Why property managers need a reliable cleaning service?

Busy property managers need to ensure that vacant properties are presented to potential tenants in the best condition. A cleaning service has the experience to present your properties allowing you to give prospective renters the best view of the property. Cleaning companies can customize their service to meet the needs of property management firms, facility managers and building owners in commercial, institutional and industrial markets. Operations teams utilize check sheets to ensure that properties are cleaned according to agreed specifications. Any maintenance or cleaning needs can be communicated to have the necessary information available to manage the properties more effectively. Furthermore, property managers place a lot of research into trends and statistics when pricing their listings. The difference between selling your home for its listing price is how it feels and smells.

Duties of a cleaner at a public facility

Daily cleaning duties, including toilets, change rooms, activity/programme areas, function rooms, kitchens and other areas to a high standard
Carrying out any minor maintenance as instructed or required
Reporting any damage to the buildings, fixtures or equipment
Maintaining stock levels of cleaning equipment and chemicals
Maintaining all cleaning equipment and report on any breakages or replacement requirements

A brief history of spring cleaning

Spring cleaning refers to the annual act of cleaning a house in the first warm days of the year typically in spring or in certain regions during December in preparation for the festive season like the Scottish “New Year’s Cleaning” on Hogmanay (31 December).
The origins of spring cleaning could date back to the Iranian Norouz, the Persian New Year, which falls on the first day of spring. Iranians continue the practice of “khooneh tekouni” meaning “shaking the house” just before the new year.
Spring cleaning could possibly be traced to the ancient Jewish practice of cleaning the home in anticipation of the memorial feast of Passover. During this period Jews are only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs but are commanded to rid their homes of small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday. Observant Jews would therefore conduct a thorough “spring cleaning” of the house, followed by a traditional hunt for chametz by candlelight.
During the 19th century in America March was often the best time for dusting as it was getting warm enough to open windows and doors and the high winds could carry the dust out of the house. Modern rural households in North America continue to use the month of March for cleaning projects involving chemical products generating fumes.

Environmental Health workshop at Nyanga Central

Proper management of waste would reduce all risks of contamination and improve the overall cleanliness of the site. All traders were encouraged to adhere to the simple cleaning system of removing all waste in a plastic carrier and dispose of them using the bins that are present all over the site. Animal fatty matter should by no means be dumped in any of the drains and perhaps a mesh covering should be introduced. This would prevent further contamination and assist in the greater pest control initiative. Item was delivered by site manager Marlon Herwel.

Recovery when failures occur

Our operations managers need to constantly decide what they will do when failures do occur.  Our operation benefits regularly from well planned recovery.

The breakdown may be disruptive but not as much as it might be if operations managers had not worked out what to do.

Recovery procedures will also shape the customer’s perception of failure.  It is not necessarily the failure itself that leads to dissatisfaction but our response to the break down.  Mistakes may be inevitable, dissatisfied customers are not.  A failure may even be turned into a positive experience.

A good recovery may possibly turn angry, frustrated customers into loyal ones.  An effective response to failure may yield a high pay-off in terms of the long term success of our organization.  It will also send positive signals to our clients and employees about our policy to encourage corrective action to achieve high customer satisfaction.

Staff failures

People failures come in two types: errors and violations.  Errors are mistakes in judgement; a person shall have done something different and the result is some significant deviation from the normal operation.

Violations, however, are acts which are clearly contrary to defined operating procedure.

Applying furniture polish by Joe Gqabi

Customers are the most important element of any business

Defining customer expectations is a key task for marketing.  Marketing must also understand the ability of the operation so that it does not promise something that cannot be delivered.  In the TQM approach, meeting the expectations of customers means more than this, it means understanding things from a customer’s point of view.

The whole organization should understand the central importance of customers to its success and even survival.  Customers are not perceived as an external entity to the organization but as the most important part to it.  Customers should also be seen as human beings, rather than statistics, with individual needs and expectations and deserving of attentive and courteous treatment.

