Not every competitor is your enemy

We're big believers in "what goes around, comes around" at Clockwork Cleaning Services and regularly refer our clients to our suppliers to help them out (seeing as we've used the suppliers on a regular basis and implicitly trust them to do a great job).

Sometimes though it happens the other way round - like yesterday when we were asked to help out with a half million square foot clean up operation for a distribution centre on an urgent basis - as you can tell a very, very large job with an almost immediate turn-around is not always possible to respond to (though we try very, very hard in all cases!)

As part of our company values the customer comes first ALWAYS so to ensure our client was not let down we put the word out and up stepped The MSS Group, a facilities management company in Cardiff to offer their specialist clean-up help.

After a brief introduction yesterday and some time spent discussing the clients requirements we were pleased to see that the MSS Group shares the same important values of customer focused service and total dedication as we do so we felt more than comfortable to refer them to our client.

Thanks guys, your help really will be appreciated!

Plus is this something to learn from? Quite possibly, consider this: Not every competitor is your "enemy" - in the 21st century it will become more important and crucial for companies to (at times) pool their resources and ensure the client gets the end benefit - as well they should seeing as they're the ones that are paying.

Your Office Cleaners ARE Important in the Fight Against Swine Flu

The re-emergence of swine flu this winter is on one hand surprising and concerning to possibly all companies but lets face it after all the initial news this year it has not been in the press or media as much second time round. Due to the media not taking as much notice it is likely swine flu (and its prevention) will not be at the forefront of people's minds - allowing it to quietly spread around offices and workplaces.

Before its too late you should take some basic precautions and you'll be surprised at how effective your office cleaners will be in the prevention of swine flu and the protection of your staff and workers.

Make sure the soap dispensers in the staff's washrooms are full and not running on empty. If you run electric hand driers then make sure they are operating correctly alternatively if you use paper towels for hand drying then keep them stocked up. Swine flu can be drastically stopped from spreading with regular hand washing so make sure all staff are kept informed of what is expected of them.

Ask your contract office cleaners to make sure surfaces such as workdesks, phones and door knobs get special attention, it may require them to spend slightly more time cleaning but if this helps keep your staff in work rather than off sick it will be worth the investment for your business.

Request that your contract cleaners provide an abundant supply of tissues and place them in easy to reach places for your staff, again if they are using the tissues correctly your cleaners should make sure all bins are emptied on a high frequency.

Remember the advert, Catch It, Kill, It, Bin It!

Just some of the strangest clean ups we've ever had!

Apart from the industrial cleaning services we provide the day to day side of our business usually involves office and general cleaning - however we do occasionally facing up to some strange cleaning operations - here's a few that stand out:

The MD and a team of specialist cleaners had to battle the floods in Tewkesbury and across Gloucestershire  and could only get to the site in 4x4's (like heroes) to clear up flood damage at a clients place of business.

Then we had to clean an artists' workspace after building dust had sifted through a connecting wall so our cleaners had to intricately clean away the dust debris from all surfaces including the precious artwork.

We had to remove external debris that had been dumped behind a learning facility  to make way for the land to be worked upon.  We had to arrange the safe removal of several hyperdermic needles.....  this took some planning with regards to the safe handling of sharp objects.

On several occasions we've had to ensure small and hard to get to places have been cleaned thoroughly, the operatives have tirelessly cleaned with toothbrushes to ensure that all nooks and crannies have been reached... our clients have turned up on site extremely surprised (but thrilled) to see us going the extra mile!

What to Expect from your Office Cleaner

When you get your office cleaner there are a few things you should expect of them - if you are unsure what then read on below:

• Ensure your cleaner turns up regularly and on time, punctuality is key to a good clean
• Make sure your office cleaner knows where the high traffic areas are in your commercial premises so they can make sure that these areas are kept thoroughly clean
• If you have a rubbish recycling program in place then check the cleaner understands what rubbish goes where when throwing contents of bins out
  
• If you any areas in your building that carry a greater risk of injury due to your operations then make this very aware to your cleaner so that they can help themselves stay protected
• Check the cleaning products used by your office cleaner. Make sure they are suitable for the cleaning tasks your cleaner will carry out. A real bonus would be that they use organic green office cleaning supplies
•  To make sure your cleaner stays focused and concentrates it would be wise to politely request that they operate without speakers, ipods, walkmans or other personal entertainment players - it could distract them or at worse they might not hear what is going on behind them - something that could put them at risk.
• LISTEN to any ideas or pointers your cleaner gives you. If they are professional they will know what can and cannot be done to better help you and further improve the quality of cleanliness in your office.
  

Cleaning News items that attracted our attention

Scouting around this morning and we found the following in the Daily Mail:

Unpaid £835 Cleaning Bill Almost Results in Jail
Sad to see cases like this but glad its all been resolved for everyone concerned, unpaid cleaning bills are never a good thing.

A Right Officer's Mess
A shame to see our brave fighting lads families aren't able to move into a clean home, according to the Mirror.
Hopefully by now the MOD has sorted it all out (but if not guys then you know who to turn to!)


How Clean is your House TV Series Axed!
We have to admit some of the episodes we watched really left us speechless at the dirt some people are prepared to live in. We'll miss the 2 ladies involved in the show, their dedication to clean homes was (and still is) an inspiration.


Extra Cleaners would Save Lives
Something we've known for years but now according to The Press Association a group of scientists from Unison state that just one extra cleaner per hospital wardwould have a "measurable effect" cutting the number of patients who contract MRSA.

Welcome to our Company Blog!

This blog has been designed to communicate to new and existing clients of Clockwork Cleaning Services - specialists in office cleaning Birmingham to Bristol!

We plan to regularly blog any new products, cleaning legislation you will need to know about and other informing and possibly entertaining blog posts relevant to business cleaning.

If there is something you would like to see on this blog then let us know at di@clockworkservices.co.uk we would be delighted to hear from you.