Always ask for references. The best companies will give you references for other business or personal accounts they service. Talk to the references they give you. Find out how they came into contact with the janitor service business, how long they have been contracting out to them, and how satisfied they are with their work to date.

Sometimes it can be intimidating to ask for references, and once we get them to check up on them. We all want to trust our fellow business owner, however just because someone is a nice person and has a great personality doesn’t mean they’re great a running a business.

References are the only window you have to look into how this service actually performs. It also allows you to see what abilities the janitor service has to know if they will actually be able to provide the services that you need.

When checking on the references find out as much as you can. If a reference says they like the work the janitor service does, ask them why. Get as many specifics as possible.

For instance:

If they like that the janitor service went out of their way and did extra work that was not on the contract. Ask them what the service did, and when. How often did do this sort of thing?

References are a perfect place to find out how much autonomy the janitor service has. Good services will do their work, and you will hardly notice that they are there except monthly when you pay the bill. (And that they do a spectacular job.) But some services may have problems with anything “out of the ordinary” and may need to call and ask often really giving you more hassle than you bargained for. (In that case it’s almost like hiring another employee – a bad one – rather than a service.)