Can You Really Get Cheap Commercial Cleaning?

A common mistake companies make when hiring a cleaning company is to solely hire a company based on their price. This is a fundamental error and can be costly in the long term. Can any company clean your offices for £8 per hour and still provide an exceptionally high standard of cleaning?

I saw an advert today for commercial cleaning in Glasgow for £8 per hour and realised something must not be right. How can a company in the UK provide a cleaning service for £8 per hour?

Cost of Office Cleaning?

The basic rate of pay for an employer hiring a commercial cleaner is £6.08 per hour. This is a vast chunk of the £8 per hour cleaning service. However, it doesn’t stop there.  Companies who hire employees must pay an additional 11% national insurance to the Government. Further to this, employees are entitled to holiday on a pro-rata basis which must also be included within the costs.

 In the background, a cleaning company has invaluable people such as receptionists, an accounts team, directors to guide the company and office premises too. These are expenses for a company which don’t directly produce income.

In addition to the overhead costs of a cleaning company there is the cost of the actual cleaning supplies and machines too.

All in all, it’s impossible for a company to provide an office cleaning service for £8 per hour and while people will be intrigued by the offer, it’s likely to cause long term problems.

What Inevitably Happens?

The expression, “you get what you pay for” is 100% accurate. Ultimately, companies can’t expect a superior cleaning service when they focus solely on price. There is a balance to be struck between the right price and the perfect service.

Basing a commercial cleaning decision solely on the cost of the service can potentially lead to:

-          Damaged brand: when you invite staff or potential clients to your offices and the offices have been cleaned to a low standard, it reflects badly on your business and can result in losing contracts.

-          Hazard work conditions: If the wrong cleaning materials are used and untrained staff clean your workplace it can be hazardous to people’s health.

-          Unclean offices:  An unclean office has been proven to be negative for staff morale so you can’t get the best out your team.

-          Unreliable service:  A cleaning company at £8 per hour may not attend on time every day.

Recessionary times

We’re living in recessionary times and most businesses are feeling the pinch. Companies feel that by undercutting competitors they are able to shrewdly capture a percentage of the market. In truth, they can gain a foothold in the market with this approach. However, in the long term they will struggle to survive and the client will be forced to find a new cleaning company, often reverting back to their original supplier.

When hiring a cleaning company in Glasgow or for Office Cleaning Edinburgh you need people you can trust. We recommend Coronet Clean Team who provide an excellent service at a fantastic price.

Robot Cleaning Offices

The latest technological advancement has been made by Subaru - a cleaning robot. The robot can enter lifts, clean buildings and encourage people to move objects by simulating 'crying'.

The Youtube video highlights the ability of the robot which is said to be suitable for hospitals and airports. The futuristic idea has been developed to remove the human element of cleaning and replace it with a robot instead.

Positives and Negatives

With millions of pounds being invested in these robots are they really the way of the future? This robot is set to cost thousands of pounds to purchase and maintenance costs have yet to be determined. The robot will clean floors but office cleaners do far more than that.

The Clean Team at Coronet in Glasgow start at 4am to clean your office. What many people don't realise is the Clean Team provide additional support such as turning on the heating so an office is warm for the staff coming in. The Clean Team also wash and dry towels for businesses, provide a handyman service and clean stubborn carpet stains, all of which the cleaning robot can't do.

Most offices have carpets on their floor which the cleaning robot cannot manage. The intelligent cleaning robot is able to manage the lifts from floor to floor however cannot clean the stair vestibule areas of office premises, nor can it open doors. The Coronet Clean Team use different cloths for different surfaces which the robot would not be able to do, whilst wiping high surfaces with our custom selected cleaning products become impossible.

In principle, having a cleaning robot seems like a fantastic idea however in today's changing business environment we think companies need a flexible and convenient office cleaning company.

What do you think?

We would really like to know what you think about having a cleaning robot in your office? Could you see an automatic robot cleaning your office or do you prefer the personal touch provided by a friendly and efficient cleaner?

