Reactive & Emergency Specialist Clean
Project Overview
Sector – Retail
Service – Specialist Emergency Cleaning
Incident – Reactive and emergency cleaning requirements
Geography – National UK Rollout across 370 locations
Objective – To provide high-quality, rapid-response specialist cleaning services to support the John Lewis Partnership estate
The Challenge: Maintaining Operational Continuity in Premium Retail Environments
The John Lewis Partnership, encompassing John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, requires a cleaning partner capable of managing unpredictable emergency incidents across a vast national portfolio of 370 sites. The primary challenges include:
- Constant Readiness: The need for a 24/7 reactive service (00:00–00:00) to address incidents as they happen.
- Brand Protection: Maintaining the high aesthetic and safety standards expected by customers in premium retail environments.
- Rapid Enquiry Handling: Ensuring that initial requests for emergency assistance are handled efficiently to minimise disruption to store operations.
Our Response: Specialist 24/7 Emergency Support
SafeGroup provides a comprehensive reactive cleaning service tailored to the specific needs of the John Lewis Partnership:
- Immediate Deployment: Our national infrastructure allows for rapid deployment to any of the 370 Partnership locations across the UK at any time of day or night.
- Expert Enquiry Management: We prioritise clear communication from the first point of contact, ensuring service managers receive a professional and prompt response to their initial enquiries.
- Scalable Expertise: Whether addressing a minor local issue or a large-scale structural cleaning task, our teams are equipped to deliver high-quality results consistently.
- Visual Verification: We utilise “Before and After” reporting to demonstrate the effectiveness of our specialist cleaning interventions and ensure the site is returned to a safe, operational state.
The Outcome: A Trusted Partnership for Retail Resilience
The partnership has successfully delivered reliable emergency support, earning high praise from operational leadership:
- Client Satisfaction: Operational directors have highlighted the quality of the initial response and expressed total confidence in SafeGroup’s ability to handle large, complex cleaning projects.
- Operational Integrity: By providing a dependable 24/7 service, SafeGroup helps ensure that John Lewis and Waitrose locations remain safe and welcoming for both staff and customers.
- Proven Performance: The standard of work at key sites, such as John Lewis Chichester, has consistently met the high expectations of the Partnership’s service management teams.
Customer Voice
“Thanks again for supporting at John Lewis Chichester. My service manager praised the response she got to the initial enquiry.
She did say that, had it been a bigger job, she was confident SafeGroup would have done “a cracking job” (her words).”
Steven Faulkner
Operations Director South
CBRE | GWS | John Lewis Partnership
Before & After
Before & After
“Safe Group are a trusted supply chain partner to our business, supporting specialist and emergency cleaning services across our portfolio. Safe Group provide rapid effective solutions. Evidencing commitment, expertise, and flexibility, with attention to detail, they have been instrumental in delivering a successful outcome for us and that of our clients. ”
“I've worked with SafeGroup for a number of years now, for a variety of services from flood responses, sewage spills, commercial or high-level cleans, and upholstery cleaning. I've always found their service excellent, always providing a swift response when we need them, and a great quality of work too. ”
“SafeGroup delivers specialist and reactive cleaning services across the M&S estate, covering both food and department stores. We rely on their service nationally across a combined 1000+ store list. SafeGroup offers a genuine partnership approach, through bespoke management systems and dedicated personnel. It is constantly seeking to improve and overdeliver. From floor and carpet cleaning to emergency flood or sewage response cleans, SafeGroup delivers an end-to-end service that ensures we are operational and compliant. Its quality of work is backed up by its communication and reporting. This is testament to our successful and continually growing partnership.”
“We have been working in partnership with Safegroup for approximately 3 years now. We have developed the account over the past few years and have found Safegroup very easy to deal with. They have supported us on numerous disasters and always delivered works to a high standard. Communication has always been great throughout. It’s piece of mind knowing we have their support whenever required.”
High Level Cleaning
