We first visited Balham Leisure Centre back in 2016 when they were looking to make a change to their cleaning provider. At the time, their main drive was a desire to save money, so they decided that taking the cleaning in-house would be the best option.

This is a mistake that many companies make, not realising that when the cleaners don’t turn up or leave with no notice, it’s up to them to keep the building clean. In the leisure industry, a clean building is essential so it didn’t take long for Steve Warren, the General Manager of Balham Leisure Centre (London), to get back in contact.

One of Steve’s specific issues, was not being able to find cover and evening cleaners. Cleaning many sites in the same area means that we are often able to find local cleaners at short notice, so we knew this wouldn’t be a problem for us.

Rapid started cleaning Balham Leisure Centre in January 2018; we asked Steve if his switch has been worth it…

“Since employing the services of Rapid, there has been a marked improvement in the standards of cleanliness and presentation of the building, this is clearly reflected in our customer feedback meetings and through letters that I receive on a daily basis.”

We transferred some of the cleaners under TUPE but implemented a few changes to the way the cleaning team was working, namely an increased presence during the day. This change has meant that the site is always clean when a customer comes in to use the facilities.

“We employ the service of an independent company that conducts ‘mystery shopper’ visits. There has been a marked increase in the number of customers who would recommend Balham Leisure Centre citing that the building is ‘clean and has a modern feel’. This is a testament to the cleaning team who work tirelessly to achieve these very high standards.”

Interestingly, Steve reports that although he initially thought that going ‘in-house’ would save him money, he actually ended up paying more due to recruitment and the time his team spent on training new cleaners.

Steve has already recommended our service to a number of other leisure centres in the area.