How to Grade Your
Janitorial Service

Most facility managers know when their cleaning service isn't working. The signs are everywhere: dust on surfaces that should have been wiped last night, restroom complaints from staff, trash cans that weren't emptied. But knowing something feels wrong and being able to pinpoint exactly where the service is failing are two different things. That's why we created a simple report card you can use to grade your current janitorial provider across 10 categories.

Why grading matters

When you're frustrated with your cleaning company, it's easy to say "everything is bad." But that makes the conversation with your provider unproductive, and it makes evaluating a replacement difficult because you don't have clear criteria.

A structured evaluation forces specificity. Instead of "the building isn't clean," you can say "restrooms are a D, but common areas are a B." That distinction tells you whether the problem is systemic or limited to one area. It also tells you whether the relationship is salvageable or whether it's time to switch providers.

Grading your service also protects you from the honeymoon effect. Every new janitorial company looks great in month one. By month four, the cracks show. If you grade your provider quarterly using the same criteria, you'll catch the decline early instead of waking up one morning wondering how things got so bad.

The 10 categories that matter

After 50 years of managing commercial cleaning programs in Dallas-Fort Worth, we've found that janitorial performance comes down to 10 observable categories. Each one tells you something specific about how your provider operates.

1. Restrooms

Restrooms are the single most visible indicator of cleaning quality. They're high-traffic, high-touch, and high-stakes. Check for: mirrors, fixtures, toilet bowls, floor corners, soap and paper replenishment, and odor. If your restrooms don't pass inspection at 10 AM the morning after cleaning, something is wrong. Dirty restrooms cost you business in ways that are hard to quantify but impossible to ignore.

2. Floors

Look at carpet edges along walls, hard floor corners, and transition strips. Are carpets being vacuumed thoroughly, or just down the middle? Are hard floors being mopped or just spot-wiped? Proper floor care extends building value by years. Neglected floors signal a provider that's cutting labor hours.

3. Dusting and detail work

Run your finger along a windowsill, a door frame, or a bookshelf. Check the tops of cubicle walls, picture frames, and light switches. Dusting is the first task that gets skipped when a crew is rushed or understaffed. If it's consistently missed, the provider has allocated fewer hours than your building actually needs.

4. Trash and recycling

Every trash can should be emptied and relined nightly. Check breakroom cans, restroom receptacles, and desk-side bins. Look at recycling containers too. Missed trash is one of the most common complaints facility managers receive, and one of the easiest tasks to verify.

5. Breakrooms and kitchens

Counters wiped, sinks clean, appliance exteriors addressed, floors mopped, tables sanitized. Breakroom hygiene is often overlooked because cleaning crews treat it as a secondary space. Your staff spends time here every day. It matters.

6. Consistency

Does the building look the same on Monday as it does on Thursday? Consistency is the hallmark of a systemized cleaning program. If quality fluctuates night to night, the provider is relying on individual effort rather than documented procedures. That's not sustainable.

7. Communication and responsiveness

When you report an issue, how long does it take to get a response? Is there a dedicated contact person, or do you leave voicemails that go unanswered? A managed janitorial program includes proactive communication, not just reactive responses when you complain loud enough.

8. Staff professionalism

Are cleaning crews uniformed and identified? Do they follow building protocols for after-hours access? Are they respectful of office spaces, personal items, and confidential materials? High turnover among cleaning staff is a red flag. If you see new faces every week, the provider has a retention problem.

9. Quality inspections

Does your provider conduct their own quality audits? Do they share the results with you? If you're the only one inspecting the work, you've essentially taken on the management of their team. A professional janitorial company should be inspecting their own work before you ever have to.

10. Overall value

Setting price aside for a moment: are you getting what you were promised? Does the actual service match the scope of work in your agreement? If you're paying for five-night-a-week service and getting three-night results, the lowest bid has already cost you more than you saved.

How to use the report card

We've put these 10 categories into a printable one-page report card you can use to evaluate your current janitorial provider. Here's how to get the most from it:

1. Walk the building in the morning. Grade each category based on what you see at 8 or 9 AM, before anyone has a chance to tidy up. What you see in the morning is what the cleaning crew left behind.
2. Grade honestly. A means excellent, no issues. B means good with minor gaps. C means acceptable but inconsistent. D means below standard with frequent issues. F means failing.
3. Do it quarterly. One evaluation captures a snapshot. Quarterly evaluations reveal trends. A provider trending from B's to C's is in decline, even if no single night was terrible.
4. Share the results. If you have a good relationship with your provider, share the report card with them. A professional company will welcome the feedback and use it to improve. A company that gets defensive or dismissive is telling you something about how they operate.
5. Keep the cards. If you decide to switch providers, your accumulated report cards become the documented evidence of why. They also become the benchmark for evaluating the replacement.

What your grades are telling you

Once you've completed the report card, the overall picture usually falls into one of three buckets:

Mostly A's and B's

Your provider is doing solid work. Share the report card with them, acknowledge what's going well, and address the one or two areas where you see room for improvement. This is a relationship worth maintaining.

Mix of B's and C's

The service is adequate but inconsistent. This is the danger zone. It's not bad enough to trigger a switch, but it's not good enough to stop worrying about. Have a direct conversation with your provider. Show them the grades. Ask what they're going to do differently. If the same grades come back next quarter, it's time to evaluate alternatives.

C's, D's, and F's

The relationship has likely run its course. A provider consistently scoring at this level either lacks the systems, the staffing, or the management to serve your facility properly. The hidden costs of tolerating poor service are real: maintenance expenses, health risks, tenant and employee dissatisfaction, and the damage to your building's reputation. Start the search for a replacement, and use your report card data to define exactly what you need from the next provider.

For guidance on what to look for in your next janitorial company, read our complete guide to choosing a janitorial company in DFW.