Questions:
1. 
Can you give some specific examples on how the Bugajewski Facility Services crew cleans restroom areas compared to many of their competitors?
2. 
Restroom Cleaning – How Important Is It To Your Bottom Line?
3. 
What is the definition of a clean restroom, scientifically speaking?
4. 
What are the ten most frequently neglected surfaces or fixtures when cleaning the restroom?
5. 
How do you know when a public restroom is clean?
6. 
How important is employee turnover and contractor crew turnover to your organization?
7. 
Can you handle all of our facility needs?
8. 
How much do your charge per square foot?
9. 
How many accounts have you lost due to poor quality in the past four-year period?
10. 
What is the best way to communicate with your organization?
11. 
What are the Spring Cleaning Tip and Tricks?


Q : 
Can you give some specific examples on how the Bugajewski Facility Services crew cleans restroom areas compared to many of their competitors?

A : 
This sink (left) in a ladies’ room was being cleaned by a company seven days per week. This picture was taken minutes after the outside cleaning vendor completed their daily cleaning. They were cleaning with a hospital-grade germicidal detergent, a glass cleaner, a neutral-based detergent and a bowl cleaner. They were not able to remove the hard water buildup and staining around the faucets and sink drain.

It took the Bugajewski Facility Services crew four minutes to clean this sink (right) using a mild acid and brush followed by rinsing to remove all the staining and hard water buildup.

This (at left) is a urinal in a men’s room at the same facility. The restroom was being cleaned by an outside cleaning company seven days per week – note the staining and hard water buildup.

The picture at right shows the same urinal after it was cleaned with a mild acid by the Bugajewski Facility Services crew to remove all the staining and hard water buildup.

Urinal Before and After

We show the before and after pictures of the sink in the ladies’ room and the urinal in the men’s room to illustrate correct cleaning procedures and how cleaning properly can improve the customer’s perception of the retailer when they visit one of the facility’s restrooms.

Bugajewski Facility Services’ crews are highly trained to clean and disinfect all surfaces in a restroom, using detailed checklists.

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Q : 
Restroom Cleaning – How Important Is It To Your Bottom Line?

A : 
One of the primary complaints from customers is the appearance level of the restrooms. Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles wrote a book entitled Raving Fans. This book is a revolutionary approach to customer service; an excerpt from page 18 follows:

Just then Charlie announced, “There’s the escalator. The washrooms are on the second floor. That’s our second stop.”

He obediently followed Charlie and soon found that inspection was the point of the visit. “Washrooms will always tell you if a company cares about customers,” Charlie proclaimed.

Entering the men’s washroom, the Area Manager came to a sudden halt, astonished by what he saw. The washroom was nicer than the locker room at his private club. Soft lighting, rich wood paneling, and real marble counters left no doubt that at Varley’s Department Store making customers feel comfortable was important. Beside each basin was a stack of white cloth hand towels and on each shelf under the mirrors were bottles of every grooming aid imaginable. A man wearing a white coat was polishing the mirrors. The washrooms were spotless.

“They want their customers to know that they care about them”

A retailer needs to partner with a facility service company that has experience setting up cleaning programs which produce clean results. They should ensure that their trained crews and your team members know the importance of customer service and keeping your restrooms clean and spotless. Detail cleaning will make the difference.

It is not an easy task, many people like to use the restrooms but few like to clean them. In a 2006 survey, 27% of the general U.S. population stated they would never accept a job if they had to clean the restrooms in a retail facility environment.

It takes a lot of training and reinforcement of the training to get “clean results.”

As a retailer, if you do not maintain a program to keep your restrooms clean, you will have 64% of consumers leave your facility immediately without purchasing anything if they visit a soiled rest room. An additional 17% stated they would purchase some items during the visit, but would not return to shop there again if the facility was not clean.


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Q : 
What is the definition of a clean restroom, scientifically speaking?

A : 
A clean restroom is a neat, orderly and healthy environment where harmful microorganisms are under control and the room is free of unwanted substances, pollutants, residues and odors. Cleaning is an activity, a process and a form of management. For instance, cleaning a restroom includes the activity of trash removal, the process of orderly filling dispensers and management of the cleaning process including the sequence of tasks. Clean restrooms don’t just happen by accident. It takes good planning and management to provide safe, clean and healthy restroom facilities.

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Q : 
What are the ten most frequently neglected surfaces or fixtures when cleaning the restroom?

