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Monthly Archives

August 2018

Aug 29
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The Psychology of Clean

By | Cleaning, Office Cleaning

Walking into a nice, tidy, clean space, or walking into a messy, cluttered, dirty space; the difference is palpable. A place that has not been well maintained might spike your blood pressure, you might feel an urge to clean it, you might wonder at how it’s occupants let the space get so messy; it’s easy to feel uncomfortable in a mess. Conversely, a clean, well-kept space is like a revelation; you might marvel at great organizational techniques, efficient uses of space, or just how nice everything looks. You’ll be more inclined to notice the nice paint colour and new hardwood of a neat space. There’s powerful psychology at work here; why do we prefer clean spaces?

Clutter is problematic because it reminds us there’s work to be done, namely, the work of cleaning the space. It’s more difficult to find things in messy spaces, so it makes us anxious we won’t be able to locate something important when we need it. We may also feel guilty or embarrassed by a messy space, especially when guests or clients are visiting our space, who may see the mess as a reflection of our work ethic.

There are implications for productivity and creativity, as well. When there’s mess or clutter, our minds tend to get distracted from the work at hand; unpleasant sights and smells demand to be cleaned, and the cognitive dissonance created by deciding between cleaning and working can be extremely stressful. A cluttered area can also draw your attention to visual stimuli that have nothing to do with what you’re working on, and once distracted, it may be difficult to get back to work.

A messy area can also have drastic impacts on your mental health. A messy space that goes uncleaned may be out of sight, but it’s rarely out of mind; a study of 60 women found that those with a cluttered home environment became more stressed as the day went on, but those with clean homes saw their stress levels go down as the day went on and their work reached completion. This is likely because those with messy homes saw their work as perpetually unfinished, which adds unnecessary stress.

Our minds react negatively to mess; there are many possible reasons why, though none are considered definitive. One speculation says that we simply love order; from the circadian cycle, to the advantages of having a steady routine. Others speculate that mess and unpleasantness can signal danger to our brain; what’s hiding under that pile or causing that smell may be hazardous to our health.

The implications of cleanliness apply as much in your office as in your home. You certainly don’t want clients and visitors to question your professionalism, and you don’t want your staff to lose productivity to mess. That’s why it’s important to keep your place of work clean; professional office cleaning in Winnipeg is a great way to get all the benefits of cleanliness without having to spend all your time tidying up.

Aug 22
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Your Janitor Could Be A Hero

By | Housekeeping

Choosing the Best Commercial Cleaning Services WinnipegThe heroes who appear in our lives can be all shapes and sizes. One hopes to never face a house fire or a terrible disease, but when these things happen, our doctors and firemen can easily be seen as heroes. Other times, our heroes are other citizens; passersby who wish us well, or pick up an item we dropped, or help us lift something heavy when we’re at our wits end. These small acts of kindness are a form of heroism too, and a janitorial service offering commercial facilities cleaning can save us from feeling overwhelmed by the cleaning our office needs. Today’s story involves a different kind of heroism, but one that presented itself in an unassuming package.

William Crawford worked as a janitor for the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. A shy and unassuming man, students began to regard him as something of a fixture in their lives; he’d always leave the space clean and tidy, with nary a word to anyone. He worked there for about a decade before a student, Cadet James Moschgat, found a William J. Crawford in a history book; this man, with the same name as their janitor, was a Medal of Honor recipient. When Moschgat showed the janitor his history book and asked if he was the same man, Crawford is said to have responded “That was a long time ago, and one day in my life”.

Crawford was a private in the US Army during the Allied campaign in Italy. The army was pushing back German forces in the south of Italy, and Crawford was a part of a battle for an important hill in the area. German gunners were firing from bunkers along the side of the hill; Crawford decided to engage the bunkers. Crawling under bullet fire, he successfully assaulted the first bunker with a grenade; he went on to do the same with two other bunkers, successfully taking the hill. In an ensuing skirmish, however, he was taken captive and presumed dead.

His father was presented the Medal of Honor “posthumously”; later in 1944, however, Crawford was rescued with several other POWs from a German camp. He continued to serve in the Army until 1967, at which point he began his janitorial work for the Air Force Academy. No longer “just a janitor” to the Academy students, he became a figure of greatness, a person who students looked to for advice and leadership, despite his shyness.

At one point, Crawford revealed that he had never been granted a Medal of Honor from a president; the ceremony in which his father was given the medal was the only one. The students at the Academy felt this wasn’t fair, and arranged for President Ronald Reagan to hold a ceremony for their janitor at the academy in 1984.

We are surrounded by heroes; it’s impossible to say what someone has been through without speaking with them. Your janitorial staff have had tremendous experience, whether they be Medal of Honor recipients or not; it’s worth taking the time to talk with cleaning staff, because you never know who might be a hero.

