Everyone enjoys clean and tidy office or commercial space. After all, a cleaned space means a more productive and safe environment for all. So the importance of a great commercial cleaning service cannot be discounted. . So, all that’s left to answer is what kind of cleaning company to go for: a franchised or an owner-operated one? Below are some important key differences between a franchised and an owner-operated commercial cleaning company.
Customized Services:
A franchised commercial cleaning company is often bound by the terms and conditions set by its main franchisor, which reduces its chances of freely managing its franchisee business for the betterment of the client. This, in turn, can result in lowered efficiency in dealing with its clients’ unique requirements – and their complaints as well.
On the other hand, a well run privately owned company tends to be more hands on. They usually have greater freedom to provide the specific type of cleaning services each unique customer requires. A privately owned company is more likely to be hands on when dealing with any questions or concerns that may arise.
Pricing:
When it comes to decision-making for any service or product, price is always one of the biggest determining factors. Choosing between a privately owned and a franchised commercial cleaning company is no different. Generally speaking, a private commercial cleaning company follows a variable pricing mechanism where it charges according to the services it actually provides.
In comparison, a franchise may attempt to charge you the maximum amount possible regardless of the level and types of services they may or may not provide. This is more so because their focus is geared on maximizing their revenue, as they are required to pay a certain percentage of their profits to the main franchisor. This is not to say franchised companies are dishonest, pinching every penny they can; it’s simply an inevitable component, one that, in the end, can undermine quality of service.
Knowledge and Experience:
While the franchised company structure does have a set of procedures and policies that have worked in their other franchised establishments, the knowledge of the specific franchisee you hire is not likely to match up with that of a privately owned company. A privately owned business that has serviced clients for years, has extensive knowledge of all the ins and outs of commercial cleaning, facility maintenance and janitorial services. In most cases, they have personally gotten their hands dirty in the field, rather than sitting behind a desk. So there is an excellent chance the owner of a privately operated cleaning service has a knowledge base that extends well past that of the proprietor of a franchised commercial cleaning company.
Dedication to Customer Service:
A commercial cleaning company that is privately owned will work with the single objective of serving their clients to the utmost in all aspects of their business. Being more inclined to build their reputation, they will make every effort to give you the best service every time you hire them. And since privately owned and operated commercial cleaning companies are directly controlled by their owners from the bottom up, they are more inclined to meet your expectations and be there to answer your questions.
In contrast, a commercial cleaning franchise may not be as concerned with notoriety because they already sit comfortably beside their established brand name. And this sometimes complacent approach, whether intentional or involuntary, can hurt the overall quality and care of their service.
Consistency
The first point is consistency, with an independently owned and operated commercial cleaning business, you know that the person cleaning your site isn’t an isolated entity just leveraging a name. With an independently owned and operated business the person cleaning your site is a business representative that was trained and vetted by a central entity.
Easier issue escalation
The next point is easier issue escalation. With a privately owned business there is an escalation line all the way to management, so if you have an issue there will always be someone to handle any issues. With a franchise company your relationship is usually with the franchisee, so any escalation often stops there.
Greater Accountability
With an independently owned and operated business the owner/manager of the business will often have better visibility of the day-to-day operations. This leads to better accountability for the employees you deal with as there is a line from them all the way up to management.
Subcontracting
With a franchise company, they often subcontract out all of their clients to smaller independently owned companies. So at the end of the day, the franchise company you hire are not the people that are in your facility every day/evening doing the cleaning. It is often a subcontracted out company doing the actual work. This in terms makes the franchised company hired, nothing more than a glorified billing company. With a privately owned company, the company you hire is the company’s workers that are in the facility each day/evening doing the work.
Hiring the best people
When hiring a privately owned company, the business can make sure that the people they hire reflect the business’ values. Management has visibility of all of the people that join the company and can make sure that they align with the company direction. A privately owned company hires and trains all their workers to make sure they provide quality service to fit each client’s needs. With a franchise company, they often subcontract out the work to other companies that are more local to that clients location.
Contact us today to discuss your office cleaning needs. We are privately owned and owner operated in New Jersey