Top Office Cleaning Tips

For office cleaning Scotland specialists contact Coronet Clean Team on 0800 783 1933 today.

Tip 1: Tidy your desk frequently. It's important to make time to clean your desk, including your drawers which harvest items for years ago. In a recent check, people had items from 3 years ago stored away in the back of their drawers, most notably the present from their secret santa (a minature remote controlled flying helicopter). Cleaning your desk can be a valuable time saver when it comes to finding files and papers in a hurry. It can also improve security of documents and make for a happy working environment.

Tip 2: Paper, Paper, Paper! You can keep your office clean by disposing of any paper which is no longer required. In today's busy business environment we use a lot of paper each day which ends up on the floor, stacked on tables, colleagues offices, the boardroom or somewhere else around the office. Ensure you file necessary papers away each day and recycle used paper in the paper waste or confidential waste.

Tip 3: A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen. There's always one person in the office nagging about the 'state of the kitchen'. Often it's the same person who ends up cleaning the dishes before placing a carefully worded notice above the sink for future reference. It's important to respect your other colleagues so clean your dishes as you go and create a happy office environment.

Tip 4: Don't leave mugs or food on your desk. If food or mugs are left on a table it is not only a health hazard but it's an eye-sore to your other colleagues. Find the local bin for your left over food and wash and dry your mug once you are finished your tea or coffee.

Tip 5: Hire a cleaning professional. If you operate your own business and own or rent premises it's essential to keep them clean and presentable. Whether customers visit your premises or not, a clean office is important for staff morale and to send the correct message to staff that your business is a professional operation. This in turn motivates your staff and has been proven to increase customer service levels as well as sales.

For commercial cleaning in Edinburgh or Glasgow contact Coronet Clean Team today.

Office Cleaning: First impressions Count

Coronet Clean Team help your business shine, literally. Their office cleaning Glasgow and Commercial Cleaning Edinburgh service supports your business when you need it most. One of the things Coronet delivers is a good first impression; it's essential you can trust the service, the management team and most importantly, the people who will be keeping your offices clean.

When a visitor comes to your premises first impressions really do count. Whether it is a customer or a supplier your business is being measured and evaluated from the moment they enter your premises. This can influence their decision as to whether they are going to do business with you.

In the current financial climate very few companies are in the position of being able to lose business for any reason whatsoever. Just imagine how you would feel if you lost a major new contract because your reception area is not in pristine condition ,maybe  disposable coffee cups have been left on the table or worse coffee stains .Is the carpet vacuumed to the correct standard or has the air freshener been refilled. 

All of the above may seem perfectly obvious to many companies however there are businesses that simply do not pay enough attention to the minor details and the suspicion for customers and suppliers is very much that if the small details are not taken care of the likelihood is that the larger details will not be managed correctly either.

Toilets are another area worthy of scrutiny for similar reasons. If your supplier or customer requires to use your washroom facilities it is most important the hygiene standards are up to scratch. This could mean inspecting the washroom up to three times a day dependant on the traffic it experiences. Within some fast food outlets the amount of visits can be as often as every hour. Should the volume be of sufficient number it may well be worthwhile installing a sign off board which confirms who last cleaned the facilities and at what time it was done. This is an excellent tool both for management to monitor the efficiency of their staff and also for your suppliers and customers to visually see you take the minor elements of your business extremely seriously.

With this in mind it is important to ensure you have a highly trained and qualified cleaning company contracted within your organisation .This may cost your business a little more however if you were to lose just one major contract as a result of sloppy practice then the additional cost pales into insignificance. Using the appropriate cleaning company should also give your organisation the added security by way of correct health and safety practice in addition to membership of a cleaning federation .This of course would have to be confirmed with your cleaning company however if they are a reputable company then appropriate staff training and qualifications will be present. One organisation many cleaning companies are members of is the British Institute Of Cleaning Science or BICS .

To summarise it is more important than you may have though to keep your offices in pristine condition, it may not win you business however it could certainly lose you valuable sales.