Aug 08
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Is Your Shop Really Clean Enough?

By | Cleaning

There’s no doubt that cleanliness has a huge impact on the customer experience. We might look around our shop, say “We’ve done a good enough job cleaning, let’s pack it up”. The question we have to ask ourselves is this: did we really clean well enough? A study done by Zach Blatt at hospitalitynet showed that in the hotel industry, cleanliness had a greater impact than price on how well a customer rated their overall experience. This might indicate that no expense should be spared when it comes to keeping a clean shop. Let’s look at how we can evaluate our shop, outside and in, to make sure it’s clean enough.

Outside our shop, we should look at what the customer will see coming in. The sidewalks we use are heavily traffic, and should be cleaned regularly to keep clear of dirt and other messes. Dumpsters will quickly become messy, and can give off unpleasant odors that make customers walk away; they are often within eyeshot or nose shot of our clients. The windows and doors of our business can become smudged and fingerprinted, cracked and bug-infested. Our parking lots should be well maintained, as not only are they unsightly when messy, but they can also be dangerous if the mess can move and cause problems with traffic. Safety is the most important thing we can consider for our clients, for repeat experience and to avoid liability for injury.

Inside our shop, everything has to look as good or better as outside. The floors should be immaculate, because no one likes to step in sticky mess, or worse yet, slip and hurt themselves. The area where our customers buy the products should be clean and clear, as the point of purchase experience tends to be memorable. Our walls and ceilings, of course, should be kept spick and span, so the customers aren’t distracted by mess. Any display areas, or areas for sitting, should be kept free of sticky messes which are incredibly unsettling to feel with our hands. Finally, our restrooms must be kept in top shape; restocked with all the essentials, smelling nice, and clean to a fault. A bad restroom is just as liable to have a customer leave as anything else, so don’t keep a dingy one and hope that no one asks where it is; improve the customer experience!

This may seem daunting, as after going through the checklist we might still feel unsure that things are clean enough. Remember, cleanliness has a huge impact on customer satisfaction! This is why it’s important to consider high quality janitorial services whose expertise is making things as clean as they can be. This way, we can focus on giving our clients the best products, the best customer service; all the positive things that make us stand out. Remember, a bad client experience means a lot of lost business, so let’s ease our clients and our own minds by keeping a clean, well-ordered and happy shop.

Aug 01
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Poor Cleanliness in Retail Affects the Customer Experience

By | Cleaning

Customers are the lifeblood of any business; without them, our business cannot succeed. This is true of any business, from law firms to commercial chemical companies, but it seems truest of all in retail. Retailers don’t have long-term contracts to rely on; when we’re in retail, each customer who walks through our door is a new opportunity, and each negative experience is a potential lost client. This is why cleanliness is key in a retail market; poor cleanliness hurts the customer experience, which can lead to lost sales, lost clients, and potential loss in market share.

We might sell clothes, furniture, or any number of things as retailers; but no matter what we sell, our clients are looking for a good shopping experience. A well laid out store, with thought given to where the customer comes in, where they check out, and the order in which they’d like to buy items is key to a great experience. Cleanliness is essential to good maintenance, because when clients see clutter, dirt, scuff marks, or any other kind of unsightliness, their eyes are drawn towards the mess instead of the product. This means they may well miss out on something they’d have loved to purchase, which means we lose out on a sale.

Clients are also quick to decide not to walk into a place that’s unclean. Imagine walking past a shop that has nice looking items, but a terrible smell! No matter how much we’d normally want to shop there, we avoid places that are clearly unclean. This is because bad smells and sights can mean that we’re unsafe; that’s why our senses tell us to avoid those areas. Bad smells can happen to any retailer, even Apple has had negative feedback from smelly stores. They tried to handle it with in-store staff, using air fresheners to see where it smelled the worst, but it got worse. They should have hired a professional cleaning service!

Clients who sense something messy in a retail space are likely to have a bad shopping experience. The smells, the sights; when things are messy, they are unpleasant. In the retail world, we know that customers love to talk, and we don’t want our customers telling their friends about what an unclean shop we have. Their friends will tell their friends, and suddenly we see a drop in how many people even set foot in the shop, whether we’ve cleaned it since or not! This is why we can’t risk ever presenting an unclean shop; it leaves a lasting disfavourable impression that can reach far beyond the clients who set foot in the door that day.

Having a clean shop is necessary to have a successful retail business. Clean shops increase sales for clients in the store, they increase the likeliness that clients will set foot in the store, and they make the customer experience better, meaning more and repeat clients. The importance of cleanliness can’t be understated, and we must make sure our shops stay beautiful to make sure our business stays beautiful.