Maintaining a tidy appearance is important for most businesses, regardless of industry. Keeping your building clean is good for worker morale, and also instills confidence in guests, clients, and customers. By contrast, having a messy or disorganized premise sends a bad message and might scare people from your business. Little things like broken light bulbs, garbage accrual, and missing paper towels can take a large toll on your business.
All of this highlights the importance of having a dedicated cleaning staff. Day porter services, in particular, can be very useful for businesses that require fast and discrete maintenance throughout the day.
What is a day porter job, and what are the typical day porter duties? Continue reading to learn what you can expect when you hire a day porter.
Typical Duties of a Day Porter
Day porters perform various cleaning and maintenance tasks for a business throughout the day. A typical day porter job description would involve making sure that the building looks clean and well-maintained at all times. This often involves minor repairs, like replacing light bulbs, restocking items, and routine cleaning jobs. Here are some more details about what to expect from day porter services.
Cleaning Duties
Day porters are not quite the same as custodians, but they do perform a lot of routine cleaning during the day. Day porters provide discreet and timely cleaning of spills, small messes, and cleaning emergencies. This means a day porter might be responsible for keeping bathrooms clean, mopping up spills, or keeping the lobby of the building tidy.
Trash Removal and Parking Lots
One of the most consistent duties of any day porter’s job is trash removal. Day porters are responsible for disposing of garbage, changing trash bags, and removing litter throughout the day. This job typically involves both the inside and the outside of the building. This is because day porters will also keep the parking lot and premises clean as well.
Minor Maintenance
Minor repairs like replacing burnt-out light bulbs or restocking paper towel dispensers are also day porter responsibilities. A day porter is not a handyman or electrical technician. However, they are usually responsible for overseeing minor repairs to maintain the appearance of the building.
Special Events and Meetings
Another essential day porter duty is performing the setup and breakdown for meetings and other special events. Day porters are responsible for ensuring that conference rooms are clean and well-stocked in advance of meetings. Similarly, day porters are usually responsible for ensuring that cafeterias and common areas are fully stocked and ready for use.
Day Porter Services Complement Custodial Services
You may now be wondering, what is a day porter position specifically, and how is it different from a custodian? The role of day porters and custodians indeed have some overlap. But the two positions complement each other very well. Having both a day porter and a custodial team allows both positions to work more efficiently and deliver better results.
This is because day porters work during business hours, providing fast and discreet response times to immediate needs. Custodial and janitorial services, meanwhile, often work after hours, providing deeper cleaning services when the facilities are otherwise empty. Employing day porter services reduces the workload of your custodial staff, allowing them to focus more on bigger tasks. Likewise, good janitorial services allow day porters to focus on their essential tasks rather than being overworked with cleaning jobs.
This does not mean that day porters are incapable of handling major cleaning tasks. This is sometimes a requirement of the job. Moreover, it’s estimated that about 15% of day porters are proficient at commercial cleaning and handling industrial cleaning equipment. But major, deep cleaning tasks, are better suited for custodial staff after hours.
To learn more about the differences between day porter and janitorial services, read about the role of janitorial services.
Can You Use a Day Porter?
Now that you know what day porters do, could your business use one? If your business relies on maintaining organization and cleanliness throughout the day, the answer is yes. These services offer discreet and efficient cleaning and organization that could otherwise get overlooked. Day porters take care of routine tasks like replacing light bulbs and taking out the garbage, reducing the burden on other staff members.
If your business strives to present a tidy and organized appearance, a day porter could be invaluable to you. To learn more about hiring day porter services, contact Dallas Janitorial Services today.
FAQs
What does a day porter do?
Day porters are responsible for making sure your building is presentable, clean, and organized during the day. Day porters operate during business hours, handling routine cleaning and maintenance tasks like fixing broken light bulbs and mopping up spills.
What is the difference between a day porter and a janitor?
Janitorial services provide more deep cleaning and heavy-duty maintenance after business hours. Day porters, by contrast, handle basic cleaning and minor repairs discreetly during business hours.
How do you hire a good day porter?
The most reliable way to hire a good day porter is to work with a commercial cleaning company like Dallas Janitorial. Hiring through a commercial cleaning company ensures that you will get a qualified and professional day porter who understands their responsibilities.
How much does it cost to use a day porter?
Day porter services are usually quite affordable, though exact costs will vary. The specific nature of the work and your industry might affect the price of day porter services. Always check with the commercial cleaning company you are working with to learn more about the cost of hiring day porters.
