How Partnerships Optimize Operational Success

By Corinne Zudonyi, Editor-in-Chief

Jeff Carmon, CBSE, Business Development Director at Frantz Building Services and Business Consultant for Elite BSC, joins Corinne Zudonyi, Editor-in-Chief of CleanLink.com and its sister publications, to discuss how facility executives and building service contractors (BSCs) can build stronger, more productive partnerships. Speaking to an audience of commercial cleaning industry professionals, Carmon shares how successful relationships are built on trust, communication, and clearly defined expectations.

Carmon explains how facility managers take a professional risk whenever they select or change cleaning providers, making it critical for BSCs to understand client expectations from the outset. He stresses the importance of detailed scopes of work, regular engagement, and proactive communication rather than a simple vendor-client relationship. According to Carmon, quality BSCs should position themselves as strategic partners who help improve facility appearance, operational efficiency, and occupant satisfaction.

The discussion highlights four pillars of an effective service model: leadership commitment, operational fulfillment, responsiveness, and proactivity. Carmon encourages facility executives to ask commercial cleaning contractors about onboarding processes, service frameworks, account management, and meeting frequency when evaluating providers. He also notes the importance of the first 90 to 120 days of a contract, stating that early performance heavily influences long-term trust and client confidence.

The session also addresses handling difficult conversations around service failures, staffing issues, and price increases. Carmon advocates for transparency in pricing, collaborative problem-solving, and scheduled partnership meetings with prepared agendas to maintain accountability and communication. Both speakers agreed that regular face-to-face meetings and proactive planning create stronger, lasting partnerships between facility managers and cleaning contractors.

Listen to the full audio to learn more.

Corinne Zudonyi has been in the commercial cleaning industry for over 20 years and is proud to serve as Editor-in-Chief of Contracting Profits (the official publication of BSCAI), Facility Cleaning Decisions, and Sanitary Maintenance (the North American media partner of Interclean Amsterdam) magazines, publications that serve the professional cleaning industry. Additionally, Corinne manages CleanLink.com, the leading digital resource for the commercial cleaning industry, and she uses her industry knowledge to steer educational topics for Clean Buildings at NFMT East.
Corinne is the sole U.S. representative to serve on the international Interclean Amsterdam Innovation Jury, where she weighs in on product trends impacting commercial cleaning on a global scale. She also works closely with Healthy Green Schools & Colleges to advance healthy and sustainable cleaning in educational facilities. As a member of the CLEAN Awards Jury, through the Building Service Contractors Association International, Corinne also helps recognize cleaning contractors and their companies for outstanding service to the industry.
Corinne can commonly be found moderating industry panel discussions, presenting education, and focusing on bringing awareness and affirmation for the wonderful work that people do to keep facilities clean and building occupants safe and healthy.

Follow Corinne on LinkedIn here.

posted on 6/15/2026