Macedo Janitorial

What is the number one issue in  commercial cleaning ? Well really it is the number one AND the number two issue. The issue we speak of is facility restrooms. Dirty restrooms, dirty office bathrooms and a lack of a restroom cleaning service can be challenging to any facility. As a building services contractor, there is no shortage of tough cleaning challenges but restrooms continue to top the list. Why is this? Well, there are a number of reasons why restrooms become a point of contention in a facility. One, they can be a the toughest room to tackle. Two, they are private spaces where people are doing their business, business that is more messy and smelly than say, making copies or printing off a document. Third, at home your bathroom is either yours alone or shared with a few family or friends. In a large facility, you share this private space with any number of people you might prefer not to. So having the space look and smell clean is even more important. Fourth, no one reall...

When outsourcing cleaning services, you’re inviting an outside company into your personal workspace. The relationship between you, your employees, and your   janitorial service  is a very important one. The cleaning company you engage should reflect the values of your own business and bring with it an individuality, and a strong sense of customer service that serves to benefit your company.  National janitorial companies have many obvious advantages, which all-too-often, gets canceled out by their various  hidden disadvantages . Typically, by the time these problem situations make themselves known, it is too late. Before you get trapped in a contract with one of the major national cleaning services, take into account the things they cannot offer you; recall the positive aspects available from your local cleaning company:  The best janitorial services are the ones that give you access to the manager or owner in charge when you need it. No matter how big or ho...

When you’re making a switch in cleaning services for your company, you should know that not all janitorial services are created equal--even the best of the best. The cleaning service that you want to invite into your workspace should be rooted in the same values and community as your business or institution.  That being said, assuming for a moment that the reputations of your local cleaning company and a  national janitorial services  company are the same, it is wise to research the inherent differences between the two business types. For example, there are several important points to bear in mind regarding national cleaning services: Their stockholders come first National janitorial services companies  are loyal, first and foremost, to their stockholders and not their clients. What drives these organizations is the price of their stock, raising profits and creating a return. The pockets of their investors will trump the needs of their clients every time. Robb...

Day porters are often the unseen heroes of a facility. These valued team members clean, but they also help support the image of your facility and ensure that customers, employees and tenants are satisfied. Your day porter can provide you as a Facility Manager with an invaluable service, they keep your facility clean and in good repair by helping you tick off items that can quickly overwhelm your ‘to do’ list. A Day Porter or Day Porter Staff functions as a daytime cleaning service with benefits. Your Day Porter will provide vital services that keep your building running smoothly, like: Lobby maintenance Cleaning common areas like kitchens, cafeterias and patios Monitoring and servicing restrooms Removing trash and debris Restroom Restocking Meeting setup/tear down The exact duties of your Day Porter will depend on the needs of your specific facility maintenance and your preferences as a Facility Manager. Generally your Day Porter is given a set list of main...

While much of your cleaning and  building maintenance  takes place after business hours, many facilities see enough traffic to warrant daytime cleaning too. When a lobby has a smudgy door, coffee spills on side tables, overflowing trash or no toilet paper in the restrooms, do you really want to wait until the next day to get things in order? Day porters can assist in daytime cleaning duties to keep your facility looking good, but the real transformation power of a day porter is how their duties can be entirely customized to the needs of you as a Facility Manager, your tenants, your facility and your employees. Day porter services are designed to help you and your facility with basic janitorial needs during normal daytime business hours. Day porter’s duties often include things like trash removal, restocking restroom supplies, keeping entryways and lobbies in sparkling condition, dusting, windows    and doors and more. Again, what day porter services...

Who has a stake in Macedo Services ? Peri, Carlos, Jamie? Actually, the answer is every one of our employees. Since we have put Open Book Management in practice, all of our employees play an important part in managing the company. Every Thursday all of our employees are invited to participate in Open-Book Management meetings, where details of the state of the business are shared. The knowledge they gain from attending the meetings helps them understand how they can help the company attain success — leading to financial rewards for everyone via bonuses.  Carlos Macedo said, “It’s a win/win/win for our clients, our employees and our company .” “Open-Book Management was pioneered by John Case, who clearly and carefully explains the principles in his book, Open-Book Management . His website explains, “In its simplest form, Open-Book Management is a way of running a company that gets everyone focused on building a better business – helping the business be more successful. It ...

