Store cleanliness is an essential component of customer loyalty. Hence the need not to skimp on resources and to control their organization. Practical advice.

Customers react very badly to the sight of a plastic bag lying around a store. This means, now, their level of hygiene and cleanliness requirements as soon as they walk through the doors of their hypermarket. Cleaning must be considered an essential component of the business of a merchant.

Most distributors have chosen to entrust this job to professionals. Because, from work planning to staff recruitment and training, product selection, and machine maintenance, nothing suffers from being left to chance.

For the professional commercial cleaning services in Seattle, you can take the assistance of Premier Janitorial Services. It is a well-known cleaning services company.

Analyze the needs

First of all, it is necessary to define the level of requirements of the store and the expectations of consumers. Then, it is necessary to establish precise specifications with the service provider. This must of course, indicate the surface concerned and its type (tiling, marble, painted cement). But also, for each cleaning agent, an intervention schedule, a geographical scope, an operating mode (mechanical or manual), the type of equipment and products used, and the cleaning frequencies of each area. It also provides for the measures for quality control. Taking into account all the problems makes the quality of a specification, 

Planning the work

No question of hindering the work of the staff or disturbing the customers. Most of the operations are therefore carried out outside the store’s opening periods. Inside and outside, in Roncq, the basic cleaning is done from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. After sweeping the sales area, two scrubbers ensure the soaking of the floor and the pre-cleaning. From 5 to 8 hours, 14 people carry out manual cleaning work for cash registers, offices, toilets, after-sales service, gondola edges, etc. 70% of staff and machines are dedicated to cleaning the food sector, the dirtiest.

At 8 o’clock, after the restocking of the gondolas, place for the 6 scrubbers which, after a final sweep by the team on foot, have half an hour to wash and dry the entire sales area: a journey of nearly 22 km! Without forgetting the buffer zone at the exit of the reserves. Six people are responsible for manual finishing (edges of gondolas). Outside, from 5 to 8 am, 8 people clean the parking lot, the gas station, and the storage area. And take care of the storage of the carts.

Daytime maintenance should not be overlooked. It is this which guarantees the speed of execution of night work and prevents damage. Inside the hypermarket, it mobilizes 6 employees (sales area, toilets, restroom). In the car park, 1 or 2 people intervene during the day. They are also in charge of managing forklift traffic. All are equipped with a mobile phone so that they can intervene as quickly as possible. Safety obliges!

In addition to this daily work, it is also necessary to plan other work sites’ frequency. The reserves are cleaned once a week, the underside of the pallets (in the liquid department) once a month per rotation, and the gondolas’ roof 4 times a year. And each sensitive area (PGC rays, cold stores, PGC reception) is entitled to in-depth grooming twice a week. This organization requires a close partnership between the service provider and the store.

Equip

The undeniable advantage of subcontracting, the point of sale does not need to invest in equipment whose acquisition, maintenance, and renewal are expensive. The choice of products is also a specialist’s business: 3 or 4 types are necessary depending on the surfaces. All are accompanied by a safety card and are regularly checked by the hygiene services. The hypermarket uses around 100 liters of product per day.

It is important to ensure the staff’s quality, training, and quality of the service provider’s management in terms of human resources. The quality of the cleaning depends in part on this. The behavior of the cleaners in charge of daytime maintenance is also essential. In contact with customers, their dress, attitude, and cleanliness of their tools must be impeccable.

Doing some prevention

It is essential to educate employees, especially those responsible for restocking gondolas. First in terms of synchronization: their work must be finished by 8 am, and they must have left the sales area. Then, in terms of cleanliness. There is no question of leaving behind the cardboard, plastic, and other labels that would slow down the sweeping and hinder the work of the machines.

The hypermarket must have bins in strategic places and anti-fouling mats at the entrances to the mall. 14 of which are simultaneously used and changed every day. Same concern for the reserves. Their access must be washed daily so that employees equipped with pallet trucks,

Due to health or safety standards, a number of tasks remain the responsibility of the store teams. Such as the cleaning of gondolas, windows containing equipment, the backs of fresh produce stands or workshops (butcher, bakery, fishmonger, cold meats, and cheeses). These are subject to scrupulous daily cleaning according to very precise specifications. Its cost is included in the operating budget of each department.