Most facility managers pick a janitorial company twice: once when they sign, and again six months later when the first one lets them down. The difference between those two outcomes is almost never price — it is the questions asked before the contract. Here are the seven we would ask any commercial cleaning vendor in Las Vegas, including us.
1. Are your cleaners W-2 employees or subcontractors?
This is the single most revealing question. W-2 employees are trained by the company, covered by its workers compensation, and show up under its supervision. Layers of subcontractors mean nobody in your building answers to the name on the contract. If the answer is “subs,” ask who carries the workers comp when someone is hurt on your property — and watch how long the answer takes.
2. Can I see a current certificate of insurance before we sign?
A professional operator sends a COI the same day you ask — general liability and workers compensation at minimum. If a vendor stalls on paperwork before they have your business, expect worse after. Bonus question: ask whether their people are background-checked, and by whom.
3. Will you walk the building before quoting?
A real commercial quote is built from a walkthrough: square footage, restroom count, floor types, traffic, trash points. It should land as man-hours in your building at a rate — not a number pulled from a pricing chart over the phone. A vendor who quotes without walking is guessing, and one of you will pay for the guess.
4. What exactly is in scope — and what costs extra?
Vague scopes create billing arguments. Get specific: how often are floors machine-cleaned versus dust-mopped, are interior windows included, who supplies consumables like liners and paper, what does a deep clean or floor refinish cost as a line item. Small tell that shows discipline: ask their policy on replacing trash bags that are barely used — wasteful swaps show up in your supply bill.
5. Who supervises the crew, and how often is quality checked?
Cleaners clean to the standard someone inspects. Ask who the supervisor is, how often they are physically in your building, and what happens when an inspection fails. If there is no supervision layer between the cleaner and the owner, quality rides on one person’s good week.
6. What happens when a cleaner calls out?
Vegas runs seven days a week, and so does turnover in this industry. The question is not whether a cleaner will miss a night — it is whether the company has bench depth to cover it without you noticing. Ask how coverage worked the last time it was needed.
7. How long do your clients stay?
Retention is the number that summarizes every other answer. Industry-average client retention in commercial cleaning runs roughly 80 to 85 percent a year; companies that keep clients for five and ten years are doing the previous six questions right. Ask for references from clients who have stayed, not just clients who are new.
How we can help
Green Clean has cleaned Las Vegas for more than 20 years with W-2, background-checked, bilingual crews, roaming supervisors who inspect buildings on a schedule, and same-day COIs on request. We quote from a walkthrough — you will see the hours behind the price — and our guide to commercial cleaning pricing shows exactly how a real quote is built. Whether you run an office, a warehouse, or a medical facility, our janitorial team can walk your building this week. Request a walkthrough or call 702.522.1898 — and bring these seven questions. We like answering them.