05/07/2026
Losing customers is never easy — especially when you genuinely care about the work you do.
Recently, Emerson Commercial Cleaning lost a couple accounts, and if I’m being honest, it was tough to swallow at first. I really struggled this week. But after talking with both businesses, there was also something reassuring in the conversations:
It wasn’t because of poor cleaning.
It wasn’t because of bad customer service.
It wasn’t because of unreliable staff.
In fact, both businesses were happy with our service.
It came down to cost.
One business told me they received a quote that was nearly $400 less per month. And while everyone has budgets to manage, it also made me think about the reality behind pricing in this industry.
We pay our employees well.
Most of our team earns well above the average hourly wage because we believe good people deserve good pay. And because of that, we keep good people. We pay 10-13% more than the area average!
One location had the same cleaner for 3 years.
Another had the same cleaner for 2 years.
That consistency matters.
Reliable employees matter.
Trust matters.
Because here’s the thing most people don’t think about when comparing cleaning quotes:
Are you really saving money if you now have to spend time making phone calls because things were missed?
Are you saving money if no one shows up and your building doesn’t get cleaned that week?
Are you saving money if you constantly have to manage complaints, inconsistency, or turnover?
Cheaper service often comes with hidden costs — and usually those costs show up in time, stress, frustration, and lower quality.
Could we lower our pricing by cutting labor hours or paying lower wages? Sure.
But then we wouldn’t be the company we’ve worked so hard to build.
At Emerson Commercial Cleaning, we believe businesses deserve more than the cheapest option. We believe they deserve dependable service, responsive communication, and people who truly care about the quality of the work being done.
So while losing accounts is never fun, I’d still rather lose a customer over price than lose one because we failed to deliver in quality or poor customer service.
We’ll continue building a company rooted in professionalism, consistency, reliability, and taking care of both our clients and our team — and I’m proud of that.