Articles

Daycare Cleaning Service for your Facility

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The importance of daycare cleaning

It is known that young children are at a greater risk of exposure to toxins and germs than their adult counterparts. Common cold, the flu, coughs, sore throats and diarrhea are just a few of the illnesses that run rampant in daycare facilities. It is estimated that children in child care and school settings will have as many as 8 to 12 colds…each year. In addition, one of the most likely groups to get hepatitis A are children and workers in daycare centers. With this in mind, operations managers at daycare facilities must do all they can to maintain a safe and clean environment for the children in their care. Cleaning services for daycare facilities can be an answer for facility managers looking to ensure the most thorough clean.

 

Daycare cleaning procedures: Cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting

Cleaning comes first in child care facilities

The first step to creating a germ and toxin free daycare facility is to clean. Cleaning removes dirt and other grime from surfaces. All surfaces, including windows, carpets, glass, doorknobs, bathrooms and toys should be scrubbed, washed and rinsed. Dirt can prevent sanitizers and disinfectants from working properly, so it is critical that all dirt is removed in this step. A mild detergent and water solution is best; avoid cleaning detergents with lots of chemicals. Green cleaning solutions are the best; they have less effect on human health and the environment than non-green alternatives.

Sanitize areas in your daycare facility that are touched by many hands or come into contact with food

Choosing the correct daycare cleaning supplies is important to maintain a healthy facility. In order to properly sanitize, you will need an appropriate sanitizer. Sanitizing lowers the number of germs on surfaces and objects to a safe level. Sanitizing is done using products called antimicrobials.
Antimicrobials are agents that kill microorganisms or inhibit their growth. Antimicrobials are intended to kill germs, making them pesticides. Because they are pesticides, caution must be used when using sanitizers in a child care setting, as these pesticides can be harmful to humans. For example, phenol, found in many common sanitizers and disinfectants such as Lysol and Pine-Sol, can cause many problems such as heart damage, respiratory damage, and liver, kidneys and eye damage. Any product used to sanitize or disinfect must be registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The most commonly used sanitizer and disinfectant used in daycare facilities is bleach. Bleach is a good sanitizer because it is readily available, relatively inexpensive, easy to use and has a short killing time. Sanitize all door knobs, railings, faucets, and eating utensils.

Disinfect areas in your childcare facility that come into contact with bodily fluids

Sanitizing is great, but disinfecting all areas in your facility that come into contact with any bodily fluids is key to keeping the children in your care healthy. Disinfecting kills germs on surfaces and objects. Areas to disinfect include diaper changing areas, toilets, mouthed toys, water fountains and any other surface contaminated with blood or other fluids. Again, bleach is the most commonly used disinfectant. To properly disinfect, apply a disinfecting solution to an area and allow it to air dry for a few minutes. If the area is going to be used right away after disinfection, rinse the surface with a solution of soap and water.

 

Why use a cleaning service at your daycare facility?

Cleaning can be strenuous, time consuming and difficult. That’s why professional janitorial services may be your best option for cleaning your child care facility. Professional cleaners know what it takes to properly clean, sanitize and disinfect facilities, making the children in your care safer. At Corvus Janitorial, we have a plethora of professionals with years of experience cleaning daycare facilities. For more information on the services we offer to child care facilities, click here.

Spring Cleaning Wisdom for your Office

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The weather is changing, the days are longer, moods are better. Suddenly there is more sunlight, exposing all of the dust on your desk, stains from winter-cold coffee stand out, and the floors just look dull! Sending out a spring cleaning office memo is great, but often not enough to make sure the job gets done. Take advice for cleaning on a smaller scale from those who clean on a larger scale. Corvus asked teammates from around the country to share their insights and spring cleaning office space tips to assist your organization’s efforts.

1. Teamwork makes the dirty-work, clean:

“It is something that must be done, why not make it fun?” remarks Jonathan Frias – Corvus of Denver Regional Director. “Whether it’s in our own regional office at Corvus of Denver or in a client facility, we often perform “Spring cleaning impact cleans” and pull additional crews in to knockout the job.  It is important to set aside an actual window so those responsible are held accountable and the spring cleaning gets done. Turn it into a treat, such as a happy hour at the end of the day, or a company wide donuts and coffee morning. The energy will be contagious, and this will ensure the cleaning actually happens”.

2. Declutter by keeping what you need at arm’s length:

Getting to the edges, ledgers and hard to reach spots for dusting and disinfecting is high on the list of spring cleaning tasks, noted Corvus of New Orleans Senior Account Rep, Reed Warren.  The old coffee cups must go, essentials only! Corvus recommends making organization a priority. Dedicate a corner or a drawer for the personal and sentimental items. The tools you use daily such as the pen, highlighter, stapler, etc. should be the most accessible. The clutter is distracting!

