There are many, many big office buildings here. However, they are all locked up by contract with full service janitorial companies.

I spoke with one helpful property manager of one of these buildings today. I did so not as a salesman, but as someone who needed some inside information on how things go.

He basically helped me to see that even if a property manager was aware of a service, such as carpet cleaning, that was vastly superior to what the janitorial company was doing, there really wouldn't be a desire to change things up. Just the reality of the situation.

The company that he has is a huge full building maintenance company. Can't beat that for convenience. I would do the same if I was him.

However, in our conversation, he mentioned that he is very good friends with the maintenance coordinator for that company, and said that they may have the need to subcontract some work.

To me, with the situation here, I can't see any other way a little guy like me could ever get the carpet cleaning side of any of these facilities. It's like the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Do any of you have experience with such a situation? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

A lot of these janitor companies couldn't clean a paper bag open at both ends. Most of them are lucky enough to barely empty garbage cans. The people they hire get about minimum wage to $8 an hour. They don't have any experience cleaning upholstery or carpets. There is a company here in my area based out of San Fransisco that is a joke. They go through the motions of cleaning carpet and push dirt from one area to another. Bathroom floors are sticky and you should see their grout cleaning. Here is the reason these companies get contracts. They are CHEAP, CHEAP CHEAP! The building managers cry all the time about crummy service and they know these companies can't produce good results on anything. See if the janitor company will sub to you all of the cartpets & upholstery but at your prices.

We sub for a few large building maintence companies around here, also have direct connection with a few large building. The trick is finding the rite people and also realizing that when you have 10 to 20 K to clean getting your price what ever that may be many times will not happen.

If you properly set up the cleaning schedule, move along you can make some good money on what they want to pay you.

They will vacuum at both ends of the cleaning and move anything that has to. Set it up so you get paid 10 to 15 days net.

even at 7 cents a sq ft 10K takes 5 hours say 6 to be safe $700 for the job

gallon of DS get you 32 gallons of juice
I can go 10k on a gallon of DS = $35 and $5 bucks for my 20 inch beige pad

We also sub out two chains of upscale day cares. I have formed a great working relationship with the owner of the janitorial company, we are now great friends every other weekend we do two or three buildings.

If I ever found out that someone was snooping around a contract I had when I did my janitorial service years ago, I would call the co and say hello. In other words I would let them know I see that they were interested in taking money away from me, lots of the small time mom and pops would back down, because it was always some yahoo that printed up a biz card bought a hoover vac at K mart and thought he/she was in business.

In New Jersey, if you do that you would end up with a gift on your door step. Did you ever see the God Father?

Isn't it amazing that these large companies would allow someone that can not even vacuum a carpet properly the rights to maintain the carpets, and I might add you would be surprised at what they are being charged for the carpet care.
Large Janitorial contractors treat this service as a major source of income, with very little expense, because like the bulk of their services they will not do a lot of work. The 1000 sq ft at the front and back door, and of course the area around the person they report to, the rest only when there is a note in the log book.
These are the accounts you need to work on getting a chance to do a demonstration cleaning for.

Very good and interesting replies. Sounds like this is a universal situation here.

The absolute hardest part is getting anyone to care. It's as if people have become so accustomed to sub-par work, that if you mention quality, they have no concept of what that would be.

I agree with Don on getting to do a demo. I will keep working on these people to at least see what is possible.

The key word is apathy. The property manager doesn't care. The Janitorial doesn't care. The tenants leasing space don't care enough. The owner gets his money. Why change?

So have any of you had any success getting a carpet cleaning account when a janitorial was already in?

Sounds like what David is doing is the only realistic way much will happen in these cases.

I'm sure there are a few good property managers that care. I spoke with one that will let me do a demo, and another that really wants to know my credentials even before considering me. But so far, they have been the exception to the rule.

Get to the property Manager. I recently have had some success with them. Of course it didn't hurt that a friend of mine knew the property owner. I found out that at many of these large building's The property manager is only responsible for cleaning the community areas and spots for tennants. Each tennant is actually responsible for the carpet cleaning if they want all of their carpet cleaned. Didn't really make sense to me but that is the way it is.

I'm glad to hear that it is possible to break through on these accounts.

I am trying very hard to get these property managers to care. I think I will be taking some photos and forwarding it to them. Might help.

As for the tenant carpet cleaning, it's the same situation here. They're on their own when it comes to that. However, whoever is in the building already cleaning the carpet will get first dibs when they do finally decide to clean their carpet.

Plus, you can probably give them a good price if they do it when you're cleaning the rest of the carpet anyway.

Thanks for the response.

Keep chasing them sooner or later they will have a problem with the carpet and the Janitorial Company will not have a clue as to coprrecting the problem and they just may call you in.

Thanks for the motivation. Coming from someone like you with years in the industry, you've probably seen it all already.

Everyday for me is a new adventure. I am learning a lot of how things work here, though. Just trying to see where I can wiggle myself in.