Cleanliness Is Everything: Why You Need Professional Grocery Store Cleaning Services
One of the most pressing problems for grocery stores in the Houston area is finding reliable grocery store cleaning services. Stores in Harris County, which includes Houston, range from large nationwide chains like Food Town and Whole Foods to specialty markets like Phoenicia and high-end grocers such as Trader Joe’s. One challenge that they all face is keeping their stores clean for consumers and employees.
“Cleanliness is important in every retail store; in a grocery store it’s imperative because grocers sell what we eat,” says Georganne Bender, principal of Kizer & Bender.
Having a clean grocery store will attract repeat customers. It’s been found that customers will notice even small amounts of garbage or debris and that will make the difference between returning to the store or visiting only once.
According to a nationwide survey of its members, Consumer Reports says if there’s one feature that the best supermarkets and groceries in the U.S. share, it’s cleanliness: bright lighting, shiny floors, gleaming glass and counters, and well-tended displays. Grocery store cleaning services are essential.
Grocery store managers are aiming to make a good impression on new and existing shoppers. Studies have shown that consumers do indeed shop with their eyes. They’ll be driven away by a dirty unkempt store.
With many more consumers eating at home during the pandemic, there’s been a sudden surge in demand for groceries. Some consumers opt to order deliveries online but many still prefer to in-store and check out each aisle and choose their own groceries.
Unique Grocery Store Challenges
Grocery stores have a unique challenge of keeping clean due to all of the customer foot traffic, juices and meats and vegetables, broken food jars, accidental spills, grocery cart usage, and weather-related scuff.
There are probably not many other businesses that have customers entering and exiting their entries as much as a grocery store. Managers need to be aware of outdoor sidewalks littered with coffee stains, sticky gum and candy residue, cigarette butts, and other signs of dirt.
Once inside, grocery stores need to present a clean interior with gleaming floors, not old and faded. If customers or employees accidentally break or spill a jar or container, the store needs to quickly mop and clean up the mess. Customers appreciate clean restrooms for themselves and their children. This area needs to be constantly monitored for dirt and odors.
Restrooms in a grocery store are used by many people; not just customers, but employees, delivery people, and people off of the street. Customers depend on the restroom for their children to visit. If it doesn’t have soap, paper towels, toilet paper, bright lights, clean stalls, good accessibility, and air fresheners, customers will equate the state of the restroom to the rest of the store. It is expected that the store will have hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes readily available for its customers and employees.
Investing in grocery store cleaning services will ensure that it does not violate any health codes. If there is a violation, shoppers can be scared away.
If a grocery store is not kept clean, it can attract pests. Customers will notice this problem and it will be costly to exterminate them with pesticides. Self-serve food stations are especially susceptible to being kept clean due to drips and spills, unsanitary utensils, and multitudes of customers touching the plastic barriers and packaging.
Regular cleaning will also keep spills mopped up and floors cleaned. If not, there’s the potential that customers could slip, slide, and fall, which could also open the store to litigation and costly legal settlements.
Outsource the Job
In today’s busy grocery store, managers have enough to contend with: hiring, training, and firing employees, ordering and tracking product inventory, maintaining compliance with food safety laws, ensuring a safe and secure work environment. Keeping the store clean is an important and time-consuming job. To take one less item off the list, managers should consider outsourcing to a professional grocery store cleaning service.
Outsourcing can be more cost-effective than managing internal staff and result in a superior clean. Cleaning services can be scheduled on a daily, weekly, or monthly contract. A top-notch company will be equipped with appropriate equipment to clean the grocery store, all of the necessary chemicals, and a trained workforce to perform the task in a timely fashion and leave the store in pristine condition.
What to Expect with Grocery Store Cleaning Services
What types of services can a grocery store manager expect a grocery store cleaning service to provide? Usually, the service will schedule its cleaning at night, during off-peak hours, or when the store closes early.
A grocery store’s windows, doors and entrance are the first areas that a customer sees. They need to be rid of any fingerprints, trash, and dead insects. Inside the store, a service will dust all of the fixtures and furniture, vacuum and mop the floors, clean all glass, shelving, and mirrors, wax the floors, and clean and sanitize the restrooms.
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These companies use special machines with extractors to suck up spills and prevent stains from penetrating the floor finish. A cleaning service will wash and buff a store’s floors. Some cleaning services even offer power washing for a store’s sidewalks and parking lot.
How to Find the Best Grocery Store Cleaning Service in Houston
If you are looking to find the best grocery store cleaning services in Houston, here are a few tips to find a reputable and reliable partner. These five strategies will help a manager keep his or her store stay clean and safe, ensuring that their community remains healthy through our latest public health crisis.
Make a List
Put together a list of grocery store cleaning services in Houston. This could include a quick search on the internet as well as asking for referrals from other company stores. Try not to make the list too long. Choose the higher-ranked firms with well-defined and organized websites.
Read Reviews
Gather as much information as possible by reading online reviews. Once you’ve chosen a few services, read their reviews. While the corporate reviews might be glowing, dig further and check out non-partisan reviews such as Yelp. Here you’ll find what your competitors have to say about the service and if they felt it was worthwhile.
Another great resource is the Better Business Bureau that can provide a grade to each company. Check with your local Rotary Club, union, or associations to get references and suggestions for a grocery store cleaning service in Houston.
Verify Licensing and Insurance
Make sure the company has up-to-date licensing and insurance. Check to see if they have a Doing Business As (DBA) and a vendor’s license. Are they part of a franchise or individually owned and operated?
Insurance is an important component of a grocery store cleaning service. Insurance will cover the grocery store’s property. A reputable cleaning service will at least have General Liability insurance. This protects the cleaning service’s business in the event of property damage or bodily injury claims at the grocery store, as well as personal injury claims.
Get a Quote
Schedule a consultation and get a quote in writing. Meeting face-to-face with a Houston-based cleaning service will provide a good idea of who you are dealing with and if they can answer all of your questions. Learn how many years in business they’ve been operating and how many employees they have.
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One question might be to learn what type of cleaning agents are used and if the company uses any type of environmentally-friendly cleaning agents. The answer to this question will ensure that the firm’s employees, as well as your store employees’ health and wellness, are protected by using products that are EPA-approved and are using the latest technology.
Compare
Take the time to review what you’ve gathered and compare prices and services. There are many variables to consider. You’ll want to see how much the service will cost, balanced against how soon and how often the service can visit and what all is included at what price.
Find a reliable grocery store cleaning service in Houston
No matter if you are a large or small grocer, you’ll need to locate a reliable grocery store cleaning service in Houston. DTK Facility Services can help you create a positive customer experience in your Houston grocery store, ensuring that your customers and employees are entering and working in the cleanest environment, and create a fresh shopping experience. Learn more about our services at DTK Inc. Let us take the time and effort out of cleaning your store. Get a quote today.