How to Evaluate Janitorial Service Performance

Do you still have that coffee ring from last week on your desk? If the answer is yes, we need to talk.

Most business owners and facility managers don’t have time to follow cleaning crews around with a checklist. You hire a janitorial service so you can focus on running your business, not micromanaging someone else’s employees. But how to tell if your janitorial service is doing a good job? What are the real indicators of service quality?

This isn’t about becoming the cleaning police or nitpicking every detail. It’s about understanding what separates a good cleaning company from a great one, and knowing the warning signs that your current provider might not be cutting it. Let’s walk through what really matters when evaluating your cleaning service.

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1. Check the Obvious First: The Visible Metrics

Start with what you can see. These small details reveal larger quality assurance issues and signal how seriously your provider takes your facility’s cleanliness.

Walk through your office and look for these telltale signs of poor or inconsistent service:

• Dusty windowsills: If they’re skipping the windowsills, what else are they missing?
• Trash left overnight: Basic tasks like emptying bins should never be overlooked.
• Stains or rings on desks: That coffee ring didn’t appear this morning, and it’s been there for days.
• Smudged mirrors and glass: Clean glass is one of the most noticeable aspects of a well-maintained space.
• Crumbs in break rooms: High-traffic areas need consistent attention.

Are your windowsills dusted? Is your trash taken out? Do you still have that coffee ring from last week on your desk? These might seem like minor issues, but they are part of the essential metrics that expose gaps in processes.

If cleanliness isn’t obvious when you walk into your building, that’s a problem. You shouldn’t have to go hunting for proof that the cleaning staff was there.

2. Are They Solving Problems Before You Have to Ask?

Here’s where good commercial cleaning services separate themselves from great ones: proactivity.

A professional team doesn’t just follow a checklist; they demonstrate problem-solving skills. They anticipate needs, address potential cross-contamination, and clean based on your business’s unique needs.

Are you seeing things done before you need to ask for them? Do they have a layer built into their company that is meant to prevent these oversights and prevent you from having to reach out and police an employee who isn’t even yours? — Ashley Sanchez, ZIA Building Maintenance

Ask yourself:

• Are you constantly reporting missed areas?
• Do you see evidence of a digital checklist or system to track tasks?

If you’re doing more oversight than the managers at the cleaning company, the service isn’t proactive. And that’s time-consuming and costly for your business operations.

3. Dig Deeper: What’s Happening Behind the Scenes?

The visible results of cleaning are directly tied to behind-the-scenes operations. If your provider doesn’t invest in training or continuous improvement, you’re likely getting subpar service.

Hiring, Training Practices, and Continuous Improvement

A high-quality cleaning experience starts with who gets hired and how they’re trained. Without strong onboarding, you get inconsistent results and missed details.

Ask about:

• Onboarding protocols
• Standard operating procedures
• How they track client satisfaction and customer loyalty

The best companies train their teams thoroughly and use data collection processes to ensure consistent quality across locations.

Turnover Tells a Story

When crews change constantly, commercial properties suffer. Cleaners don’t get familiar with your specific needs, and your environment starts to reflect that instability.

You may see a period where it’s hard to get somebody in, but you will always see a consistent person at the management or supervision level. That consistency makes a huge difference in the relationship between you and your cleaning service.

Even if cleaners rotate, reliable companies retain management who know your unique cleaning needs inside and out. That’s how you maintain efficiency, accountability, and high standards.

4. Good Communication Is a Cleaning Metric

You can’t separate communication from service quality. A team that’s unresponsive or slow to act will always fall short, no matter how good their tools or equipment may be.

Gauge communication health with questions like:

• Are they responsive to calls, texts, or emails?
• Do they offer solutions or excuses?
• Do they follow up and assess whether the issue was resolved?
• Do their actions match their words?

The best cleaning services don’t just check boxes; they build systems for clear expectations and follow-through.

If you feel like you’re chasing your vendor for updates, they’re not delivering excellent customer service. And that’s a sign of bigger problems ahead.

5. Don’t Forget the Real Value: Trust, Not Just Tasks

You’re not just buying clean floors or wiped-down surfaces. You’re investing in safety, client satisfaction, and business growth.

When cleaning is done well:

• You stop worrying about the basics
• Your employees feel more at ease in the workplace
• You reduce the risk of cross-contamination or compliance issues
• Your business runs smoother overall

The best commercial cleaning companies exceed expectations by delivering reliable, behind-the-scenes support. That’s the real value, and it makes a measurable impact on customer satisfaction, retention, and costs.

6 Accountability Questions to Ask Your Cleaning Service Provider

Use these questions to evaluate your current commercial cleaning services or screen new providers:

• What systems do you have in place to prevent missed tasks?
• How do you train new team members?
• What’s your average turnover rate?
• Who do I speak with when something’s wrong?
• How fast do you typically respond to concerns?
• How do you ensure follow-up and clear objectives?

The answers will show whether your provider is aligned with industry standards, realistic targets, and a true commitment to quality.

A Clean Building Is Just the Start

If your cleaning service makes you do all the oversight, it’s time to rethink that partnership. The best janitorial teams don’t just clean. They communicate, show up consistently, and fix problems before you see them.

You deserve a cleaning service that lets you focus on running your business instead of managing their performance. At ZIA Building Maintenance, we’ve spent over 30 years perfecting the systems and processes that deliver consistent, proactive cleaning services in Albuquerque.

Ready to see what reliable, accountable cleaning looks like? Contact us today to schedule a walkthrough and discuss how we can support your business with the kind of cleaning service you can actually count on.