A definition of Total Quality Management

Our specific TQM is concerned with the following:

·         Meeting the needs and expectations of customers

·         Covering all parts of the organization

·         Including every person in the organization

·         Examining all costs which are related to qualify

·         Getting things “right first time” namely, designing quality rather than regular inspection

·         Developing the systems and procedures which support quality and improvement

·         Developing a continuous process of improvement

Nyanga Junction Site Visit Video

Continuous improvement

Organizations that produce excellence are those that continuously improve. The more granular, no matter how insignificant, and frequent the improvements, the better. How organizations react to "failure" reveals the key reason why innovation comes from startups more often than large organizations. These startups are often a very good training ground for product development and business talent. Startups are just trying to get it right before they run out of money. Our success is built on the foundation of a huge amount of hard work over many years. Continuous adjustments based on frequent feedback eventually lead to long term gains.

Outsourcing encourages fresh ideas!

Making the right decision can add significantly to your organization's bottom line in terms of cost savings and increased efficiency. Beside bringing fresh minds to your business it can also free time for new innovations and other vital tasks. Making the wrong decision can put your business at a competitive disadvantage. You could lose control of proprietary information, or receive components that don't meet your organization's quality standards.
With a professional cleaning company, you can be sure that the property is well cared for and properly maintained. Outsourcing allows decision makers to focus on their specific job and reduce the time devoted to areas outside of their expertise.

You don't have to dedicate your valuable staff resources to routine cleaning tasks!

Your employees will have more work and more stress, which could eventually hurt your business via high rates of absenteeism, poorly done work and higher turnover rates. Not to mention cleaning services not being performed if they are absent!

Outsourcing your cleaning allows you to focus on running your business!

Successful companies know that outsourcing is a necessary factor in their success. Why waste your valuable time and resources on details such as keeping your workplace clean? This will severely reduce the amount of time you have to run your business. It will also free up time you could used instead to focus on your business.

The benefits of ensuring customer satisfaction

Keeping customers happy is certainly good for business. Companies do not have to sacrifice profitability to keep their customers satisfied. Companies which consistently rank high on customer satisfaction also rank high in profitability and hence have more loyal customers. Beside customer loyalty, by providing superior customer satisfaction any organization can gain the following competitive advantage.
Less wasted effort
The organization is likely to get to know its customer better, to know their wants and needs. Less time will be wasted in trying to assess what their needs are. Customers do not always know what they want but by knowing its customers well, the firm can get down to basics more quickly, reducing money spent on fruitless market research surveys.
Customer loyalty
Satisfied customers will certainly be more loyal. They are more likely to keep coming back and buy and this higher repeat rate leads to greater revenue and more profits.
Price advantage
Satisfied customers are willing to pay more for the satisfaction they derive from better service. This is not easy to quantify though but depends on many factors such as whether customers are highly price sensitive, whether the market is competitive, the type of purchase and the way the company positions its product in the market. Yet an extra margin is usually obtainable.
Selling costs
It is often easier to make a repeat sale than to conclude a first time sale with a new customer. Greater customer loyalty translates into lower sales expenses – more time is spent in persuading the customer to buy. The salesperson would merely have to take the order and answer the customer’s questions. Satisfied customers also act as an unpaid sales force through networking. This introduces an element of objectivity and greater credibility to the firm. Communication thus becomes less expensive. Word-of-mouth promotion, also known as referral, can be most effective in assisting businesses to establish their brand in the market.
Brand switching
Satisfied customers are less likely to change to a competitor’s product or chose to use another supplier whose products are cheaper.
Taking the customer for granted
Businesses tend to become less customer orientated and continue to take orders and forget to interact with the customer. The result is that a once loyal customer defects to the competition.
Effective workforce
Staff who deliver good customer service receive their customers’ appreciation and are motivated to offer good customer service in the future.
Creating a niche
By emphasizing customer service during your daily operations as well as your marketing strategy you will indeed set yourself apart from companies who don’t.

Enjoy the health benefits of spring cleaning!

Deep within the fibres of your carpets, wood crevices and the layers of your pillows lurk many creepy, scary allergens. Dust mites, mould fibres, animal residue and mildew can all induce some major pain on your home and your body. These household allergens cause sneezing, headaches and a general feeling of illness - but they can weaken your body from being able to deeply heal itself, renew and detox in the spring season. Spring is a good time for deep cleaning of the body from allergies and general maintenance for wellbeing.

