contractor success ing industry over the past two decades be credited for these huge increases in pro-duction rates? Short of janitors wearing jet packs and roller skates while cleaning, do you really think these new production rates are realistic? Limbo experts use those impossible pro-duction rates like a sleight of hand. Contractors manipulate the math, attempting to conceal grossly underbidding a project. In the case of the customer, using such rates would enable them to grossly under-pay the cleaning service provider. Either way, these ridiculous rates lower the pricing bar to a level where no intelli-gent contractor will even try to get under it. Often, these low bidders bite off too much and canʼt back up what they prom-ised. These schemes are risky at best. At worst, they can lead to serious legal and financial consequences for everyone involved. Even without realizing the legal and financial risks, these shortcuts will certainly have a negative effect on the contractorʼs and customerʼs operations. Labor represents the largest and most costly resource expended in fulfilling con-tractual cleaning services obligations. This compels the limbo experts to look the other way when job applicants start showing up with fake social security cards. In order for this scheme to work, the host and contestants in this game must be will-ing to dismiss the risks and difficulties cre-ated by janitors that donʼt speak English or are uneducated. Whoʼs going to know the difference? Eventually, the inconvenient truths of this game will be exposed and players held accountable. If youʼre not convinced yet, consider the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids that occurred in Pennsylvania around 2003. A major retailer narrowly escaped crimi-nal prosecution. Those raids netted 245 arrests of undoc-umented cleaning workers. In the end, it cost that retailer around $11 million in fines. always has options available to them. They could engage the contractor in pro-ductive dialog with the intent of resolving the challenges that were created in the bid-ding process. In the world of games, this is referred to as a “do-over.” Of course, this would necessitate re-negotiating the terms of the contract to reflect more realistic numbers and expecta-tions. In the end, the cost of services would have to go up. For that reason alone, those kinds of sound business practices are almost never considered, much less employed. Thereʼs no getting around the fact that you only get what you pay for. If you pay in peanuts, donʼt act surprised when monkeys show up. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do Make no mistake about it, both the cleaning service contractor and the customer share responsibility for the negative outcome of underbid contracts. However, as difficult and painful as a breakup is, remaining in a bad contract is worse. These unmanageable relationships are preventable. Contractors and customers alike would be better served if they examined their bid-ding processes and educated themselves to the repercussions of these limbo con-tests. When a companyʼs reputation or a facili-tyʼs image and appearance are on the line, itʼs time to put aside the harmful practices of limbo contests. Games are for children, not contractors and customers in the cleaning service industry. If your company is presently playing in or hosting a limbo contest, it is time to end the game. When bidding a project or contracting cleaning services for your company, do the math and check references. Most importantly, use commonsense along with sound business practices. You wonʼt regret it. CM James Madison is a janitorial management expert with over 20 years in the industry. Sound Advice When a customer — in a desperate attempt to reduce the cost of operations — ignores sound business practices, they ingenuous-ly open the companyʼs wallet to the plight of a con man. Misguided contractors and customers allow themselves to be enticed into a con-tractual relationship based predominantly on pricing with unscrupulous limbo experts. My parents advised me not to use singu-lar criteria when pursuing relationships. Their words of wisdom went something like, “If a personʼs appearance is all youʼre interested in, thatʼs all youʼre going to get, and that just isnʼt enough to make a rela-tionship work.” Try as we all have, thereʼs simply no get-ting around the adage, “You get what you pay for.” With that being said, it is possible to pre-dict what a customer will get and what a limbo expert will “win” in this game of smoke and mirrors. Watch The Ball Thereʼs another widely used deceptive practice employed in this game that bam-boozles customers into believing theyʼre getting the services theyʼre paying for. This sleight of hand takes place when the contractor reduces the frequency, level and/or quality of their field supervision to ensure profitability. Of course, this isnʼt the only trick they have up their sleeves. With janitors constantly leaving their jobs — for one reason or another — the con-tractor takes their sweet time replacing these missing workers. While the contractor is “working on it” and “trying to find someone” to replace the missing workers, theyʼre realizing a higher profit from being paid for work not being performed. When things go wrong, the customer Getting Creative And Risky Business There simply isnʼt enough money in the contract to make this game work for the limbo contest winner. Consequently, the contractor must deploy creative money saving schemes to realize a profit. www.cmmonline.com 41
CMM – Archives Nov 2009: 41
