Years ago, I wrote a series of articles addressing customer service and complaints. At that time, I referred to several charts and statistics that listed the top complaints about janitorial services. Now years later a search of the internet indicates that basically the same complaints are still top of the charts for cleaning operations. In the 1800’s Jean Baptiste Alphonse Karr stated “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”—”the more it changes, the more it’s the same thing”, usually translated as “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” (Les Guêpes, January 1849).

At the top of the complaint list today as years ago, are dirty restrooms, inadequate or poor supplies, dusting, vacuuming, dirty or greasy floors, trash removal and the list of complaints go on. It seems like the harder cleaning organizations try, the behinder they get! It seems that rather than cleaning, at least in the eyes of customers and consumers, little or no progress has been made over the years and that cleaning organizations are creating the same results, complaints, over and over again. It reminds me of the definition of insanity attributed by some to Albert Einstein “… insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” The list of complaints by customers and consumers indicate that cleaning operations are doing the same thing now as decades before, cleaning and still receiving the same type of results, complaints.

How can one break this cycle of repeat complaints? The simple answer is to establish a scientifically engineered process of cleaning. The complicated answer is to have a scientifically engineered process of cleaning. Sometimes we fail to see the forest because of the trees. It is obvious, at least for many operations, that what they are doing is not working, that the end results are complaints…. Are we going insane, trying harder and ending up with the same results, complaints? There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we have hundreds of thousands of cleaning workers and dedicated supervisors and managers that go to work each day, fully intending to do their best and to minimize complaints, yet the end results are more complaints and frustration. The answer to this quandary is to implement a systematic cleaning process that has been tested for decades and that provides the same outcome each time, clean surfaces and satisfied customer.
How can you learn about such a cleaning system and process? How can you minimize complaints? How can you develop and organization that cleans for health rather than an organization that basically moves dirt from one place to another? The answer is Janitor University. Janitor University is a three-day class that will introduce you to the (OS1) Cleaning Management Program. It’s a professional development course designed for cleaning organization executives, facility directors, managers and building service contractors.

Cleaning professionals who attend this class will be immersed in learning the elements of a successful (OS1) operation based on the Janitor University Philosophy of Cleaning. Topics covered in each class are:

• Improving Cleaning Worker Safety
• Scientific management
• Return on Investment
• Cleaning for Health
• Reducing Wasted Budget and Simplification
• Team Cleaning
• Data Tracking and Logistical Planning
• Tailoring/Transitioning your Current Cleaning Operation to (OS1)

I attended this class and follow-up classes several years ago and have visited organizations that have chosen to use the (OS1) system in their buildings and compared the results with those organizations that do not use the system. The end results are quite startling, those that use the system have buildings that are cleaner and have better long term results, because they are not doing the same thing over and over again, they have made a break with the old way of doing things, moving dirt, to a systematic way of cleaning surfaces so that the soil is removed and eliminated from the buildings. Indeed, studies have indicated that buildings that use the (OS1) system achieve a level of appearance at least one level higher that those that do not use the system. Organizations that use this scientifically engineered system are ensuring success in their organizations.

The choice is yours, to do the same thing over and over again with the same frustrating results, complaints, or to put in place a system that will change the results from complaints to compliments, from frustration to success.