Help! How will I get this red wine out of my carpet?

The festive period is a time for having friends and family round for a party. Predictably when the drink flows and excitement levels rise it is also a time when people get a little careless and accidents occur and before you can say “watch that glass” the contents have left the drinking vessel and have been deposited all over your brand new carpet or splashed onto your beautiful sofa. The biggest fear is knowing what the correct materials are to be used in order to safely remove the stain without damaging the carpet or sofa in the process.

Dependant on the composition of the material that has caused the stain varies what the best solution is however if you have been unfortunate enough to have wine, coffee or beer spilled then the faster the stain is worked on the better before it has had time to set in. Care must be taken to blot the stain in order to draw out as much of the fluid as possible, do not rub the stain as it will merely push the fluids further and deeper into the fabric or carpet pile making the exercise much harder to achieve successfully .If however the stain has not been seen at the time and is only discovered the next day when the cleaning process is underway then here is some tips to get your carpet, sofa or dress back to the way it was.

Carpet Cleaning Tips

Wine stains, especially red wine, can still be removed when you follow the correct instructions. For clothing suitable for machine washing, mix a good liquid detergent cleaner, half and half with hydrogen peroxide. These cleansers must be used together as it is the chemical combination that makes it work. Pour over the stained area allowing it to presoak into the fabric. Use a towel between the stain and the back of the item in order to stop the stain soaking through to the back of the fabric. Follow the garment cleaning label instructions thereafter re washing machine temp and machine speed etc.

Strange as this may sound one of the best ways to remove red wine stains is to use white wine as a cleaning agent. If red wine has been spilled on clothing or a table cloth then put the item over the sink, pour white wine over the stain and it should remove it! If however the wine stain has got onto the carpet, pour hydrogen peroxide on the stain as this is the best solution. Allow to soak into the fibers for a few minutes. Using a spray bottle and a mixture of half water, half carpet shampoo, spray over the stain before blotting dry and finishing the job with a dry, clean white cloth. Even on very light carpeting this technique should work successfully. Coronet Clean Team understands clean, whether it's around the house or in offices. For office cleaning Edinburgh contact Coronet Clean Team today.

Just how good is your cleaning company?

Many cleaning companies have the unenviable reputation of being considered poor in quality and sloppy in the delivery of services. As with many industries there is temptation for people with limited or no experience at all to look at the trade in general and believe they could set up a company and enter the market place.

The reality is of course somewhat different as it takes many years experience to understand the trade properly. This holds true right across the business from employing the correct staff through to understanding how to quote both competitively and accurately without cutting corners.

It is vital for instance when quoting for contracts within the health sector that there is an understanding as to how long it would take to deep clean an operating theatre. Within this field of work it is essential that the work is carried out to perfection as patients lives are at risk from infection or even death at the extreme. This means a detailed knowledge of what is required is an absolute must when costing materials and time. You can hardly for instance realize after the contract is underway that because the costings were wrong, try to cut corners either by reducing time on site or use sub standard cleaning fluids and the like in a cost saving exercise.

It is also important to recruit experience or have a mix of experience and trainees in order to ensure a greater standard of work is maintained .By employing experienced staff there is a higher probability that references will be available to allow a reputable cleaning company to measure a prospective new employee. It also helps when assessing an employee’s trust worthiness and ability to work unsupervised if this has been prevalent in their previous employment.

By ensuring a good mix of experience and trainees can be highly beneficial to the company .By carefully selecting experienced staff to work alongside trainees will have the benefit of onsite training which in turn will result in more qualified staff trained to the company’s standards.

Of course using best practice and employing the correct standard of staff does cost more than a company happy to cut corners however this should be offset by additional business being won by the former.

It is also highly probable that a company using best practice will be around for many years to come, the same is unlikely to be said of a company ran by inexperienced personnel. For a professional Glasgow Office Cleaning company contact Coronet Clean Team

Household cleaning tips

As a Glasgow office cleaning company we pride ourselves on providing the highest professional service. However, we've recently been asked about household cleaning tips. So, never one to let anybody down- we've completed the Coronet Cleaning household tips.

