Subscription Model Helps Building Service Contractors with Service

Providing excellent customer service is one of the most important things a business can do to continue to grow—both in profits but also popularity. For example, according to research done by Hubspot

Repeat customers respond to the service and accommodations they receive from company and brand representatives. When clients receive notable service, they are likely to spread the word and repeat their experience.

Excellent service is fundamentally important. Hubspot goes on to note that

“50% of customers increase their purchasing with a brand after a positive customer service experience. In fact, 86% of customers would pay up to 25% more to get a better customer service experience. Clearly, customer service matters so much to customers that they would literally pay more to interact with a brand that does it well.”

Why BSC's Need Exceptional Customer Service to Standout

The cleaning industry is no different than others in terms of the importance of focusing on good customer service. Supporting staff with the right equipment, clear expectations, and optimal support only helps them to do a better job; in turn this helps Building Service Contractors (BSC’s) improve their overall customer service. This can be exponentially important for BSC’s, as the competition can be particularly tough.

According to Kline group “There are over 54,000 independent building service contractors (BSCs) that clean and maintain commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities in the United States.”

That alone is a lot of competition. Kline group goes on to point out that BSC’s face added obstacles, as an industry already up against tough margins, due to changes in floor care routines and maintenance related to costs of materials for end-users.

Staying competitive means finding ways to tackle these challenges in order to increase new business and create loyal customers. This means figuring out how to differentiate from other BSC’s; customer service is key to doing this and driving business growth.

As janitorial and facilities maintenance providers, one of the most time-consuming tasks facing cleaning teams employed by BSC’s is floor cleaning. Using floor cleaning equipment that works through a subscription service can help BSC’s stand out among competitors by setting new standards of service. This is because not only do well-maintained floors add to the health and safety of a building, they also play into the perception of clean for anyone using the space.

ICE Cobotics' Subscription Model Helps BSC's Deliver Exceptional Customer Service

ICE Cobotics is one of the first cleaning equipment companies to offer its entire fleet of floor cleaning equipment through a subscription model. This means, floor cleaning equipment without large upfront monetary investments and fees, and one set monthly payment for the duration of the contract. This is just the start to the long list of services available as part of the subscription model helping to make the work of floor cleaning more efficient.

• Access to service teams means better service

One great benefit of the ICE Cobotics subscription model is access to fleet management software that can be monitored not only by the business subscribing to the equipment, but also by ICE Cobotics’ client care and service teams. For BSC’s, this means access to equipment service teams that help monitor a fleet remotely.

While monitoring equipment, ICE Cobotics service teams will notify the BSC regarding machine usage including machines that sit idle, alerts or service notifications that pop up, and in many cases reach out to the BSC before they are aware there is an issue. The BSC can then alert their client that an issue has already been resolved before anyone was even aware—making them look good to their clients.

By continued monitoring and tracking of service and maintenance alerts, ICE Cobotics technicians are better able to determine ahead of time when maintenance will be needed and can create maintenance plans to roll out to BSC’s. Ultimately, active maintenance like this keeps equipment and cleaning teams running with little to no issue.

Ultimately, the added service from ICE Cobotics helps a BSC provide better service to their cleaning teams and ultimately the client.

• Better workflow opportunities mean better service

Our Fleet management software allows end-users to track entire fleets of equipment, including start and stop times, hours used each day, and even the actual equipment operator. In the case of Whiz, an autonomous vacuum sweeper, distributed in partnership with SoftBank Robotics, end-users can even see the actual route(s) run each day.

For BSC area managers or building managers, access to fleet management software means better access to data that helps identify opportunities for efficiency and productivity, plus increased chances to work with cleaning staff to set clear expectations.

Great customer service starts with clear expectations, as noted by BSCAI speaker Joey Coleman,

“It requires clear expectations from the employer to the employees, hard work and a culture of positivity.”

Access to fleet management software through the subscription service gives BSC’s the opportunity to engage more with cleaning staff and to support them through their daily check lists.

Ability to share 'confirmed clean' means better service

Another great thing about fleet management software is the ability to track the cleaning done each day. The collection of data is gathered through cloud-based platforms through an app or on a computer.

ICE Cobotics i-Synergy fleet management software, for example, helps BSC’s collect data based on the path of the equipment and this information can be emailed to clients in easy-to-read daily reports.

Beyond that, BSC’s can use this data to share proof of performance or confirmed clean. Simply put, this means proving the job is done.

Collected data can be used to assure building owners and managers that the cleaning has been done (down to the last time a machine ran), and it helps to alleviate any concern building occupants might have regarding cleanliness.

Sharing this information is another step towards assuring employees and consumers they are entering a clean space. The use of this data helps provide transparency and open and honest communication, lending to building a better business.

Sharing this information with building owners and the public sends a message: BSC’s are focused on providing clean and healthy environments and keeping people safe. This message of caring is one that will resonate with the customer.

• Regular access to software updates at no added cost means better service

Since ICE Cobotics subscription service supports fleet management software on all their equipment, important updates and upgrades are part of the service. In the past, updating floor cleaning equipment could mean waiting until purchasing a new machine was in the budget, or shelling out large amounts of cash to pay for software updates.

With the continued development of SaaS platforms, these updates can now be pushed to machines without the hassle of buying an upgrade. Additionally, the software updates happen simply and typically without an end user having to do anything, other than learn about the new update, which they are notified about by email.

A recent example of how this benefits cleaning teams came with an update for Whiz. The software technology was updated with a service called EZ Setup which means you can teach Whiz the perimeter of an area and it will manually fill in the interior of the space mapped. Prior to this update, an operator would have had to walk Whiz through the entire route the first time in order to properly train it.

Once the update was pushed through, end-users were able to manually map the perimeter of routes and let Whiz do the rest, saving even more time for cleaning staff.

For BSC’s this means more time for their staff to focus on high-priority tasks, high touch point areas and can even mean increasing the scope of work for a building, giving BSC’s greater opportunity to wow their client and retain business.

Delivering exceptional service to clients is one of the most important tools a company has for retaining loyal clients, gaining new clients and projecting an overall positive image.

ICE Cobotics is here to help! We are an industry leading floor cleaning equipment company working to bring you people-first, collaborative cleaning solutions. For more information, please reach out to our subscription experts.