the_drew•5d agoProlific Poster

Found out most commercial cleaning contracts in Detroit are way overpriced for what you get.

I was helping a friend price out janitorial services for his small office building over near Grand River. Pulled some bids from three different companies. Two were charging almost $2,000 a month for a 2,000 square foot space. Then I stumbled on the city's small business resource page. Turns out there's a local database of vetted providers with actual rate ranges. The average for that size space was closer to $800. That blew my mind. Has anyone else found that hidden city resource thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

sullivan.abby5d ago

That price gap is wild, did those higher bids actually include specific extras that justify the cost, or were they just charging more for the same basic service? Curious if you compared the actual scope of work between them, like how often they came in and what supplies they provided. Seems like some companies just bank on people not shopping around.

kai_brown235d ago

That comment about the "hidden city resource thing" got me grinning. I once tried to find a plumber through something similar and ended up on a municipal website from 2004 that still listed a guy whose voicemail said "This is Joe, leave a message at the beep." So I feel your pain on stumbling across actual useful government info, it's like finding a $20 bill in an old coat. But that price difference is wild, $2,000 vs $800 is basically paying for someone to buff the doorknobs with diamond dust. I guess some companies figure nobody will check, just like I figure nobody will notice I'm still using a flip phone in 2024.