal to experience this. We are only humans, and we learn by the mistakes that we make. You then let your cleaner know about it, and they fix it the next time they’re there. However, you start to notice that some things are getting a little bit out of control. Your desks are not cleaned when expected, some bins are not emptied regularly, your lunchroom looks dirty and so on… Of course, you want an explanation! Who wouldn’t? I mean, things were great at the beginning, so what happened?

The answer is actually quite simple. You’re no longer the top priority of your cleaning business.

Have you ever thought that once you became a client and you agreed to be looked after, you’re no longer that shiny beautiful conquest? You are now just one more client, just one more account, and worse, just one of many.

Now things start to get ugly. By now, every time you arrive to your workplace, the first thing you see are those issues that you’re cleaner is missing. You become frustrated and want an explanation. They promised that you wouldn’t go through these issues if you chose them, so why is this happening again?

I wish I could give you a straight answer, but I cannot. It might be that they honestly wanted to give you what you wanted but got lost in a sea of new leads and prospects. Maybe they did their best, but the cleaner in charge couldn’t realistically offer good results. Maybe they simply thought that improving who they are and how they do business is too difficult, so they decided to stick to “easier” clients. Who knows?

All I can tell you is that you deserve someone better. Whatever situation you’re in, and regardless of your budget, size of the job or expectations, wherever you are, you should never settle for broken promises and poor performance. You deserve someone better who can give you the happiness that you deserve.

I wish you good luck in finding your right kind of cleaner. It might be that the one you currently have is truly working towards changing and is actively trying to fulfill your needs. But if that’s not the case, you should never feel that you must stick with your current cleaner. Keep searching because I’m 100% convinced that they’re out there just waiting for you to click on their profile and give you what you truly desire: peace of mind.