While there is a widely held belief by the public that auto dealerships make astronomical profits, nothing could be further from the truth. Margins have always been tight and the dealerships are under increasing pressure. Apart from selling more cars and add-on services, many dealerships look to slash their expenses. Cleaning and janitorial services are often one of the first expenses they consider cutting.
This could be a big and costly mistake. If sales and margins are already under pressure, the last thing you want to do is lower the appeal of your dealership. Cutting corners on janitorial cleaning services can immediately make your dealership look less appealing and create a negative perception in the mind of the customer. First impressions and a spotless showroom are essential to creating a good image for your dealership.
When times are tough, you certainly must act, and cutting costs is definitely a good idea. Look at all your expenses and analyze each one to see where to reduce monthly costs. This is good business practice.
If, however, you do away with your cleaning and janitorial services company, drop its hours dramatically or go with a low-cost budget operator, you will be doing your dealership a major disservice.
You still have a business to run and despite the financial pressure, you cannot be perceived as lowering your standards. Don’t make any rash decisions and create an opportunity for customers to form a negative impression.
Take a logical and strategic approach to costs instead. Janitorial cleaning services can certainly be a significant monthly cost, and it can be extremely tempting to do away with it and get existing staff to take over the cleaning. This will certainly reduce costs in the short term but could be a fatal mistake.
How Can Car Dealerships Reduce Costs While Maintaining Cleaning Standards?
Fortunately, there are several things you can do to manage the cost of important cleaning and janitorial services without reducing the quality of the service you receive. A dirty and untidy showroom can immediately put off potential customers and cost you sales. Instead, try a few of these ideas:
Talk To Your Professional Cleaning Company
The first thing you should do is request a meeting with your janitorial services company. Companies in many industries are feeling the pinch, so they are likely to be understanding of your predicament. They probably have several other customers in the same position.
If they have worked with you for a while, it is likely that they value your business and do not want to lose you as a client. Explain your concerns and, together, you can find a compromise.
An experienced commercial janitorial cleaning company has dealt with situations like this before and will take a professional approach.
Develop a Cleaning Plan
You and the commercial janitorial cleaning company need to sit down and work out a logical plan to clean the car dealership in a more cost-effective manner. If you study all areas of the dealership, you might find that some areas do not need to be serviced as often as they currently are.
The best way to achieve this is to observe the cleaning process and then inspect the dealership for a few days. See where time and effort are being wasted and where changes could be made that will reduce the work without the standards lowering.
Hi-touch and hi-traffic areas will need to be cleaned regularly, so that washrooms, windows, and the showroom floor cannot be compromised. You might find, however, that the reception area or other parts of the dealership might need a daily vacuum but only need to be properly cleaned once a week.
Get Staff Involved
It is essential that you keep janitorial cleaning services because your staff is there to do a job. Having said that, there is nothing stopping them from being a bit more involved in some aspects of the cleaning.
They can keep their own office space neat and tidy, keep the kitchen area clean, and empty garbage cans occasionally. This will take some of the load off the professional cleaning company staff and reduce the amount of time they need to spend there.
Remove Clutter
For example, having piles of paperwork and folders in the office will make the job of cleaning and janitorial services more time-consuming. Try to remove or pack away as much unnecessary clutter as possible and this will speed the job up. It also makes the workspace look neater.
Technology
Work with a professional cleaning company that makes use of the latest technology. Automated floor cleaners are a great example. They do the work much faster than human labor at a fraction of the cost. They also tend to do a more effective job.
The quality of the cleaning materials also makes a big difference and good products will do a faster and more efficient job.
Work with one of the bigger, more established cleaning services
It is great to try and support small businesses where possible. But, there are several advantages to working with a bigger company that has been around for a while.
First, it has bulk buying power. The larger janitorial cleaning services company has many clients and, as a result, it buys its equipment and cleaning supplies in bulk. A smaller business would not be able to do this and its costs would be higher. It, therefore, must charge a higher rate to be profitable.
Larger companies also have economies of scale in other areas, such as HR, training, and accounting costs. These expenses are spread over many clients as opposed to just a handful.
Experience also counts for a lot, and established companies know how to clean faster and more efficiently. These savings will benefit you.
Closing Thoughts
If you are looking for commercial cleaning in Los Angeles or surrounding areas, call 1 (888) TEAM-iNX or fill out this form on our website. We are an experienced, well-established company that delivers a cost-effective cleaning solution for businesses of all sizes.
We’ll allow you to keep your facility in pristine condition for a fair price and help you create that all-important good first impression when customers come into your auto dealership.