3. Give back:

Provide a few boxes for the Goodwill or donation boxes! This will encourage declutter of unnecessary items and turn a problem for you into a profit for someone else (submitted by Corvus of New Orleans).

4. Time to Care for Carpets:

During the long Midwest winter, client employees understandably quaff a disproportionately large amount of hot beverages to keep them warm and restored…problem is those liquids often end up staining carpets, traffic areas, and can get pressed into the floor by office chair wheels.  Corvus of St. Louis Director of Operations, Louis Kline, makes a habit of checking with all customers during the spring to schedule an array of carpet cleaning work – from bonnet cleaning, to high-traffic area hot water extraction, to dry method carpet cleaning, to complete extraction carpet cleaning.  “It’s a good time to knock out carpet cleaning because we’re finally comfortable that the weather is turning, and the work won’t have to be re-performed. Plus, most of our customers have been with us an average of five years, and it’s just become part of our routine to not only clean the carpets, but to ensure the client doesn’t have to spend on replacing that material as a result of lack of care”.

5. Dust busting:

Corvus of Jacksonville recommends replacing all air vents and filters from high and low intake and outtake ventilation systems.  Regardless of whether your battling Midwest winters or on the verge of confronting blistering Florida or Louisiana summer heat, facilities put their HVAC units into overdrive which in turn pushes dust, particles and dander through those hard working ducts.   And while high and low dusting and vacuuming of intake vents needs to be part of a regular cleaning schedule, the fact remains that filters and vents need replacing, decluttering and cleaning. The combination of high and low dusting and mechanical / filter changes greatly reduces distribution of dust particles and dander, which leads to a healthier, cleaner and more productive workplace.

Corvus is a firm believer that what you do on a small scale spreads to the larger scale. A clean workspace makes for a clean head-space. As a business owner, you lead by example and by education. Share these tips with your staff!

Contributors: Corvus of New Orleans, Corvus of Jacksonville, Corvus of Denver, Corvus of St. Louis, Jonathan Frias, Louis Kline

Q & A with New Orleans Regional Director

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Interview with Corvus of New Orleans Regional Director and 4th Generation Resident Tommy Petagna

 

Tommy, can you tell us a little about Corvus of New Orleans and its background?

Tommy: Absolutely. Well, I’m actually approaching my ten-year anniversary as the Regional Director of the New Orleans region, and while that may seem like a long time, the truth is those ten years have really flown by. It has been an honor and a thrill to do my part in growing our local New Orleans franchise base and to provide commercial cleaning services to businesses here in town.

 

Q: Are you originally from the New Orleans area?

I was born and raised here, and I am proud to be a part of the fourth generation of my family to call New Orleans home… so to be contributing and supporting entrepreneurial growth in an area I love so dearly has been more satisfying than I can adequately express.

 

Q: When you started out, did you inherit a base of accounts and franchisees?

Tommy: No, we started the operation from scratch; no accounts, no franchisees, no customers. That was tough, of course, but in building the operation and empowering franchisees and servicing customers, you really gain a sense of pride in terms of what we’re trying to achieve. Plus, it has allowed our regional support team to connect in a super relevant and powerful way with our entrepreneurs and franchisees.

 

Q: How so?

Being a business owner is rewarding, of course, but full of hardships and obstacles. Due to the fact that we built our business from the ground up, I think we can really relate to and provide superior support to our janitorial franchisees who embark on that same journey. A way to put it might be: we’re not just talking the talk, because we’ve walked the walk.

 

Q: And what is it that you’re trying to achieve?

Tommy: Our goal is to add value and make the lives of our stakeholders better. That sounds trite, maybe, but if our customer facilities are clean, hygienic and vibrant, those businesses or organizations – and their employees and customers – flourish. If the environment we help facilitate benefits the individuals who are a part of that organization, we’ve made a difference and that’s really our goal. Of course, we’re nothing without our vast network of franchised cleaning operators, and it’s our mission to help those valued partners grow and prosper.

 

Q: That’s a unique take on commercial cleaning!

Tommy: Maybe, but if you approach what you’re doing with passion and purpose, you can always make a difference.

 

Q: Can you talk about some of the hardships you’ve faced?

Anyone who has founded, and operated a business knows there are almost too many obstacles to mention. But what leaps out at me is when you’re unfairly characterized. If we fail a customer or franchisee, we absolutely want to take responsibility for our role, but often times, especially in the case of a less-than-successful franchisee, blame is assigned directly to us…and even in ways that are not close to being factually accurate.

That said, those situations have been few and far between in our decade of operation, and as a rule we focus on the positive partnerships and successes we’ve enjoyed with our commercial cleaning franchisees, customers, vendors and employees.

