The general partners of the event, held under the auspices of the Association of Russian Cleaning Companies (ARCC), were members of ARCC St. Petersburg – “Clean Team” cleaning company, “Luxservice” LLC, “Himitek” research and production company, as well as Italian equipment manufacturer “Seko” .
The leaders of cleaning companies and customers of cleaning services were given the opportunity of direct dialogue in order to improve the quality of services, increase the degree of mutual trust and satisfaction of customers, and normalize prices in the market.
At the seminar on May 22, Galina Dmitrieva, a specialist of the Rospotrebnadzor Administration (Federal agency that works to provide oversight and control of wellbeing and consumer rights and protection of the citizens of the Russian Federation) in St. Petersburg, spoke in detail about the regulatory and legal framework for organizing state control (supervision) at a food-grade enterprise, modern legislation requirements for cleaning enterprises engaged in food production and marketing, features of the work of cleaning companies in such facilities.
The main event of the forum was the conference on May 23 “Effective interaction between the Customer and the Contractor”. The tone of the lively discussion was set by the Acting Deputy Head of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation (FTS RF) in St. Petersburg Kostetskaya Yulia and Kovalenko Margarita, Deputy Head Directorate of FTS RF for the Leningrad Region. They answered questions that worry the leaders of cleaning companies.
The continuation of the program was a discussion club of professional cleaning market participants. The chosen format allowed to formulate the factors hindering fruitful cooperation. The Customers team, which was represented by Sberbank, Rostelecom, Russian Railways, Transneft, Coca-Cola, Darnitsa, Teremok and other companies, identified three main negative circumstances: poor quality of cleaning, poorly trained staff and poor control of production processes. The team of Executors, for its part, also identified problems when the provision of cleaning services:
– the Customer’s ignorance of the regulatory documentation in the preparation of the Technical Task (TT) for cleaning;
– the requirement to defer payments up to 3 months, which forces cleaning companies to take loans to pay salaries to employees and include bank% in the contract value, thereby increasing the risk of failure to pass at a price in the tender;
– the requirements of the Customer for the execution of works not specified in the TT: the provision of additional services / works free of charge;
– failure to provide premises for the execution of contracts (storage of equipment, equipment, clothing);
– subjective quality assessment;
– non-compliance with the claim procedures.
In the process of exchange of views and emotional discussion of the accumulated problems, the parties came to the conclusion that it is necessary to take the following actions:
- Development of model documents (TТ, contract form, performance standards) on the basis of regulatory documents, taking into account industry requirements of the Customer’s legislation (State standards, Sanitary rules and norms, etc.).
- The transition to a partnership in the framework of the form «223-F3» (rus «223-Ф3», on procurement of goods, works, services by certain types of legal entities) with the development of criteria for selecting a supplier, among which price is not the only defining indicator.
- Development of a mechanism to combat dumping by requesting prices with an economic justification to the profile companies that have a “white” history in the FTS.
Discussion club is a valuable experience for both representatives of cleaning companies and companies that are customers of professional cleaning services. It is only at first sight that the main “pain point” is the price of the service, which often falls below a reasonable level in an attempt by a cleaning company to get an interesting contract. Today, customers are willing to pay more for quality cleaning. Such discussions may shift the situation in the cleaning from a dead end, will encourage the parties to seek solutions, and not make claims against each other.
In conclusion of the discussion on the reorganization of the Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) of the ARCC in the SRO Association of Cleaning and Facility Operators (AСFO), interaction with the Federal Tax Service and other government agencies, about the register of conscientious facilitation operators (registrar of SRO ACFO) on the portal www.белыйфм.рф, told Yuri Ryabichev, Vice-President of the Association “Support”, the head of the commission “SUPPORTS OF RUSSIA” on cleaning activities, treatment of waste production and consumption, President ARCC, Chairman of the Board SRO AСFO.
At the round table on May 24, forum participants discussed the situation in the industry in the regional cleaning markets. Director of ARCC, Deputy Chairman of the Board of SRO ACFO Maria Bochkovskaya told the audience about the structure of the portal www.belyfm.rf, maintaining the register of bona fide facility operators and the conditions for entering it. Experts from Ekaterinburg, Kemerovo, Volgograd shared their thoughts about what is happening. As a generalization of speeches, – the result of winning in tenders for the provision of cleaning services for form «44-F3» (rus «44-Ф3», on public procurement), where the main criterion is price, is the inability to provide quality services with a reduced cost of the contract. The founder of a cleaning company, Anton Rodionov, shared his recipe for prosperity from Volgograd: refusing to participate in tenders for form «44-F3», providing high-quality services, and establishing personal contacts.
Within the framework of the business program of the forum, from May 22 to 24, the training “Quality control of cleaning services. Auditing”. The program was developed as a response to the demand of the cleaning market, and the course was presented for the first time. Eight specialists from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl Region, Volgograd and Izhevsk became holders of certificates.
By tradition, during the forum “CHISTODROM White Nights”, in addition to business events, informal meetings are always held. This year, for the participants were organized a visit to the A. Raikin Estrada theater, excursion to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and a warm evening reception.
Photo: vogue.com
