Greeting tenants, security, and managers — and identifying yourself
Lesson 2 of 3 in Communication on the Cleaning Job · 18 minutes
Cleaners are quasi-invisible in most buildings, but you'll have hundreds of brief interactions over a year. The greeting is short — three sentences total — but it sets the tone and confirms you belong.
What you'll learn
- Use a brief, professional greeting with tenants, security, and managers
- Identify yourself when asked, with the right level of detail
- Manage the awkward 'I'm cleaning while you're here' moments
- Build the kind of friendly recognition that makes long-term work easier
From the lesson
In some cultures, cleaners avoid eye contact and conversation with tenants — out of professionalism, deference, or training. In Canadian buildings, brief friendly acknowledgment is the norm. Not a chat. Not invisibility. A four-second exchange that confirms you're supposed to be there and you're a person, not background. This lesson is the language for those four seconds.
The basic greeting
When you cross paths with a tenant, building manager, or security guard, a brief greeting is appropriate.
The four-second exchange: • Eye contact (briefly) • 'Good evening' or 'Hi' • Continue what you're doing
That's it. You don't have to chat. You don't have to apologize. You don't have to step aside…