 

Q: Switching gears, can you tell us how you help structure the scope of service for client office cleaning services?

Tommy: The important thing to do is to listen, question and observe. What I mean is, often clients have a sense for how often they need cleaning and what type of cleaning specifications they need or want for their facility. And of course, you need to incorporate those factors into your quote, but all too often cleaning companies and janitorial services simply take orders and generate one size fits all bids as opposed to providing a consultative approach to designing a customized workplace cleaning regime. So, in addition to incorporating the client’s needs, by observing the facility and asking questions, we’ll propose additional service specifications or, alternatively, eliminate some which in turn reduces the cost of service, saving clients money.

 

Q: Can you give us some examples of observations you try to make or questions you pose?

Tommy: Sure. For instance, you always want to understand the hot spots in a facility. Is there a section of the building which causes more frustration in terms of cleaning than others…which might be due to actual materials (as in floor type) or traffic patterns? Are there departments or individual work spaces that need more attention? By finding these answers and addressing those issues through work specs, we can provide a better clean and alleviate the stress the point person of the facility may have otherwise endured.

 

Q: What do you mean by that last comment?

Tommy: In many instances, if not all, our points of contact for cleaning services have a variety of other duties and responsibilities. If the nightly cleaning service is failing, that consumes her or his time, which detracts from their other obligations. We remind ourselves that our contact for office cleaning “die a death of a thousand cuts”, if the number of those cuts by providing a reliable, highly effective workplace clean, we’ve made that contacts job a little easier…and that really does make his or her life better.

 

Q: What is important for prospective office cleaning clients to know about the process of hiring a cleaning company?

Tommy: I can answer that generally and also give specifics in terms of what we at Corvus of New Orleans do. Generally, clients should make sure their service is licensed, bonded and insured. That’s just critical and often overlooked. Second, clients need to know what the quality control process is for the firm and how the company communicates with the client. In the commercial cleaning business, things can and do go wrong. It doesn’t matter what company it is because any service dependent on humans can run into problems. The key is how the service fixes the problem, and that relates to communication, follow up, and, most importantly, relationships. So, you want to understand how QC and operational oversight work. Then of course you want to make sure the cleaning company has the tools and means to provide service from skill of the franchisee to commercial grade equipment to effective solutions for the right material type. The company needs to possess the ability and resources to get the office or workspace clean.

In terms of Corvus of New Orleans, in addition to what I just described, we emphasize that the service specifications are entirely customizable and editable. By that I mean that we work with the client to make sure the cleaning specifications for the office space match their janitorial needs and their budget. One size does not fit all and ensuring that clients know we can add, delete or edit our service offering to get them to the right place is critical. Also, we can always perform additional service during times of year when a firm simply needs more attention…and then ratchet back when that need subsides. Basically, we try to do whatever is necessary for clients to meet their office cleaning needs.

 

Q: You refer to office cleaning, but I assume you provide janitorial services to all types of facilities, correct?

Tommy: That’s exactly right. You end up defaulting to the term office cleaning or commercial cleaning or janitorial services, but really, we provide services that clean any type of facility, during or after hours of operations. We clean industrial plants, schools, day cares, places of worship, car dealerships, medical offices, multi-tenant offices, banks, you name it. The only facility type we don’t clean, however, are residential properties.

 

Q: Another change of gears, you mentioned that you are nothing without your Franchisees. Can you elaborate?

Tommy: Absolutely. Corvus uses a franchise model, so customers receive cleaning from any one of our extensive networks of small, owner operator franchise cleaning companies. Folks come to us to help them start, develop and grow their own small businesses; with our help, support and resources, of course. And, yes, we really exist to serve our franchisees and to help them succeed. That’s what I meant. I know we have one of the most outstanding and capable roster of franchisees in the industry. Of course, I am biased! But for ten years, I’ve watched the entrepreneurial spirit take hold and work here in New Orleans. Franchisees like Denice Lee, Latrice Dillion and Vernell Briscoe blow me away with their discipline, fortitude and vision… just to name a few. Yes, our franchisees are simply the heart and soul of our operation, and frankly, inspiring to our team…by the way, to be clear, those are three out of scores of other outstanding entrepreneurs which make up Corvus of New Orleans.

 
Corvus of New Orleans
2332 Severn Avenue
Suite 200
Metaire, LA 70001
504-304-8323
info@corvusjanitorial.com

A Cleaning Franchise Could Change Your Life

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Corvus Franchisee pointing to his award for franchisee of the month

Changing career paths to cleaning?