Why do you clean out your refridgerator?

Old foods should be thrown away as they spoil and release toxins like mould and bacteria. Bad odours will eventually become overwhelming and there will be no room for fresh foods which could be contaminated by the spoilt food. If you don't get rid of physical as well as mental clutter it can spoil your life. If you don't get rid of what you don't need, mental junk overwhelms your like, keeping you stuck in the past: failures, criticism and grief. There is no room for self-improvement.

The Internal Customer

The concept of the internal customer is based on the premise that everyone in a company has a service role, even those who never see the customer. This applies to administrators, supervisors and executives. These people spend so much time dealing with information procedures, forms and reports that they lack a social perspective on the business. An organization can only succeed once all staff can focus on knowing how to serve, learning what the important needs are and findind effective ways to meet those needs. Staff members of every department should show consistently high concern about the needs of their colleagues. If staff are unfriendly, unhelpful, uncooperative or disinterested, their colleagues will tend to project the same attitude towards them.

The innovator strategy

Once the organization adopts an enhanced approach to designing its operations, it also expects enhanced customer service from its operation function. It will not only enhance its structure but also its infrastructure. This means a very high degree of integration between service design, operations and marketing in order not only to be flexible in the short term in response to competitive pressure, but also to introduce new services faster and more effectively than competitors.

The customer-orientated approach

The customer orientated approach is eternally focused which challenges your firm to find ways of making and keeping customers as satisfied as possible. Firms that concerntrate on customer satisfaction tend to be more willing to make long term investments in projects whose impact can be seen after several years. They are also prepared to take a short term reduction in profits, if they believe it necessary, to achieve the overall goal of keeping your customers happy.
Customer-focused organisations make it everyone's business to know the customer. In such companies, production, accounts, marketing and company exectives participate in meeting customers, and everyone of them takes pride in knowing as much as possible about their customers. To introduce this customer-orientated approach to your company e-mail washiela@hanover-cs.co.za.for further queries.

Cleaning Supplies

Cleaning materials should be stored in a plastic carrying tray. They'll be much easier to take out and put away and to move out. When arranging your cleaning your cleaning supplies in a cupboard ensure that large and awkward items, such as a vacuum cleaner, is easy to reach.

Winter Cleaning

Homes get very dusty during winter because the air is so warm and dry. Dust your home's surfaces from top to bottom to maintain the dust at a manageable level. Also focus on fan blades, the tops of window mouldings, and the tops of books - all of which are often overlooked and can collect dust easily. Give your lighting fixtures a good dusting as well.

Low service standards in South Africa

One reason why service standards in South Africa is so bad is the bureaucratic nature of government departments where service is provided under duress. For example, if you arrive at the head of the queue after hours of waiting and the clerk happens to go on lunch, it's your bad luck, you'll just have to join another queue. Years of this sort of treatment have ultimately moulded the local market to become helpless, dependant accustomed to being told what to do. Furthermore, a strong history of racial intolerance resulting in the misunderstood concept of service as being a form of servitude. This could explain why frontline staff remains ignorant as employees may be taught skills but very little training is given on how to care for customers.

What is end of tenancy cleaning?

End of tenancy cleaning is carried out by dedicated mobile teams of cleaning operatives who specialize in properties in need of a thorough deep clean either at the end of a tenancy or before the start of one. These teams are essentially equipped with all the necessary chemicals, tools and equipment. They are trained to clean all kitchen appliances, bathrooms, paintwork and woodwork, windows from inside, etc. This service is usually offered to estate agents, landlords and property managers.

End of tenancy

The tenancy agreement will stipulate a required level of cleanliness when the rental property is vacated. The return of all or part of the initial deposit depends on whether a full clean of the property is required. A minimum requirement would be to return the property to the same state.
When letting. A property it is important to present a clean and tidy environment to potential tenants. The property will be thus more appealing, safe and hygienic as possible and will be subsequently let out sooner. By presenting the incoming tenant with a pristine, clean property landlords can reasonably expect it to be left in the same condition when the tenant moves out.

The cost of bad customer service

Costs would usually arise in handling complaints, insurance liability processing and the necessary corrective public relations. But indirect costs would accrue from lost sales to those direcly affected, lost sales to those who are told about the bad service and the cost of acquiring new customers to replace those lost. he greatest cost of all is the cost of lost opportunties.

