The customer’s previous janitorial vendor was charging roughly $10,000 more per month than what the operation actually required. At the same time, the frontline cleaning team was earning about $2 less per hour than they should have been.
Think about that for a second.
The customer was overpaying.
The employees were underpaid.
And the service still wasn’t meeting expectations.
When we walked the site, the gaps became obvious quickly. Teams were working without the right tools for the environment. In several areas, traditional mop buckets and bulky equipment simply were not practical for the layout or workflow of the facility. The operation lacked standardization, proper oversight, and a staffing model built around the realities of the site.
So we rebuilt the program around what the facility actually needed.
We standardized the cleaning processes.
We introduced equipment that fit the environment.
We improved accountability and on-site supervision.
And we increased employee pay.
The result was what we call a triple win:
- The customer received better service at a more appropriate price.
- The employees earned more money and had better tools to do their jobs safely and effectively.
- McLemore gained a long-term customer relationship built on trust and operational results.
That’s how facility partnerships are supposed to work.
One of the biggest misconceptions in facility services is that higher cost automatically means higher quality. Unfortunately, that is not always true.
Some vendors charge premium rates without investing those dollars back into staffing, supervision, training, or equipment. Others create inconsistent service models that leave facilities leaders constantly managing problems instead of focusing on operations.
Large, complex facilities cannot afford that kind of instability.
Distribution centers, manufacturing plants, schools, and industrial sites require structured staffing, on-site leadership, proper equipment, and transparent pricing. Anything less eventually shows up in safety concerns, complaints, turnover, or operational disruption.
The truth is simple:
A janitorial company should not create more work for your team.
A good facility partner brings stability. They solve problems before they become escalations. They invest in their people because better-supported employees deliver better outcomes. They align pricing with the actual scope of work instead of relying on shortcuts or inflated contracts that fail to deliver real value.
At McLemore, we believe consistent service starts with operational honesty:
- Pay people fairly
- Equip them properly
- Supervise the work consistently
- Build pricing around reality, not sales tactics
Because the best partnerships are not built on promises alone.
They are built on outcomes that frontline teams and facility leaders can see every day.
