While your building or business may already have a cleaning service, as businesses everywhere look for ways to improve, this may be one area to examine. Do you know the right "bottom line questions" to ask?

Here are the most important ones:

1.	Performance Guarantees.
	While "guaranteed clean" might seem a hard-to-define concept, a real pro should be willing and able to provide you - with a guarantee of performing specific functions to a specific level. That shows their confidence in meeting your expectations.
2.	Realistic Cleaning Specifications.
	You and your contractor should mutually agree on what "quality" means, and what it will cost. If the price seems too good to be true, it usually is.
3.	Crew Selection.
	How are they trained? How are they supervised? You'll have to depend on your contractor to screen and hire good people, train them, and provide supervision and direction. Ask for background information on who will be supervising in your building.
4.	Uniformed Employees.
	Cleaning crews will access every part of your building, often when no one else is around. Having them in uniforms will help reassure your tenants and provide better security.
5.	Keeping Good Employees.
	A dependable contractor will have training and motivational programs to retain trained people ... so your building won't suffer from continual "new training problems."
6.	Good Communication.
	The contractor will need to communicate with you, and perhaps with all your tenants. Make sure it is someone you CAN talk to and build an understanding and trust. If you want the best quality, get involved and provide feedback to a contractor that wants to hear it from you.
7.	Respecting the Environment.
	Today's business world demands an account of how wastes are disposed or recycled. Your cleaning contractor should be able to help with both.
8.	Check the References.
	A quality contractor should be able to provide you with references for buildings of similar size and needs of your office space.
9.	Evaluate the End Result.
	Your contractor should request regular evaluations of the job they perform. A quality contractor will be proactive in identifying areas of improvement.
10.	Compliance.
	OSHA (USA Only) and WHMIS (Canada Only) have compliance guidelines for safety in the workplace. If the contractor isn't compliant, YOU might be held responsible for injuries to cleaning workers or tenants.

How Well Did Your Contractor Score?
If you feel your contractor doesn't score highly on this checklist, give ServiceMaster Clean a call. We'll guarantee performance on every point, and more!

Before purchasing commercial carpet, there are three important aspects you should consider to guarantee your carpet maintains a professional appearance.

Proper Installation
A good installation job is worth its weight in gold. A poor installation job will cost you a great deal. Make sure you select a qualified contractor to install your carpet.

The Right Application
We would all like to have beautiful white wool carpet in our facility. However, we need to consider how the building will be used. White carpet in the entry of a bank building is not practical. It might look nice when it's first installed, but for long term you won't be happy. What about roller traffic? If you're in health care and the gurneys are going to be rolling down the isles, then you should consider the construction of the carpet, its backing and even the color of the wheels on your gurneys.

Good Maintenance
Last but certainly not least is cleaning. All carpet needs to be cleaned. It will last longer if you clean it regularly as opposed to cleaning apparent soil "as needed." If the carpet must be a light color, it will need to be spot cleaned more often. Good vacuuming will prevent dry soil from damaging the fibers. Walk off matting at entrances helps to capture soil from feet before it gets into the building.

You put a great deal of effort in the selection of your office space. Call on the professionals of ServiceMaster Clean to help maintain the professionalism and appearance of your space for years to come.