Case Study: Custodial Services

Case Study: Custodial Services

After only 18 months, the Palm Beach County School Board in Florida decided in 2000 to terminate its $4.5 million annual contract with ServiceMaster Inc., now owned by Aramark. The cancellation cost the school district about $1.8 million, including almost $1.2 million it was required to pay for the company’s equipment.

Problems with the contract materialized early. After the first year of the contract, even though the school district had spent $4.2 million more in maintenance than the previous year, only 10 percent of about 40 principals surveyed said they were pleased with the quality of services. Many principals stated that schools were dirty and short of personnel, equipment and supplies. It took six months for ServiceMaster to implement a computer program system designed for dispatching personnel and even then it was not available to all schools.

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