Janitorial service and office cleaning overlap, and the difference is mostly scope. Office cleaning covers the space one tenant occupies. Janitorial covers the building: lobbies, corridors, stairwells, elevators, shared restrooms and often the tenant floors too, usually under one agreement with the property manager.
The scope of work
A janitorial contract lives or dies on its scope of work. Ours is a room-by-room document with a frequency next to each task: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly. You approve it before we start, and the supervisor inspects against it.
A building scope often includes:
- Lobbies, entrance glass and mats
- Corridors, stairwells and elevator cabs, including door tracks and thresholds
- Common restrooms, restocked on every visit
- Tenant floors, on whatever schedule each tenant pays for
- Trash and recycling from tenant floors to the collection area
- Loading dock and trash room sweeps
Supplies: who pays for what
Restroom paper, soap and liners are the line item people argue about. We handle them one of two ways. Either the building buys them and we restock, or we supply them and list the cost on the invoice. The quote says which, so the monthly number is the number.
Inspections and reporting
A supervisor walks the building on a schedule we agree on, with the scope in hand. Anything missed is written down and fixed, and the next walk checks that the fix held. If you want a written inspection report each month, we send one.
Switching from another vendor
If you're replacing a current vendor, tell us what isn't working. Usually the problem is missed areas or a crew that changes every week. Sometimes it's just that nobody picks up the phone. We'd rather hear it before we quote than after, because it decides how we set up your account.
Questions about janitorial service
Do you work with property management companies?
Yes. We work from your template if you have one, send the paperwork your building requires, and take access requests through your front desk. Invoices and reports go to whoever you name.
What happens if the regular crew is out?
A trained backup covers the shift, and the supervisor tells your contact if the plan changes. The checklist stays the same, so coverage doesn't change what gets done.
Can you cover only the common areas?
Yes. Many buildings hire us for lobbies, corridors and restrooms, and each tenant arranges its own suite cleaning, with us or with someone else.