Retail cleaning in Melbourne

A shopper reads your store from the footpath. Smudged glass, a grubby entry mat or dust on the display table suggests the stock might be tired too, and it only takes a few seconds for them to keep walking.

Retail is tricky to clean well because the window is short and fixed. Staff arrive just before open, deliveries land in the morning, and late-night trading shrinks the gap even further. A contractor without a plan ends up cleaning around customers or skipping the jobs that take time, like fitting rooms, stockroom floors and the glass.

Store and centre managers then carry it. Staff spend the first half hour wiping counters, and someone has to keep checking the cleaner. That's time taken away from selling.

Melbourne retail runs from the Bourke Street Mall and Collins Street to strip shopping on Chapel Street, Bridge Road, Glenferrie Road and Sydney Road, plus large shopping centres in the suburbs and outlet centres. Each has a different rhythm. CBD stores see commuter peaks and tram stops outside the door. Strip shops deal with street grime and leaf litter blown in by the wind. Centres have long trading hours and busy food courts. Melbourne's weather adds to it: wet days bring footprints across tiles and carpets within minutes of opening, so entry mats and floors need more attention through winter. Christmas, Boxing Day and the end-of-financial-year sales bring the biggest crowds, and we plan extra cleans for them.