Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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I'm not the only one who takes pictures of places and things that have been inadequately cleaned as Lynn Webster's (Lynn Webster Consultants, www.lwc-ltd.co.uk ) Facebook post revealed yesterday... She was "feeling disgusted" and her comment that: "Yes Leeds Bradford Airport is still filthy & I've not even dared visit the toilets!" probably prompted a similar thought from all who read it: "Avoid them if you can!"
Rather than just posting on Facebook, Lynn does the right thing by complaining to the powers that be and confesses to having written several letters outlining her concerns, to no avail. Perhaps if more of us complain about poor standards, those responsible for the facility will take notice. The consensus amongst those who've seen the Facebook post is that the poor cleaning in this case is down to lack of budget, with several saying: "you get what you pay for."
As one wrote: "We all want cheaper airfares, and the airport is a commercial enterprise that needs to make a profit, so what gets cut to achieve those cheaper fares? Non-essential repairs and essential daily maintenance services! I bet the few cleaners they've got are stretched to the max!"
Lynn rightly points out that as the airport is an entry point into our 'Northern Powerhouse', it's not creating the best first impression - and of course that's the thing about cleaning. If a place is dirty, it's very off-putting and you're likely to avoid it in future if you can. Unlike an airport though, many places don't get a second chance, so you need to get it right all the time.
Historically, contract cleaners have tended to play their cards close to their chests. When I've questioned some about why they don't want to share news of their successes they've said it's because the competition will know when the contract's up for renewal and alert them to the opportunity to bid for it. My response has always been that if you do a great job, the client's not likely to go elsewhere - but then if someone else is prepared to offer the same standards for a smaller budget, you may just lose the work.
I wonder how many contractors out there see a dirty facility as a sales lead, and use the bad experience to create what could potentially be a new contract for their company? As sales leads go, obvious poor cleaning is quite an opener, isn't it?
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Yours,
3rd October 2019