Me: I’ll pay for those with my debit card.

Clerk: Sorry, we don’t have a debit card machine. You’ll have to pay with check or cash.

No card machine? Ouch. Of course I don’t carry cash in my wallet, and my checkbook is at home. So what other choice do I have? I drive to the bank, get the cash, drive back to the copy center, and pay my bill. If there were another copy center in town, I wouldn’t have to drive to the bank. I would just take my business to the other copy center.

But in a small town without any competition, the copy center can get by with 1950’s-level technology.

The problem with the copy center is outmoded technology. They aren’t willing to spend the couple hundred dollars it takes to do debit card processing. And that makes me, their customer, dissatisfied.

Technology is the key to succeeding in any competitive business, no matter what industry you’re in. When I want to buy a book, I’ll choose to buy it from the store that offers online ordering. If I want a hamburger on my drive home, I’ll stop at the fast food place that has a drive-thru lane.

And when I want copies made, I’ll choose the copy center that accepts debit cards.

A copy center in a small town without any competition might be able to succeed without investing in technology.

The cleaning industry, however, is a much more competitive field. This small town with only one copy center has several cleaners, all competing for the same buildings. So in regards to cleaning, the customers have the power of choice.

Who will we choose? We will choose the people who get the job done (1)quickly (2) and effectively (3) at the lowest price. Let’s look at how technology assists building service contractors in those three areas.

“Quickly”—technology and response time in the cleaning industry When there is an emergency, your customers want it fixed now. When your customers notice unsatisfactory cleaning, they want it addressed quickly.

How are you prepared to respond to these requests? And how does technology fit in to your customer response program? There are three basic levels of technology for responding to client  needs:

• Phone;

• Email;

• Online Tracking System.

Phone in the office? If I call the office phone, maybe I’ll get someone, maybe I won’t. My local copy center is at the phone-in-the-office technology level. A cell phone is one step better, but even then I need to find the phone number, hope the cell phone is turned on, and that the person is not out of town or busy doing something else.

Of course, businesses today also have email. Moving from a phone to email is like stepping from 1950 to 1990. Email is great for getting your message to a business, but it’s not as useful when you need a quick response. An ideal customer response program would have the accessibility of email with the immediate feedback of a phone conversation.

This is where online tracking systems come in.

Online tracking systems are becoming the industry standard for quick communication. They are computer programs that manage communication, reporting, and other business essentials.

Getting an online tracking system is like stepping forward again, this time from 1990 to 2007. An online tracking system coordinates communication, allowing customers to contact by phone, email, or text message. And it automatically forwards and tracks the clients’ messages, ensuring that the message will get to someone who can address their needs.

Your customers want you to respond to their needs quickly. Do you have the technology to meet their expectations?

“Effectively”—trend tracking through technology: The copy center I mentioned above has another major problem—they don’t know how to use their computers. I needed to get business flyers printed, so I emailed my flyer design to the copy center. When I drove over to pick up the flyers, they looked awful. The grays were black, and the solid lines were dotted.

Apparently the copy center employee didn’t know how to set the printing quality on the computer. And I was stuck with a bunch of second-rate flyers, because, really, who could I complain to? They’re the only copy center in town.

You, on the other hand, are not the only cleaning company in town. You know that your employees need to do a good job in order to make sure that your customers stay with you. While the communication technologies mentioned above will help you quickly resolve client complaints, it’s even better to meets client expectations so they don’t feel a need to complain in the first place.

Building service contractors use inspections and reports to track performance trends within their companies, allowing them to identify client needs.

You offer high quality cleaning. Or do you? Inspections bridge the gap between what you think your employees are doing and what they are actually doing.

However, inspections are really just the first step toward quality control. Once you’ve got three months worth of inspections on file, what do you do with them?

Trend tracking.

Trend tracking means looking through inspection reports to see which areas consistently need help. Reports will tell you which employees perform well (or poorly), which buildings receive the best service (or the worst service), and which clients are most satisfied (or least satisfied).

Anything that you track in your inspections can be compiled into a report, and you can use those reports to ensure that your company is providing the highest quality service.

Doing trend tracking manually is very time intensive. With computers, however, inspections can be filed instantly, and reports can be created in a matter of seconds. The online tracking systems mentioned above can take care of inspections and reporting as well as communication.

With an online tracking system, you can use your computer to rapidly create reports from inspections on hundreds or thousands of employees and facilities. Using an online tracking system for reports and trend tracking allows you to meet needs before they become emergencies.

“Lowest Price”—reducing costs with online tracking systems Employee time is expensive. People want to be paid well. Unfortunately, people are also slow and prone to make mistakes. As you transfer work responsibilities from employees to computers, you will be able to maximize the value of your employees’ work time.

BearCom Building Services, a building service contractor out of Salt Lake City,  Utah, shares their experience with converting to an online tracking system.

“One of the greatest benefits is how it has decreased our operating expenses.” Since signing on with CleanTelligent's online tracking system, we have been able to replace two fulltime positions. Simply put, BearCom Building Services, Inc. has saved $48,000 per year by using CleanTelligent. Now we get more done with fewer people.

I live in a small town, but it is growing. A new workout center opened here last month, much to the old gym’s dismay. I expect it won’t be long before a new copy center arrives too. And if they accept debit cards, I know where I’ll be taking my business. The business that invests in technology will be able to outperform its competitors. It will have the advantage in providing quick responses and quality service, as well as decreasing operating costs.

Technology moves on. Will you move on with it? Here’s one final story. A friend of mine here in town is start  starting her own business, a children’s activity center. She needed to get business cards made for her grand opening, which was held on a Thursday. She took her business card design template to the copy center on Monday. They told her that they would have the cards ready on Tuesday. On Tuesday they told her they’d get them done on Wednesday. On Wednesday they wouldn’t return her calls. On Thursday she drove into the city and found a real copy center. They had her business cards ready in thirty minutes.

The moral of the story? If you don’t meet your customers’ expectations, they will eventually find a business that will. Invest in industry-standard technology and keep your customers satisfied. ❑