A : 
The most frequently neglected areas during restroom cleaning are as follows:

1. 
Inside the door to the toilet stalls
2. 
Under lip of the toilet and urinal
3. 
Ceiling vents
4. 
Floor drains
5. 
High ledges
6. 
Light fixtures
7. 
Door knobs and handles
8. 
Plumbing fixtures to sinks, toilets and urinals
9. 
Underneath the faucet
10. 
Difficult to reach corners of floors and walls

Restrooms may account for only five percent of total building space, but they carry nearly 40 percent of the soil load and receive almost 50 percent of the building service complaints

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Q : 
How do you know when a public restroom is clean?

A : 
Generally speaking, the restroom is clean when you walk into it and it meets your specific cleaning standards. Below is a list of specific things you would want to see when entering a clean restroom. The restroom is usually considered clean when:
1. 
All dispensers are clean and correctly filled with the appropriate supplies.
2. 
All restroom fixtures are clean and free of all soils, smudges, fingerprints, marks, oils and other residues.
3. 
All toilets and toilet seats are clean, dry and free of all soils, urine, body fluids, spots, splatters, stains and other residues.
4. 
All urinals and urinal screens are clean, dry and free of all soils, urine, body fluids, spots, splatters, stains and other residues.
5. 
All sinks and drinking fountains are clean, dry and free of all water spots, soils, splatters, soap deposits and other residues.
6. 
All floor drain covers are clean and free of soils, lint, mop strings, dirt and other residues.
7. 
All restroom floor surfaces are clean, dry, slip-resistant and free of soils, dirt, buildups, gum, urine, feces, body fluids, mildew, mold and other residues.
8. 
All ceiling vents are clean and free of all soils, lint and other residues.
9. 
All mirrors and metal fixtures are clean and free of smudges, fingermarks, splatters, water spots, streaks and other soils and residues.
10. 
Restroom air is fresh and free of unpleasant odors.
11. 
All partitions, doors, doorknobs, walls and ceilings are clean and free of soils, smudges, fingermarks, splatters, water spots, graffiti and other residues.
12. 
All horizontal surfaces including countertops and ledges are clean and free of soils and dirt deposits.
13. 
All lights are operating properly and light fixtures are clean, free of all soils and residues.
14. 
All trash has been properly removed from the receptacles with a clean liner installed correctly into the clean receptacle.
15. 
All trash and debris have been removed from the restroom and disposed of properly.

Facility Management is now considered to be a critical component of operational consistency and organizational strength. Facility budgets address a complex array of expenditures from technology to personnel, capitol improvements to staff training. Facility managers must understand basic and complex financial concepts. They need to also understand that their facilities department is a cost center and that their department’s budget is a significant portion of a company’s overhead budget and will always be scrutinized carefully. They should always examine what they can do to improve the financial and operational performance in order for their organization to meet their stated goals.

We at Bugajewski Facility Services encourage Facility Management to visit the restrooms in their facilities if the customer base has access to them, and see how clean they are on a daily basis. If they listen to their customers, and realize the importance of clean restrooms and provide their facility teams with the necessary resources both in-house and with outside cleaning vendor support, they should have clean restrooms. If they do not, changes are critical and necessary. If the necessary changes are not made, they will not have to worry about clean restrooms – their facilities will be closed.

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Q : 
How important is employee turnover and contractor crew turnover to your organization?

A : 
Very Important. We maintain one of the lowest levels of employee and contractor turnover rates in our industry. We compensate our employees well. All full-time employees are offered health care insurance. Everyone receives thorough, comprehensive training. All our contractor crews tell us that we pay them fairly and promptly compared to the majority of our national competitors. We expect them to perform at a greater level with detailed results. We perform background checks on all employees.

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Q : 
Can you handle all of our facility needs?

A : 
Yes, we can handle all the cleaning, maintenance and repair needs on the inside of your buildings. We do not, however, handle outside needs such as landscaping services. We will refer you to qualified landscaping contractors for your exterior needs, if you so desire.

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Q : 
How much do your charge per square foot?

A : 
Bugajewski Facility Services uses site-specific production rates based on industry standards in accordance with the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA). We use the most innovative technology and equipment to improve our production rates. This allows us to provide our customers with industry-competitive pricing and the highest quality of service. We are very competitive on all repair and maintenance tasks.

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Q : 
How many accounts have you lost due to poor quality in the past four-year period?

A : 
Bugajewski Facility Services has pleased every one of our clients and has not lost a single account due to poor quality.

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Q : 
What is the best way to communicate with your organization?

A : 
A live person answers every call to our office from 7 am to 5 pm EST. The cell phone number of CEO Ben Bugajewski is 215-837-4871, and is listed on our after-hours telephone line. We do have a 24/7 call center for national retailer account emergencies. We respond to every e-mail and fax request promptly.

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