Franchisee of the year: Debbie Walker

A Croydon based cleaning company is celebrating after collecting one of the most prestigious business awards.

Merry Maids of Croydon scooped the North Star Growth award, and more prestigiously, the Dallen Peterson, Franchisee of the year award.

Merry Maids of Croydon, is a franchise of ServiceMaster, owned and managed by Debbie Walker and has been successfully cleaning homes in the area since 2003.

Debbie commented “I am delighted to have won the award and very proud of my team who work very hard to offer our clients the best service we can. I am looking forward to going to America to see how a Merry Maids business operate there “

The Franchisee of the Year 2017 is the most prestigious award and a pinnacle achievement within the ServiceMaster Franchisee network. It is awarded to one franchisee who has displayed the highest achievement in the pursuit of excellence and professional management in the ServiceMaster tradition.

 

“The last 12 months have just been great. We’ve celebrated 2 members of staff working for Merry Maids of Croydon for 10 years, which in this day and age is fantastic. We have also increased our work force by 15%. Additionally, we have continued our work as Dementia Friends and are proud to be able to continue this. It is very important to our business that we understand the needs of the families we work with.  I would say we are definitely a community orientated business that take pride in working within the community and helping families.” Added Debbie

Picking up one award is an achievement, but to go on and win Franchisee of the Year is and outstanding achievement. Winners also get the opportunity to visit the ServiceMaster conference held in the US each year.

 

Managing Director of ServiceMaster, Alan Lewin said: “It was great to see so many of our franchise community and suppliers gathered together to engage in the Summer Summit event. I am always appreciative of the commitment that our franchisees and suppliers make in taking a day out of their business to invest time with peers, colleagues & the franchise support team at ServiceMaster.

“We recognise achievements in the categories of Growth, People, Customer and Invest, these headings form part of our organisational “North Star” which we use as is a simple guide to cultural performance and strategic execution for all stakeholders across our community.

“We recognise the big obvious stuff like customer service accolades, established franchisees that have grown their revenues by in excess of £1m+, and new franchisees that have got great results from their start up, and beaten their financial projections” Finished Alan

Recognising some of the less obvious, but nonetheless culturally vital parts of franchising is imperative to ServiceMaster and the Summer Summit conference allowed this to happen.

Awards were given for not only growth, but also to those that have given back to their community, or employees of franchisees that have demonstrated their commitment to the brand attributes engaging in initiatives and actions with colleagues and customers well beyond their job description, very often in their own time at their own expense.

“As a family business working for families, we are thrilled to have won, but it simply wouldn’t be possible without our staff .I feel they all need a special thank you. Merry Maids of Croydon constantly strives hard to offer great customer service and a community friendly approach.

 

“Of course, our goals over the next 12 months are to grow but also to continue to offer an excellent service to our clients especially continuing to develop in certain sectors – working with clients with dementia and  the elderly that wish to stay living at home  .” Finished Debbie

“As the Brand Manager for Merry Maids it is one of the great privileges of my role to reward businesses that have achieved great things in the past year.

“Life is tough in business these days and most business owners, have their head down and get on with the job in hand, so when they can see the rewards for their efforts, it not only keeps them motivated to continue on that trajectory, it also inspires and motivates other owners to aspire to the same level. Debbie is a prime example of sheer hard work and determination to

“I would like to say huge congratulations to all the award winners, they are all well deserved.” Finished Merry Maids brand manager, Catriona Berry