With flooring trends having long since moved away from carpeting in favour of laminate and vinyl flooring most of us have at some time ended up with difficult to remove scuff marks on our beautiful flooring, this is often created from shoe heels and can be stubborn to remove. One solution which works well is to use a pencil eraser as this will often work without having to resort to using abrasives or solutions which may very well damage the surface of the laminate or vinyl. It is therefore worthwhile trying this method 1^st as you will not damage the flooring using this technique and it will not affect your warranty either.

With aluminium cookers, hobs and splash backs etc being extremely popular many people experience the same problem after they have had the item for some time, how do i get the item looking as good as new? Well here is a really good tip for getting that beautiful sheen back to that splash back or cooker hood. Firstly use a good quality non abrasive cleaner or degreaser in order to remove all surface grease and stains, rinse off with warm soapy water and dry thoroughly. Next use a good quality  baby oil and apply to a lint free cloth, apply a little to the cloth and using circular movements apply over a small area at a time, continuing the circular movements until the area being applied is shining like new. Continue this process over until the item being cleaner is spotlessly clean and gleaming as new. This process should be carried out on a regular basis in order to make the job easier and you will have the added bonus of the item always looking in showroom condition.

For those people lucky enough to own some pieces of silver whether that be a watch or tea pot or maybe even candle sticks you will appreciate how difficult it is to clean them and even harder to get that sparkle back.

One very useful tip is to use the juice of a lemon, simply squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl, dab a cloth into the fluid and using circular motions rub the lemon juice onto the piece of silver you are cleaning. For those difficult areas to access a simple cotton bud is an excellent tool to use. When finished cleaning the item use a soft clean cloth in order to remove any residue and you should be left with a gleaming piece of silverware.

General cleaning tips

Most, if not all of us, have experienced the nightmare of trying to clean mirrors. No matter how hard we try we always leave streaky marks or unpolished areas. Worst of all the streaks only become apparent when you have sat down to a well earned cup of tea or the sun moves around and shines on the mirror! Whether it's office cleaning in Glasgow or cleaning your home, it's can be an arduous task.

Often the problem is due to several issues rather than our inability to clean to a good standard. One major problem tends to be the fluid being used to clean the mirror in the first place. Cream cleaners for instance tend to be very difficult to apply and almost impossible to remove once applied, this often leaves a film on the glass which has static properties resulting in dirt and dust being attracted straight back to the mirror. The more often the mirror is cleaned using this method the greater the build up of film and the harder the whole cleaning process becomes.

In order to resolve this and get your mirror back to its sparkling best takes a little effort however it is well worth it. Using a spray nozzle in a 32oz container add one third of a cup of clear vinegar and one quarter of a cup of rubbing alcohol. The vinegar strips back the build up of film, dust and dirt whilst the alcohol works to also clean in the same way but has the added benefit of evaporating leaving the mirror clean and free of streaks at the same time. One of the best materials to use in order to polish the mirror and remove excess fluid is without doubt old newspapers. There are many reasons why newspapers work best however the main ones are they do not create static on the mirror whilst being excellent in absorbing excess fluid back off the mirror. If your preference is to use a cloth then ensure it is lint free and this will stop fluff from the cloth applying its self to your clean mirror.

A common fault people have when cleaning mirrors is to spray fluid over the entire mirror in one go, this is not the way to gain a perfect result. Ultimately, you will end up with a difficult job trying to clean them this way, as by the time you get to the final areas the fluid has long since started to dry leaving streaks and marks.

The best way to clean your mirror is to apply a small amount of cleaning fluid to a small area of mirror before using newspaper to polish and rub off any excess. Continue this process until the mirror is completely clean. It may appear to take a little longer however it will be done correctly and you will not have your tea break interrupted going back to sort streaks you rediscover.