Does Local Matter? There has been a recent renewal in our interest in doing things locally. We are told and tell others to shop local, eat local, buy local and even consider taking a “ staycation ” to help keep valuable revenue in our state. In part, keeping your business and dollars local has a number of benefits for the local community, but what about your business? Sure, you’d like to keep your dollars right here in town but as a business person with a bottom line, you also need to consider budgets and the ultimate health of your business. So, when it comes to finding a reliable building services company be it a janitorial service,window cleaning services, a painting company or even general cleaning services, how can you determine if using a local based business might offer a positive return for you and your business? Could Using a Local Cleaning Company Be Good For Business? That all depends on what you need from your cleaning service or janitorial company. I...

In the increasingly busy business environment of today, you need reliable Day Porter Services to help keep the physical aspect of your company running smoothly. By outsourcing this work to a dedicated, knowledgeable and professional company, you can have in place a valuable resource with personnel trained and capable of performing other functions that are not traditionally associated with Day Porter Services.  Whether it's making coffee, running a package upstairs, or meeting the delivery man out back, Day Porters are there to make your job easier.   Whenever a client ask us for the definition of a Day Porter we always answer with the question, "What would you like them to do?"  Some of our most successful Day Porters are the one who have earned the trust of our clients well beyond the normal touching up restrooms and cleaning the front door glass.  While many Day Porters are performing the traditional role of a Day Porter.   We have many ...

Restroom odors can be defeated!   Urine is stubborn stuff, and it will penetrate into grout (even sealed grout and floor finish) and grow odorous bacteria. First of all, of course, be sure your toilets and urinals are being cleaned by your janitorial service on a regular basis. Toilets and urinals have all kinds of nooks and crannies that can harbor bacteria. Tile grout on floors and walls is great for holding stuff together, but unfortunately it's also "great" for harboring bacteria because it's so porous. It needs to be cleaned thoroughly, rinsed well, treated with an "enzyme digester" until the odor is completely gone, and then sealed with a sealer that is urine-resistant. Usually grout can be cleaned using nothing more than a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and water, or a paste made from baking soda and water, and scrubbed with a stiff bristle brush (old toothbrushes don't work). If it's floor grout, your cleaning service can scrub the f...

The importance of a carpet vacuuming strategy is often overlooked by cleaning professionals. This can be especially true in a larger facility of 10,000 square feet or more, where a vacuum cleaning strategy becomes crucial. The two main reasons for this are time and the health of the carpet. In terms of time, consider this example: According to ISSA’s 612 Cleaning Times, it takes 17 minutes to clean about 1,000 square feet using an 18-inch, two-motor upright vacuum cleaner. If a facility has 10,000 square feet of carpeting and all areas are vacuumed every night, that’s almost three hours of vacuuming every evening. Reducing this time can allow cleaning workers to perform other cleaning tasks. As to the health of the carpet, we must always remember that carpet often hides soil, especially dry soil. A strategy that calls for vacuuming based only on appearance may impact not only the health of the facility, but the health of the carpet, as well. Soils can cut carpet fibers, reduci...

Reducing Turnover Is Just Smart Business The contract cleaning industry has always had a turnover problem. In good economic times and bad, turnover in the industry runs anywhere from 75 percent to historical highs of 400 percent.
 To understand what these percentages actually mean when it comes to dollars and cents, let's suppose a contract cleaner has a staff of 100 employees and a turnover rate of 300 percent annually. That's 300 new workers every year. Each time a worker leaves, it costs this contractor $1,000 in recruiting, orientation, and basic training costs to bring in a replacement. To maintain a staff of 100 workers with a 300 percent turnover means she'll be hiring 300 workers annually, costing a whopping $300,000. "That's a lot of money that could be used for new equipment, training programs, or added to business profits," says Terry Sambrowski, executive director of the National Service Alliance (NSA), a group purchasing organization f...