Take care of your carpets

Carpets need to be vacuumed once a week and more often in areas of heavy traffic. Frequent vacuuming prolongs the life of your carpet by preventing a build up of gritty particles that can cut fibres.
When carpets are properly maintained clean carpets can improve your health, indoor air quality and act as a filter holding soil, debris and other contaminants, while preventing them from contaminating the quality of air. Routine carpet cleaning is part of a helathy lifestyle. This will ensure that high traffic areas are under control throughout the year.

Performance objectives of our service designs

Our operations personnel always attempt to produce designs which are:
* High quality - services or processes which fulfil their purpose in an effective and creative manner
* Produced in a speedy manner - services or processes which have been moved from concept to detailed specification in as short time as possible
* Produced on a dependable basis - producing designs which meet quoted and planned delivery date
* Produced flexibly - producing designs which have changed to incorporate new and emerging ideas or requirements
* Produced at low cost - producing designs in such a way that the design activity has not consumed excessive resources during the creation process

Speed

Speed is concerned with how long customers have to wait to receive their service. The main benefit to the operation's customers of speedy delivery of services lies in the way it enhances the operation's offering to the customer. For most services, the faster a customer can have the service, the more likely he/she is to buy it. This speed objective is usually reflected in our advertising.

The quality objectives of our operation

Quality means "doing things right", but the things which the operation needs to do right depends on the kind of operation. All operations regard quality as an important objective. Certain operations are effectively promoted on the basis of their quality performance or quality systems as quality is the most visible part of what the operation does. It is something that a customer finds relatively easy to judge about the operation. Quality inevitably influences customer satisfaction or the lack thereof. Good quality services mean high customer satisfaction and the likelihood that the customer will return. Poor quality thus reduces the chances of a customer coming back for more.
Good quality performance in an operation not only leads to external customer satisfaction but makes life easier inside the operation as well. Satisfying internal customers can be as important as satisfying external customers.
The fewer mistakes each micro operation or unit makes the less time it will spend correcting these mistakes and the less confusion and irritation will spread.
The performance objective of quality has both an external to it which leads to customer satisfaction and and internal aspect which leads to a stable and efficient organization.

The roles of our supervisors

Our supervisors form part of the management team and holds the designation of first line managers. He/She is the person who has to perform many functions in order to boost productivity at the execution level. He/She should, however, be seen as managers who co-ordinates the operative level staff. This is key personnel to deliver effective service to clients and to forge your company brand.

Concept Generation

Many suggestions and ideas may come from our customers on a day-to-basis. Customers may write to complain about a particular service, or make suggestions for its improvement or replacement. Ideas may come in the form of suggestions to staff during the delivery of the service. The front line staff usually have good ideas about what customers like and do not like. They may have gathered suggestions from customers or have ideas of their own as to how the service could be developed to meet the needs of customers more effectively, or how a gap could be filled in the service range.

Advantages of using Contracting Cleaning Service Providers

* No requirement to pay for annual holiday entitlements.
* Holiday relief will no longer be required as the contract will be covered by a network of operatives.
* Hourly rates of pay are generally less.
* No sick pay required as this cost will be covered by the contract through a network of operatives.
* Material costs may be lower due to negotiated rates.
* Administrative costs are lower as responsibility is transferred to the service provider.
* Staff is trained in all aspects relating to Health & Safety issues on your premises
* Staff is trained in the safe use of all equipment.
* Ongoing staff training is the responsibility of the service provider.
* In the event of mechanical failure of equipment a rapid replacement to prevent any loss in cleaning standards is provided.
* Support services such as carpet, upholstery, high level cleaning, floor care and window cleaning is provided.
* Through a management system controlled by the Operations Director to ensure daily cleaning is managed and supervised daily.
* Service Providers are available daily during normal working hours. The Contract Manager has the ability to deal with all administrative and financial queries relating to all contracts and acts as an interface between the directors and the Area Manager for your contract.
* Once a contract requires three or more persons, a site supervisor will be appointed. He/She usually ensures that all staff are timely, effective and properly trained and equipped to perform all duties asked of them. He/She is also the initial point of daily contact for the contract.
* You don't have to worry about your office being cleaned.
* Your office building will be even more healthy for you and your staff.
* It will impress your clients!

