Business owners celebrate 15 years each
CrestClean’s Managing Director Grant McLauchlan (left) with Dries Mangnus, Anjila and Avendra Kumar, Resham Singh and Kamal Jeet Singh.
Between them these Auckland business owners have 60 years’ experience of being at the top of their game.
And their dedication to CrestClean was marked by long service awards being presented by CrestClean’s Managing Director Grant McLauchlan.
Each recipient has been with company for 15 years, the achievement all the more remarkable given the commercial industry’s poor retention rate that sees up to 100 percent turnover per year.
Dries Mangnus says his long service was testament to the immense job satisfaction from being part of an organisation that has become an industry leader in a highly-competitive sector.
“It’s been a pleasure and a privilege,” added Dries, CrestClean’s Auckland Central Regional Manager.
“Crest has been good from a personal and a business point of view.”
As a Master Franchisee, he’s seen his business grow as CrestClean builds on its tried and trusted training systems to become a strong and innovative force in the country’s commercial cleaning industry.
His Auckland franchisees have prospered through sheer hard work and a determination to better themselves and their families, he said.
“It’s immensely satisfying to see franchisees do so well. I’ve had people come up to me saying: ‘I never dreamed I could have made this amount of money’. Others tell me they’ve been able to put their kids through university.
“I have a number of teams who have been with me for many years.”
But it had not all been plain sailing in Auckland, with tough competition from some unscrupulous operators in the commercial cleaning industry, he added.
“It’s a bit like the Wild West. There are 180 cleaning companies in Auckland and we have to constantly strive and maintain our standards and disciplines so we are not affected by the competition.”
Another long-serving franchisee is Resham Singh, who was delighted to receive his award. “It’s been great to be with CrestClean for 15 years,” he says.
“There’s always new things to learn,” added Resham, whose wife Gurjit also helps him in the business.
He particularly takes pride in his CrestClean vehicle. In 2015 his Nissan NV350 van was judged the best in the fleet.
“Image is a very important for your business,” he says. “When you have a neat and clean vehicle people can see from the start that you have high standards.”
He enjoys being a Master Cleaners Training Institute Regional Trainer. “It’s great to help people and show them new techniques and how to do a great job for their customers.”
Former tailor Avendra Kumar says customers always come first in his business. “I really enjoy doing my job and I like cleaning. It’s always good to have nice feedback from our customers.”
He says he’s no regrets about changing careers. “Tailoring is a job that involves sitting down most of the time but cleaning is a quite a physical job and it keeps you fit.”
Having flexible working hours means Avendra and his wife Anjila get to spend plenty of time with their four grandchildren. Apart from a year working in Hamilton, they have been based in Auckland for the past 15 years.
Kamal Jeet Singh is also a Regional Trainer and delivers the Module One Course through the Master Cleaners Training Institute.
He says the past 15 years have brought a lot of satisfaction from having his own business.
“I feel proud of myself as a franchise owner. I’m my own boss and I now employ five people and my business has grown a lot over the years.”
As well as the personal success, he enjoys the customer contact. “I know that my customers value what I do for them,” he says.
