The quality of a cleaning quote gets decided before it's written. At the walkthrough. A good walkthrough builds the scope from the actual site. A bad one is a lap of the foyer and a number pulled from the air.
Every area, not the highlights
A real walkthrough covers back-of-house as thoroughly as reception. Storerooms, amenities, staff areas, external entries, loading zones. The areas nobody shows off are usually the ones that generate the complaints.
The practicalities that make a contract run
Access and alarms. How cleaners get in, and what happens if it goes wrong. Security procedures and sign-in. Where equipment and chemicals get stored. Waste arrangements: what goes where and who takes it out. None of this is glamorous. All of it decides whether the first month runs smoothly.
Special surfaces and sensitive areas
Polished concrete, timber, stone, specialty carpet. Each one changes the method and the chemicals. Sensitive areas, clinical zones, restricted rooms, confidential spaces, need boundaries drawn at the walkthrough, not negotiated after a mistake.
Periodic needs, identified up front
Windows, carpets, hard floor programmes and high dusting should get identified and cycled during the walkthrough. Discovering them in month three means an awkward variation or a site that slowly slips.
Questions to ask on the day
What did you see that I should be worried about? What would you service more often than I asked for, and why? What's excluded? The answers tell you how the relationship will run.
The red flag
A quote issued without a site visit is a guess with a letterhead. However convenient it seems, it prices assumptions. And assumptions are where disputes get born.
What you should receive afterwards
A written scope of works that reflects what got walked. Areas, tasks, frequencies, exclusions, and the practical arrangements captured on the day. If the document doesn't match the walk, say so before you sign. It's the contract you'll live with.
A Tradevero quote always starts with the walkthrough.