Why carpets need to be properly maintained

Carpets need to be vacuumed once a week and more often in areas of high traffic. Frequent vacuuming prolongs the life of your carpet by preventing a build up of gritty particles that can cut carpet fibres.
When carpets are properly maintained, clean carpets can improve your health, indoor air quality and act as a filter holding soil, debris and other contaminants, while preventing them from contaminating the quality of air. Routine carpet cleaning is part of a healthy lifestyle. This will ensure that high traffic areas are under control throughout the year.

Why do operations fail?

* The overall design was faulty or because its facilities (machines, equipment and buildings) or staff fail to operate as they should.
* Faults in the information inputs to the operation
* Failures caused by the actions of customers.

The principles of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)

* Rethink business processes in a cross-functional manner which organizes work around the natural flow of customers. This activity would typically focus on outcomes of a process rather than the tasks which go into it.
* Strive for dramatic improvements in the performance by rethinking and redesigning the process.
* Check to see if all internal customers can be their own supplier rather than depending on another function in the process of supplying them.
* Put decision points where the work is performed. Do not separate those who do not work from those who control and manage the work.

Financial advantages of using contract cleaning services

* No requirement to pay for annual holiday entitlements.
* Holiday relief will no longer be required as we'll cover your contract through our network of operatives.
* Hourly rates of pay are generally less.
* No sick pay required as we'll cover your contract through our network of operatives.
* Material costs can be lower, as we take the administrative function from you.

The role of the project manager

All projects need a project manager and their role is to achieve the specified project objectives. This is done by planning and controlling the project from initiation to conclusion, trying to bring order to complexity and reducing the level of uncertainty. Many of their activities are concerned with managing human resources. Personnel need to work effectively with a clear understanding of their roles in the temporary organization and should take the responsibility for effective communication.

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Important characteristics of a project manager

• Background and experience which are consistent with the needs of the project.
• Leadership and strategic expertise, in order to maintain an understanding of the overall project and its environment.
• Technical expertise in the area of the project in order to make sound technical decisions.
• Interpersonal competence and the people skills to take on such roles as project champion, motivator, communicator, facilitator and politician.
• Proven managerial ability in terms of a track record of geeting things done.

Keeping drains odour free

Run very hot water through it after each use and about once a week, throw in a handful of bicarbonate of soda, followed by hot water.  Try pouring a cup of vinegar, let it stand for 30 minutes, then run very hot water through the drain.

Taking care of your sink

Remove stains from a porcelain sink by filling it with lukewarm water, add 2 tablespoons of bleach and let stand for about an hour.  Stubborn stains should be treated with saturated paper towels and let stand for 8 to 10 hours.

Avoid abrasive cleaners when cleaning a stainless steel sink.  Simply splash with sudsy water and clean and polish with glass cleaner or a bicarbonate of soda paste.

Carefully rub scratched or pitted areas with very fine steel wool, then buff to a sheen with a soft cloth.

Cleaning your bathroom in 5 minutes

Armed with a spray bottle of disinfectant, wipe down all bathroom surfaces.  Work from the mirror to the floor covering the basin, bath and toilet along the way.  Proceed to sponge down the bath, shower and basin with a liquid disinfectant cleaner at least once a week.

Hard water spots and soap scum can be treated with a cloth moistened with vinegar.  Dry and polish with a soft cloth.  After showering, clean your bathroom regularly with a hospital grade bleach disinfectant and keep it as dry as possible.

After Builds Cleaning

After Builds Cleaning

Total people involvement

It involves staff taking on much more responsibility to use their abilities to the benefit of the company.  They are trained, capable and motivated to take full responsibility for the work they do.  They are trusted to carry out these responsibilities with autonomy for their own work area.

Staff is expected to:

·         Assist in the selection of new recruits

·         Dealing directly with suppliers, quality issues and delivery information

·         The self-measurement of performance and improvement trends

·         Spending improvement budgets

·         Planning and reviewing work done each day through communication meetings

·         Dealing directly with customer problems and requirements