An unsealed concrete floor needs to be cleaned with a push broom. However, a concrete floor which has been 'sealed'. (Treated with a chemical sealant.) Can be cleaned with a dust mop instead. This is not only much faster -- you will save at least two thirds of the time you use cleaning it with a push broom -- but you will do a much better job getting up dust.

The moral of this story is: make sure you know whether a concrete floor you need to clean is sealed. An unsealed floor will have a grayish-white color and a slightly gritty feel to it, even after you have cleaned it thoroughly with water. A clean section of sealed concrete, on the other hand, will feel smooth and will look shiny.

Check with your local janitorial supply company for product information on concrete sealants. If you become knowledgeable about applying sealants this could turn into a nice little sideline for you. It's a pretty good deal when you can get your clients to pay you extra to seal a concrete floor which will then reduce the amount of time you will need to spend cleaning their building.

Finding and keeping good employees is very important in the cleaning profession. We go into this in detail in our manual but here's an idea we didn't discuss. You can hire people with disabilities.

There are many state, local and private social service organizations that will partner with you to give job opportunities to the disabled. Call your state employment office and ask for information. These organizations are looking for people and businesses like yours, you won't have any trouble getting hooked up with them.

Aside from just helping you find workers there are many advantages for you when you sign up for these types of programs. Often you will find your training costs are much lower with handicapped people because the service organizations will provide on-the-job coaches to train your handicapped employees for you. And they provide pre-screened employees who are highly motivated to work. There are also tax benefits and incentive programs for companies that hire the handicapped.

To find out more, call The President's Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities, (202) 376 - 6200.

Never ask a client if they have any complaints about your company's work. People in our business get all the complaints they want without having to ask for them.

Many cleaning company owners will walk their accounts (go over the businesses they clean, looking for problems). On occasion, when you do this, you will meet up with someone who just can't wait to tell you all the problems they have observed with the cleaning service.

When this happens to you be patient and polite. They might actually be justified in their remarks. If they are, then they are doing you a favor.

Most times though, it seems that there are people who just have to complain about the janitorial service. I remember one woman I met on a walk through complaining bitterly that we were doing a lousy job during our Wednesday night clean. I very politely informed her that we only cleaned this property once a week, on the weekends. She still didn't seem happy but it did end the conversation.

When dealing with people like this, I ask them to show me. In other words, instead of spending five minutes listening to someone tell me what a lousy job my company has done cleaning the restrooms I'll say something like, "Why don't you show me so I'll know exactly what you're talking about."

Nine times out of ten this takes care of the problem. The big, filthy mess they described doesn't exist. If this happens to you don't gloat. Remain patient and polite and if you can find some small concession you can make to this person, do it. Complainers like these are not people you want holding a grudge against you.

Although sandwich boards were once very common today they are quite rare. It's the rarity factor that makes them effective now. People really notice sandwich boards and that makes for effective advertising.

Check with your city government to make sure sandwich boards are not prohibited by local ordinance.

Pixie dust is my term for soap bubbles. A large cloud of soap bubbles in a sink can be time consuming to get rid of. By time consuming, I mean it can take you a couple of minutes to get rid of them. But it can be an awfully frustrating couple of minutes. After all, these things are soap bubbles you should be able to get rid of them in a flash.

Actually, you can get rid of bubbles very quickly. The trick is to physically pick them up and throw them into your trash bag or janitor's barrel. Trying to dissolve them with water or by squirting them out of existence with a spray bottle is what makes this a time consuming task.

This may sound obvious but many professional cleaners waste their time dissolving bubbles instead of just dumping them out. Almost anybody can clean a building well, if they take enough time, a professional not only cleans well, he cleans quickly.