Questions about commercial cleaning contracts

How long does it take to get a quote?

A walkthrough takes about twenty minutes and is usually arranged within a few days of the request. The written scope and quote follow the walkthrough. Nothing is priced before the building has been seen, so there is no faster path that produces a number worth comparing.

Is cleaning done during business hours or after?

Most commercial buildings are cleaned after close or before open, and the access arrangement is written into the scope. Daytime service is possible and some buildings prefer it, but it changes what can be done — floor work is disruptive in an occupied space, so a daytime scope front-loads washrooms, kitchens and touchpoints and moves floor care to a periodic after-hours visit.

What happens if someone on the crew is away?

The scope is what gets delivered, not a particular person. Consistent crews are the working standard because someone who knows the building is faster and misses less, but cover is arranged against the same written task list so the building sees the same result.

How is quality actually checked?

Against the scope, by inspection. A line that says "restock consumables to at least half capacity" can be verified; a line that says "keep washrooms tidy" cannot. That is the practical reason the scope is written with a measurable standard on each task rather than a task list alone.

Who provides the equipment?

The contractor, in almost every case — vacuums, floor machines, mops and carts. Where equipment is stored between visits belongs in the scope, because a building with no storage changes how a crew is routed. Consumables are a separate question and can go either way, as long as the scope says which.

What is a scope of work, in plain terms?

The document that says what gets cleaned, where, how often, and to what standard. It is what a quote is priced from, what the crew works to, and what any disagreement is settled against. Ours is written before the price is set, so the two always describe the same building.

Can one contract cover more than one building?

Yes, and across the corridor that is common. Each building is walked and quoted separately, because a dealership showroom and a strata lobby are not the same job, but they run on one schedule and one agreement. For a practice or a management company with several sites, that is the difference between one supplier relationship and several.

What happens at the end of a contract?

Notice is given on the terms the agreement sets, a short overlap is arranged so the incoming crew can walk the building, consumables are counted at handover, and keys, fobs and codes are returned against the written access list. Any code the outgoing crew held should be changed.

Is floor care included, or quoted separately?

Routine floor work — vacuuming, damp mopping, traffic lanes — is part of the regular schedule. Restorative work is on its own cycle and priced separately: hot water extraction, hard floor scrub and recoat, and VCT strip and wax. Keeping the two apart is what stops a nightly rate quietly absorbing an annual job.

What does a post-construction clean include?

It is normally staged in three passes. A rough clean during construction clears debris, nails and screws and vacuums ducts before covers go on. A final clean after finish work covers windows, paint overspray, grout haze, hard floors, fixtures and switch plates. A touch-up pass immediately before walkthrough catches dust that settled after the final clean.