June 18, 2012

Annual Service Agreement (ASG)

ASG LOGOWhat is an Annual Service Agreement (ASG)?

It is an agreement between the Strata Corporation and ServiceMaster Clean Residential to perform a variety of cleaning services throughout the year.  It is an ongoing agreement where the prices quoted are guaranteed for 3 years, and the strata is committing to having those services performed annually.  The services are scheduled in advance the following year, given priority booking.  It automatically continues unless the strata corporation provides 30 days written notice.

In return for committing to a schedule the strata receives 7 % savings on their regular maintenance items.  In order to be eligible for an ASG a strata must have no less than 3 services in their service calendar.

We keep our customers based on our performance and not a contract, ASG is still governed by this principle. An ASG makes it easier for all parties to work together and provides a frame work for the relationship.

This is what it looks like / worded:

Wording of an ASG

Please find attached the annual service agreement for (Name Of Strata).

Details are as follows:

  • Services scheduled as per  Service Calendar (notice provided for posting in advance)
  • 7 % discount applied to each service upon completion
  • Each service invoiced individually upon completion
  • In order to discontinue the schedule, strata corporation to provide 30 days written notice

Strata Corporation pre-approves ServiceMaster Clean Residential to perform the service(s) (in service calendar) annually.   The quoted price(s) will not be increased for the next (3) three years.   30 days written notice is requested for changes or to cancel.

This is a summary of the pros for all 3 parties involved:

(1. The Building 2. The Property Manager 3. The Service Provider)

  1. Pros For The Buildings
  • Save 7 % on their cleaning services
  • Annual services get done like clock work
  • Develop a relationship with a service provider instead of having someone different service the building every year. It is proven that if the same company and more specifically same technician service’s a site they will outperform “a one off service”.
  • If the property manager changes or the company changes the service to the building continues on schedule.
  • Serviced by a 25 year company and that specializes in Strata and Rental buildings
  • They are not committed for ever, if they wish to discontinue simply provide 30 days written notice
  1. Pros for The Property Manager (Time savings)
  • Does not need to seek approval from council for routine maintenance
  • Does not need to gather yearly quotes for cleaning services
  • They are provided a date in advance to service
  • They are “prompted” when it is time, and do not need to worry about forgetting about scheduling important maintenance
  1. Pros For The Service Provider
  • Saves a step with very busy property managers
  • Scheduled work for production in advance
  • Reduces Sale costs, time and need to follow up an annual basis
  • Eliminated the difficulties that can happen, new property manager, new strata council, new pm company.

In conclusion we keep our customers based on our performance and not a contract, ASG is still governed by this principle. An ASG makes it easier for all parties to work together and provides a frame work for the relationship.

Misaligned Gutters
February 23, 2012

Gutter Issues At Your Stratas

We find many examples of what causes leaking, overflowing, and plugged up gutters when performing gutter cleaning services around the GVRD. The majority of cases are what is most common; troughs clogged up with leaves. In some cases, because different species of tree shed their leaves at different times of the year, a spot clean was necessary. However, this first example below is what happens if a strata decides not to clean for a while.

Example Pics Series #1 – Why Gutters Should Be Cleaned Every Year.

Full Gutters At Strata

Example Pics Series #2 – Rusted Out Gutters

Rusted Gutters: something has eaten holes right through the metal of these gutter systems. Acid Rain? Aliens? What has caused this? The dripping water is obviously not related to the quality of the cleaning service.

Rusted Out Gutters

Example Pics Series #3 – Misalignment, Off-Slope, and Plugged Underground

At this strata, we found a variety of issues were troubling many spots. The pic on the top left has a misaligned downspout. Because of the structure built around below it, the downspout could not be realigned at the top and reconnected. We had no way to fix this issue, and whenever water runs through this part of the gutter system, it will leak out over the wall unless that wood is ripped out, the gutter fixed, and then the wall put back in properly. In the second pic with the red circle, water is bubbling up from underground. Because the downspout is behind a wall, we have no way to get into that area to try and unclog it. And in the 3rd pic on the bottom, the slope of this carport roof is so off, during a heavy rain the water flows over the corner rather than draining out the hole and down.

Misaligned Gutters

And last but not least – who has been throwing stones into the roof channel? Birds? Teenagers? How did these get up there?

Rocks in Roof Channel

Investigation into reoccurring gutter problems can reveal many things. We enjoy working together to identify the problem, solve those we can, and give recommendations in order to avoid the same headaches in the years ahead.

