A Day in the Life of…..Ian Stringer – Merry Maids Bromley and Orpington franchise owner since 2002
7:00am: I’m up and enjoying a leisurely breakfast with a cup of tea. This is something I was never able to do before starting my Merry Maids business so I make the most of it. Being well organised from the previous day means I can avoid panic wake-ups and rushing into the office.
8:15am I arrive at the office and my first job is to make any final adjustments to the team schedules for that day. We find that the more efficient we are in the office, the easier it is for the maids to focus on their roles.
8:30 – 9:00am The maids arrive, we have a cup of coffee and discuss any issues whilst they prepare their kits for the day. They look through their jobs and decide what extra products and equipment they may need. They do a second check to ensure the correct keys are allocated. A typical day in my business will involve three or four cleans per team, so anything up to 28 cleans can take place in a day.
9:15am The maids leave for their visits and I start the office work. At different times of the week I need to arrange the banking, do the payroll and update the accounts from the bank statements. This part of the job takes a little concentration but with some helpful training when you first set up, it becomes a fairly easy process. If we have any queries on the systems, we give head office a call for advice.
All the cloths need to be washed and dried to ensure everything is clean and ready for the next day – our washing machine is always running! We then also monitor stock levels, products and equipment and order additional stock via the ServiceMaster warehouse.
All day we receive calls from customer requesting changes to their cleaning dates and calls from prospective customers who we then arrange to visit. . I enjoy this part of the job, meeting the customers, selling the service and engaging with people. It means I get to be out and about regularly in my area too – and every day is different. My customers vary greatly from professionals who are out at work all day and like to return home to a clean house, to the elderly and infirm who can no longer manage their cleaning themselves and for whom our cleaning services are essential.
10:30am I usually arrange for our quality checks to take place at this point in the day.
12noon After the visits, I head back to the office to monitor our marketing activity, in particular our online advertising and leafleting responses. I work closely with the ServiceMaster marketing team on this but have the flexibility to tailor the activities to our requirements.
14:00 – 15:30pm Later in the afternoon, the maids arrive back and unload their equipment. I receive any comments and feedback from customers and go through the ‘closing out’ process, which entails logging the visit sheets, locking away keys and finances.
15:30pm I set up the next day’s visits for the Maids. I have to prepare visit sheets, keys and any notes for the teams. I need to ensure I have the right staff on the right jobs so there is some thought that goes into arranging the cleans.
17:00 I leave the office. Being able to organise the next day in advance means there’s no rush the next morning and there shouldn’t be any panics or emergencies!
A Day in the Life of…..Bill Grant – Merry Maids Inverness franchise owner since 2008
8:00am: Arrive at the office around the same time as Ann, operations manager. Check overnight e-mails and telephone messages and make any last-minute adjustments to the day’s schedules accordingly.
8:30am: Return to work interviews and any other conversations required with staff. Always available for any staff questions and/or conversations. Fortnightly staff meetings also at this time.
9:00am: All cleaning staff are away by this time. Quick look at the bank, pay some bills, check customer accounts and discuss administrative matters with Catriona, admin assistant, (also fortnightly visit from external book-keeper)
9:30am: Discuss any staffing matters with Ann, operations manager, (if she’s not out cleaning), confirm schedules for the following day and identify suitable future dates for one-off spring cleans, end of tenancy cleans etc. Fold dried cloths and store; hang newly laundered cloths for drying.
10:00am: Telephone any prospective client enquiries that have come in overnight and any that were not followed-up successfully the previous day. Write up new jobs on BMS.
11:00am – 3:30pm: Generally out and about visiting prospective clients providing quotes. Number of quotes per day can vary from just one or two to six at the most per day
4:00pm: Write up new jobs on BMS. Retain open-door policy to office to allow staff returning from their day’s cleaning to come in any time for a chat. Check that day’s returned job sheets for any notes re customer requests etc. Ensure expected cash / cheque payments are in place with job sheets. Discuss the day’s events as required with Ann, operations manager. Discuss any alterations that may be required to tomorrow’s schedules.
5:00pm: Ensure all cloths loaded into washing machines. Undertake any tasks listed above that may have been missed if busy day on the road, ie 4 or more prospective customer quotes
6:00pm: Off home usually…
A Day in the Life of…..Tom Jackson – Merry Maids Dudley, Wolverhampton, Solihull & South Birmingham franchise owner since 2003
8:00am: Check messages (phone, text and email) Finalise the days rota depending upon what messages are received……staff off sick / customers cancelling at short notice)
8:30am: Open up office (or office lady opens up and we phone the final rota changes through)
9:00am: Staff depart for their jobs. Get the washing on
9:00am – 9:30am: Make sure all staff have arrived at their first jobs
10:00am: Out for quotes or spot / quality control checks. Check washing is going ok
10:00am – 1:30pm: Quotes and quality control
2:00pm: Staff start coming back to office……check their worksheets…..did their day go ok…..any messages from customers……any return to work for staff that had been off sick
2:00pm – 3:30pm: Staff coming back…….put washing on. Prepare worksheets for next day. Input sheets from today
4:00pm: Quotes booked for the evening ? Or complete more paperwork
5:00pm: If no quotes booked then can head home between 4:00pm and 5:30pm If evening quotes then I currently would do last evening quote at 8:30pm
A Day in the Life of…..Gina Glendinning – Merry Maids Wakefield & South Leeds franchise owner since 2017
7:30am: Leave for the office having checked my emails, you never know what you might have come in over night…..had a giggle as a customer from America emailed to say they’d be home today but had forgotten their keys, what time will the girls be there. Oops! They’d got the wrong day for our clean as well, that’s another address to rota as I can’t have the customer sat on their own front door step!!
7:45am: Open the office, check my voicemails. See if any of the ladies are not able to work. Phew!!! All good today as we have a busy one ahead.
8:30am: The teams start to arrive and collect their jobs and extra clothes. Some teams leave looking like Santa with the amount of cloths they take with them.
9:30am: Last team has left, now the day really gets going…….How many quotes do I have today?? WOW! 5 quotes, better set off to the first. I will now have a tour of West Yorkshire for the next 3 hours.
1:00pm: Back at the office, thank goodness for Caroline, she’s been busy washing and drying the cloths ready for tomorrows cleans.
2:30pm: First of the teams are back at the office and thank goodness so am I. New tumble dryer ordered for delivcery tomorrow so we will soldier on with airers tonight, just enough dry cloths for tomorrows.
4:30pm: Last team back at the office, admin duties now………..All jobs need closing off and time and attendance needs updating. Once I’ve done this it’s time to review what evening quotes I have…..phew only 1! I know that’s sounds daft but today’s been a busy one and I still need to do the invoicing.
5:30pm: Invoicing done and emailed to the customers. Off for my qoute now.
6:30pm: Back to the office as it’s on the way home, won the quote, Yippee!! Will leave putting the quote on BMS until tomorrow. Off to see if my husband, son and dog still recognise me!!!
6:45pm: Thank goodness they do, time for a lovely evening walk with the dog and hubby.
