Squeaky Clean Tips and trends for growing your business.

Choosing a janitorial service may sound easy, but think of this:Your cleaning service will be in your facility after hours andunsupervised. So it's important to find a service that notonly does a good job but is trustworthy and reliable.The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)International offers these tips:

• Develop a list of specifications. List the areasthat need to be cleaned and what you expect the service to do(dusting surfaces, emptying trash cans, vacuuming floors, cleaningglass doors and so on), along with how often. Indicate the minimumqualifications you require, such as experience, references andinsurance. You may want to use this list to develop a questionnairefor initial screening.

• Prepare a request for proposal (RFP) to obtain bids fromcontractors that pass your initial screening. Be sure theRFP includes square footage, counts of fixtures and otherspecifications. The contractor should examine the premises beforesubmitting a bid.