 

February 23, 2012

Professional Carpet Cleaner, or, Just the Janitor?

Why would a building allow an uncertified Janitor to clean the common hallway carpets?

The only reason we can think of is they see them every day (ease of access) , “Bob” the janitor is probably a nice guy, and the strata hopes to save some money.

Do you really want “Bob” to maintain the common area carpets and be responsible for protecting this investment?

Let’s say its costs 10 per sq. ft. to remove and replace common area carpet. So a typical building is 6,000 sq. ft. so roughly it would be between 60K and 80k to replace the carpet (not pocket change).

“TOP TEN REASONS TO USE A PROFESSIONAL”

Ask Yourself – Why wouldn’t you have a firm who:

  1. Has certified techs (Clean Trust/ IICRC)
  2. Career professional (This is all they do, clean common area carpet. Well, they do have hobbies
  3. Meet warranty specifications
  4. Tech’s who know their chemistry
  5. Has a plan, isn’t reacting to seeing dirty carpet which is often too late and wear damage has occurred
  6. Has liability insurance 5 Million (People do slip and fall and sue)
  7. Has WCB coverage for carpet cleaning no janitorial. (Tech’s can hurt their backs)
  8. Has great equipment, each van costs upward of 50K to set up
  9. Has great customer service team, 25 + years of business
  10. We are proven to increase the life span of the carpet

So if are considering having “Bob” clean the carpets to save some money please consider the above.

The best thing a building can do is have Bob vacuum the carpets with a great vacuum on a consistent schedule removing 90 % of the dry soil and let the experts remove the 10 % left the sticky soil (carpet talk).

A typical quarterly maintenance program for this building would cost 2k annually, which is a very small item in a strata’s budget. And replacing the carpet in 6 years instead of 12 (which happens or they just live with dirty worn out carpet) from a financial point of view and liability point of view clearly doesn’t make sense.

David Benoit

General Manager

ServiceMaster Residential For Vancouver

 

December 28, 2011

Planning Ahead: A Proactive Approach to Services

January means last year is behind us. It was a great year. I’m sure you, like me, had some great highlight moments, some personal triumphs – and sometimes when planning and preparing a bit better could have saved a lot of time, phone calls, and headaches.

This year my new year’s resolution is different. I’m not punishing myself on a treadmill (any more than usual), or swearing off my favorite treats. Instead I’m giving myself a gift this year; I’m making my life easier. I’m taking a slow day in January to plan ahead and prepare for the things that are coming up.

For some things it is pretty simple – make a list of to do items so far in advance that the things on that list can be picked off one at a time without needing to rush around last minute. I can budget for them, plan on where to get them, and do so at a leisurely pace, rather than my usual trying to cram them all in at crunch time.

And speaking of crunch time, I’m also going to plan my fitness routine for the first time in my life. Otherwise, I’m too sporadic and don’t get the results I hope to achieve.

About 80%, that’s how much I think this will really happen, if I’m going to be honest with myself. I’ll make some lofty goals and get about 80% there. Which will still be 80% further ahead than I would be otherwise?

Why not do the same with your stratas?

For the past few years, a small number of property managers have planned ahead and requested quotes for ALL services, for ALL of their properties before spring. In that way, they always have the desired number of quotes with competitive pricing well in advance of the meetings when they’re due. There is no last minute stress.

Programs – another way to save hassle and save money. A few property managers have found it very beneficial to have all the services approved, pre-booked and scheduled in advance. They know what is going to happen when, and we show up, provide the required service with lots of advance notice, and everyone is happy.

This approach may not work for you. It may not work for all of your stratas – I’m not a property manager and therefore don’t personally know the demands of the job first hand. However, if this approach could save you time, last minute stress, phone calls, prepping notices last minute, or looking for those quotes you requested the day before a meeting, perhaps it is worth considering.

Is this approach feasible for the industry?

If you think it could help, send us your list of properties to quote on. Talk to us about building maintenance packages, and how they can save money and time. If not, perhaps leave a comment to help us learn why this doesn’t work for you, or how we can help make your life easier.

Leave a comment. And thanks for taking the time to read e-tips.

December 8, 2011

Gutter Guard / Leaf Guard: To Use or Not To Use?

A customer recently asked my opinion about gutter guard (also known as leaf guard). I was happy to provide it, and I think that having previously worked for a company that used to install it, and having cleaned gutters around the GVRD that both have it and don’t, I think I have an informed opinion.

