We are getting busy!
Spring is here (heck it feels like summer is almost here!) and we just finished hiring a few awesome new team members to handle the demand. This is exciting, but to be honest I do dread the interview process. I realize I am the one interviewing people, but most of the time I know if it's a yes or a no within 5 minutes. We will either talk for a long time, or I will cut it awkwardly short and move on.
I also always feel the need to ask those stupid questions that we all hate like "What is your biggest flaw?" or one I have been personally asked many times " If you could ask one person to dinner, past or present, who would it be?". I never have actually asked people those questions in an interview but I bet I have some annoying ones of my own. I just wanted to find someone who was a hard worker, honest, fits in with the team, and honestly was just a fun, friendly person to hangout with all day. I have found that those qualities are very hard to find, but because I was not willing to just hire anyone I just had to start looking. And although it may have taken 20 interviews to find the right fit, it definitely paid off because if enjoy the company of my team my clients do too.
So now that we have found a few perfect fits we have to start training! Training is a very hard task. You have to be patient and consistent with how you teach things, as I want all of the women working for me are to have the same high standards so we can walk away with the same out come every time. This comes down to the details-The little things you do before walking away from your finished work.
Let's take the kitchen for example: After you have wiped down the countertops you then need to get down to eye level. Once you have lowered your gaze to eye level with the countertop you will be able to see any little crumbs that you have missed. Trust me you may be surprised by the amount of food still laying around. I do that same exact thing with all surfaces, the only difference would be something that is not flat, so you may want to change the angle of your view and shift left and right to make sure you have not left any streaks.
The presentation of a kitchen sink can be the difference between a happy and disappointed client. It's the little things like polishing the tap, sink, and drain plugs, or rinsing off any extra soap left on the bottle. These things go a long way, as you want to walk into the kitchen and see things shine. You want to know that someone took the time and effort to do the little things. As the little things can become a big mess if they are left for too long.
To get things cleaned that perfectly we need to check everything we do 3 times. This way we can avoid mistakes. We clean homes one area at a time. If I start in the kitchen I need to finish the kitchen before I move on to the next area. While I am in the kitchen I work on smaller sections at a time so I can ensure I am covering everything. Jumping around counter to counter can cause us to miss something.
Our Three Checks (Kitchen Version):
1st Check- Finish cleaning a section of the kitchen, then check your work was done well before moving on to new sections of the kitchen. Get down to eye level, change the angle you have been doing your work from. Then you may start the next small section you need to clean.
2nd Check- Check the finished area (kitchen) as a whole before moving on to the next room.
3rd Check- Do a final walk through of the home when the house is finished. Get down to eye level and check things like counter tops, cupboards, and mirrors from different angles. You will find a few little things that got missed or that need a touch up. No one is perfect, and that is why we do these 3 checks. You then fix that area and move on.
This helps us walk away knowing the job was well done. I believe it is one of the biggest reasons we have a good business. We work hard, have fun, and take pride in the work we do, and the very rare times we do get a complaint we are happy to come and fix the problem, as we want to leave the home in perfect order. I encourage our clients to let us know if there is anything we are missing. Who would know better then them. That way we can come back and do an even better job in the future!
Thank you for reading! TTYL!