There are many reasons that people decide to change career paths. Do you dread going to the office everyday? Do you feel like you don’t make enough money? Or, perhaps you simply can’t stand answering to your boss everyday. The average person will change jobs about 12 to 15 times over their lifetime, so changing careers is not an outlandish thought at all. If a career change is something that interests you, buying a janitorial franchise may be something for you to consider.

 

What is a cleaning franchise?

A cleaning franchise provides entrepreneurs with marketing, sales, financing and support, empowering the franchise owner to focus on growing their cleaning business. Everyone has seen janitors at work, but what most people don’t realize is that there is a very high probability that these janitors own their own businesses. A janitorial franchise is bought by the franchisee. With their purchase, the franchisee receives a recognizable brand, financing, equipment, client contracts, and support. One of the hardest things about owning a cleaning company is obtaining clientele. At Corvus, we provide franchisees with a vast number of contracts upon purchase of a franchise.

 

Success of janitorial service Franchises

When you decide to become a franchisee in the janitorial services industry, you are becoming part of something that has proven time and time again to be a success. The cleaning services industry is expected to grow 6% through 2026. The demand for janitorial services remains high, even in times of economic turmoil. Cleaning is an integral part of every company, and many times cleaning services are taken care of out-of-house. A Corvus Franchisee is able to sit back and enjoy being their own boss while the marketing, prospecting, and contract acquisition is taken care of. Franchisees can find comfort in the strength of the cleaning services industry; as long as franchisees work hard, there will be money to be made.

If you are over your job or career, it may be time to look into becoming your own boss and buying a cleaning franchise. The world is yours, so take a step towards a more fulfilling life with Corvus; you won’t regret it. Corvus Janitorial humbly invites you to join our network of franchisees. For more information on franchise opportunities, call 1-888-894-5345 or visit the Corvus website for franchise opportunities.

Corvus Janitorial Services Celebrates Black History Month

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Corvus Janitorial Services celebrates African-American History month, also referred to as Black History Month, during the month of February. Initiated in 1926 by Mr. Carter Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland to acknowledge the tremendous contributions of the African American community to the United States, Black History month has become a permanent staple of the American dialogue and cultural landscape.

Throughout February, every Corvus Janitorial Services regional office will research, profile and exhibit impactful or ground-breaking entrepreneurs from the African American community; those who paved the way in terms of innovation, success and breaking of traditional barriers for subsequent entrepreneurs…of all backgrounds.

When queried, Andy Smith, Regional Director of Corvus of St. Louis, reported his regional office intends to profile three highly successful, yet starkly different African American Entrepreneurs. Notably, his regional support team and area franchisees elected to profile founders of Black Entertainment Television and owners of three national sports teams, Robert and Sheila Johnson (at one point a formidable husband and wife team); Oprah Winfrey; and Ms. C.J. Walker (1867 – 1919) who through her “walker Method” hair product is largely recognized as one of the first African American female entrepreneurs to become a millionaire – those hair care products still being sold through an affiliation with Sephora.

Corvus, its employees, franchisees and entrepreneurs will recognize and celebrate the achievements of past and current African American business owners and leaders who paved the way for entrepreneurialism in our country.

Corvus Janitorial Services – 773-276-2227
Corvus of St. Louis – 314-205-1945

3 Tips from Successful Corvus Janitorial Franchise Owners

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ALWAYS deal in kindness, courtesy and honesty.

When he started his cleaning business, Dudley Blake, the owner of a janitorial franchise business in Jacksonville, admitted he directed most of his time to the technical side of office cleaning. However, as his business grew, he directed more and more time to developing relationships with his clients, and in doing so paid special attention to committing himself to transparency, kindness and courtesy. “If I made a mistake in an account, or maybe if a client was a little tough on me with criticism, I started looking at every interaction and decision through the lens of courtesy and gratitude for the individual”, Dudley admitted. In doing so, Dudley forged strong, long term relationships with clients that have allowed him to grow his cleaning business several fold.

 

Stay optimistic

When you start a cleaning business…or any business…the entrepreneur needs loads of spirit, enthusiasm and optimism. Anthony Russell, janitorial franchise owner in Denver, provided prescient advice when he counseled other franchisees – rookies and veterans alike – that the key to success is staying positive, being optimistic and remaining mentally tough around those two points. In business, how you face disappointments has a huge impact on future success. Rather than dwelling on losing a client, Mr. Russell emphasized looking forward to getting that new client, keeping your existing offices clean and happy, and never allowing setbacks to keep you down for long.

 

Patience

Finally, and similar to our second bit of advice, business owners need patience – patience to develop their technical skills, customer service skills, their team, their own best practices, and the like. Both Mr. Russell and Mr. Blake admitted that like most business owners, they wanted to win and didn’t want to wait for it. Nevertheless, allowing time to bear out in order to refine their skills and strategies played a key role in the ongoing success of their cleaning businesses.