Gutter guard is a big investment for a strata, and the idea is that is should save them on maintenance and save them money long term. Is that actually the case?

Answer: it might cost MORE in maintenance, depending upon the type of leaf guard installed. Or, it may save a bit of money, but in almost all case it does not work as expected.

Gutter guard is supposed to prevent leaves from sitting in your gutter while allowing the water pass through perforations, into the trough, and then be carried away as desired. This is great in theory, the problem is that it ALMOST NEVER works that way!

The worst kind of gutter guard I’ve seen yet was a plastic lattice work or netting that was supposed to sit over the top of the gutter. However, this net sank into the gutter under the weight of the leaves, and the perforations were so large, that it trapped the leaves in them. The result: leaves that couldn’t be cleaned out of the gutter! This was a disastrous, worst case scenario, and certainly cost more than a regualr gutter cleaning. The leaves were held tight like fish in a net, unable to be removed, choking up the gutter system. The only way to get rid of the junk was to remove the netting, which should have been disposed of along with the leaves. I don’t remember what actually ended up happening in that case.

The best designed product is one that I used to install. It is a flat, perforated aluminum that clips onto one side of the gutter, and is fastened down to the other side with screws. Durable, solid, with holes not too large, this looks like the perfect solution. Leaves can’t fit in the holes, water can seep in, it should work perfectly, right?

Wrong.

I’m glad I don’t install this product any more, now that I work with ServiceMaster.

This is Vancouver. We get a lot of leaves falling, and a lot of rain. What happens ot those dead leaves when they’ve been soaked by a day of heavy rainfall? They start to decompose, they compress under their own weight, and become a sticky, thick pasty mess kind of like paper mache. Paper mache, as we all know, sticks to things. What do leaves do that are thick and pasty? They stick to the roof. They stick to the top of the gutter guard.

That is the flaw in the whole scheme. The dead leaves sit on top of the gutter guard, plug up the holes, and the water now runs off the roof, over the leaves, and falls over the edge of the gutter to the ground. That is the scenario gutters are installed to avoid in the first place.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Well, the idea is that the leaves are supposed to be blown off the roof by the wind, and harmlessly swept up off the ground. The missing part of this formula? Vancouver rain. Not enough wind. The leaves stay on top the gutter guard, which now needs to get cleaned anyway. So, a maintenance service still has to be done. A ladder has to be set up to the roof, all the leaves swept off or peeled off. You might think, well, that sounds easier than scooping them out of the gutter, right?

Not necessarily. We’re not talking yet about pine trees. Those little needles that they shed are small enough to get through the little holes. Rotting leaves sitting atop the gutter guard break apart and send particles down through the holes. Over time, these things accumulate in the gutter and cause problems. However, now you can’t get into the gutter trough to clean them out – there’s a cover screwed down over your gutter. Now the gutter guard acts as a lid preventing that stuff from being removed.

So, what I’ve found in the industry is that gutter guard, which is often a very expensive investment for stratas, is not really worth it. Why put a perforated lid on system that is going to need cleaning out anyway? The expectation that it will eliminate the need for maintenance is also false. You still have to have someone get up there and sweep off the top of the gutter guard and sweep leaves off the roof.

This has been my experience, anyway.

I’d love to hear feedback from anyone else out there who has had either positive or negative experiences about gutter guard. Leave a comment. Start a discussion. Are there things that I’ve missed here?

Thanks for reading e-tips!

 

November 16, 2011

Carpet Issue Identification: Colour Loss in Carpet Fibers, or “Goop” Explained

Recently we’ve heard customer concerns about lighter spots on the carpet that have appeared after cleaning. People are puzzled; what causes this phenomenon? Is there a cleaning product that bleaches the carpet fibers? Why does this happen? How is it possible? Is the carpet cleaner to blame, after all, this has appeared after the recent carpet cleaning service?

There is a very simple explanation, and it has to do with prevention, not products or methods used in professional carpet cleaning.

It has to do with, to define a phrase for the rest of this article, “goop”.

Goop – as it shall be known for the rest of this blog post, is a combination of 2 things.

The first component of good is usually liquid and most often comprised of common laundry soap with bleach added, bleach, nail polish remover, acne treatment pads or gels, etc.  What each and any of these goop components have in common is a bleaching agent, whitening agent, or an extreme PH component which can literally suck the colour off a carpet – or, strip the dye from carpet fibers.   This first part of goop finds its way onto carpet through a variety of means as well: dripped from garbage bags, dripped from laundry soap canisters after the lid has been put back on and a bit has seeped out,  spilled on the floor when the groceries are brought back home, etc.

