Are you unhappy with your current maintenance service provider? Perhaps you’ve been with the same company for many years, and haven’t seen the improvements you’d like over time. Or, you feel like the contractor you’re currently working with is doing a sub-par job. If you’re unsatisfied with your maintenance job, you should seriously consider switching companies. Maintenance is an essential part of your facility management and should be held to a high standard of excellence.
Subpar maintenance can negatively impact the health of your facility as well as your bottom line. However, switching contractors isn’t always easy. If you’re considering upgrading your maintenance service, here is what you need to do:
Evaluate your service.
Before switching contractors or breaking a contract early, you need to carefully evaluate your current service. You want to pinpoint the areas of service that are dissatisfying, as it will help you when terminating your contract. Knowing what’s lacking in your current service will also help you better communicate with a new contractor what you need and expect from your service. This evaluation process may also help you improve your current service if breaking the contract early is not an option.
Check the terms of your contract.
The evaluation stage is critical, as you may be in a position where you need to break your current contract. If this is the case, check your agreement to see if there are penalties or stipulations in breaking the contract early. You may be able to negotiate out of these penalties if you can show how service was subpar. Hopefully, you can negotiate better service until you’re able to switch, but if not you need to go into negotiations informed.
Ask the right questions.
Before you’ve terminated your agreement with your current provider, you need to find the right replacement. This can be difficult if you don’t have a relationship with any other contractor. Ask these questions to find the service provider that will provide the best service based on your facility needs:
- How long have you been in business?
- What areas of maintenance do you specialize in?
- How many technicians are on your team, and on average how many will be sent out to perform services?
- Do you provide emergency services, and if so what is your average response time?
- How do you manage work order requests?
- What training do your technicians receive, and what are their qualifications?
- Can you provide references and testimonials?
Depending on their answers you can find the right contractor that will be able to serve you well.
If you’re interested in learning about MaintenX’s self-performing network of contractors, contact us today. We serve 13 states with full-service preventative and emergency maintenance with a satisfaction guarantee. With over 40 years of industry experience, MaintenX can help you with all of your facility needs.