The second component of good is plain old dirt.  It is made up of particles of all kinds of soil which are tracked into the building on the bottoms of your feet, your pets’ feet, bags and carts rolled down the hall, etc.  The important thing to realize is that the second part of the goop, the dirt, adheres and hides the first part.

Then, you have goop; a sticky liquid covered in dirt that looks like a dark spot on the carpet.  An example found outside the home would be gum on the sidewalk that now looks black instead of pink.

Enter the carpet cleaners.  They do a great, professional job, and remove the dirt and the blotches of goop.  However, in the time between that dollop of goop being formed and developing a crusty outer layer like the shell of a crab, the bleaching agents have been busy working away on the carpet fibers.  So, remove the goop, and what do you have?  A spot on the carpet that is lighter in color than the surrounding carpet.  Why?  Well, goop.  Those chemical ingredients and bleaching agents have been sitting there for days, weeks and often months doing what they were designed to do in the lab: bleach.

However, you don’t see this until the carpets are cleaned.  Once the dirty top layer of goop is removed, the liquid and chemical sucked out, and the clean carpet is revealed – only then do you see an odd white or yellow patch on the carpet.  Funny, you might ask yourself.  The carpet cleaners were just here.  Did they spill some soap on the carpet?

Answer: No.  Our cleaning agents are developed and tested specifically NOT to remove dye from carpet fibers.  If they did that, then the whole carpet would be bleached out, the company would have been sued a million times, and we would have had to shut our doors decades ago.  Unfortunately, these goop spots don’t get noticed until after the carpets are cleaned, because until then they just look like dark dirty spots and stains.

Solutions:

-Be vigilant.  Sticky spills should be cleaned properly right away, minimizing the time bleaching agents have in contact with carpet

-Encourage tenants not to use laundry soaps with bleaching agents, or to be careful with those containers when in the hallway

-Encourage double bagging of garbage bags to reduce drips on carpet.

-Frequent spot cleaning.  A routine of spot removal by janitorial staff or a building manager will aid in eliminating the problem, as it lessens the time agents with bleaching properties have to spend sitting on and damaging the carpet.

And last but not least – tenant spill clean up.  This is another thing that can lead to bleached out spots or smeary trails on the carpet; instruct and educate residents not to use household cleaners with bleach to clean up spills.  Often times a pet will ‘make a deposit’ on the hallway carpet, or a coffee is spilled, etc.  A well meaning and good intentioned resident can grab some soap spray or even straight bleach (we’ve seen it when a resident wanted to ensure the bacteria left by a ‘doggie deposit’ was cleaned up and killed) to clean up the mess.  Don’t use products with bleaching agents on carpets, ever.  And be sure to remind others that live in the strata not to do so either when cleaning up a spill in a shared space.

November 16, 2011

Cleaning Program Launch for Shared Laundry Room Vents

ServiceMaster Clean Residential for Vancouver is launching a program for regular maintenance of common laundry room dryer vents. The constant use of these facilities generates huge amonts of lint build up in very short time spans. The results: less efficient dryers, risk of damage to the machines, and greater risk of fires. Our maintenance program drastically reduces those risks and related costs.

To give an example, manufacturers recommend annual cleaning of dryer vents for regular 1 family use of a dryer. This is based on a few loads of laundry dried per week. Common laundry room dryers are used many more times each day than just 1 family would use theirs in a week. The lint that piles up inside in a few months time can be amazing – something I found out while performing a dryer vent cleaning job last year. The pictures shown were from dryer vents that had been cleaned out 6 months previously.

In order to ensure proper regular maintenance of this type of facility, we are offering regularly scheduled maintenance of shared laundry rooms to our customers to make sure this need is addressed.

Our common laundry dryer vent cleaning programs include:

-1 yearly cost, several visits booked throughout the year

-free camera inspection of dryer vents for any problem areas

-ServiceMaster 100% satisfaction guarantee

Contact us for a quote with more details.

November 16, 2011

Last Month’s Customer Appreciation Draw Winner

For the customer appreciation draw in our last issue of e-tips, we drew for two Whitecaps tickets. We are pleased to announce the winner of last issue’s draw was:

iStock_000003216763Small

Jay Panchal 

Strata Manager

AWM

Congratulations!

Thanks for reading e-tips!