Roseville Firm Cleaning Up - Molly Maid Franchise Article

Lisa and John Allard have lots of talents. On a regular basis they take apart and put together dozens of vacuums, repair and maintain eight vehicles and they even know what kind of cleaning supplies are best for every home.

As owners of Molly Maid, which recently relocated from Rocklin to Roseville, the Allards provide cleaning services to hundreds of residents in Roseville, Granite Bay and several other Placer County communities.

"We always wanted to have a business in Roseville," John said. "Our new location is close to home. We've lived here for almost 20 years. Since this is the center of our customer base, being in Roseville saves on drive time for our ladies to get to their cleaning jobs each day."

The Allards purchased the Molly Maid franchise already in existence in June 2005 with five employees. Today that number has grown to 20 and the couple is pleased with how the business has progressed.

"We had been looking for something we could do together," said John, who divides his time between Molly Maid and being a Roseville city councilman. "Lisa and I work well together and this is a great area for this type of business because it is such a fast growing community. With so many two-income families, there is a demand for cleaning."

The day for the Allards begins early when the cleaning teams gather at the Roseville warehouse to collect supplies and pick up their assignments. Each morning every vacuum cleaner bag is changed, freshly washed towels are distributed and cleaning bottles and jars are refilled.

"We provide all the supplies and a list of all ingredients in those supplies for each customer," Lisa said. "When we do an estimate for each job the customer is told what products we use in case anyone in the home has concerns with reactions or allergies."

Molly Maid crews usually work in teams of two, each team providing service to three to five homes each day, depending on the job. "Our average clean takes about 2 ½ hours," Lisa said.

Each evening the crews meet back at the warehouse to turn everything in and prepare for the next day.

The Allards pride themselves on the quality of service their cleaning teams provide.

"We're different. These ladies are our employees. They are all bonded and insured," Lisa said. "Each one is trained right here in our office. We even have a training team that let us know when each employee is ready to go out into the field."

In addition, a quality control check is periodically conducted in each home Molly Maid cleans to ensure that the level of service the Allards expect is maintained.

"We also have a point system to provide incentive," Lisa said. "Each month there are cash bonuses for our ladies that go along with those points."

Lenore Jensen of Lincoln has been using the Molly Maid cleaning service for about 10 years. She began the service when she lived in Roseville and is always pleased with how her home looks and smells once the Molly Maid team finishes their work.

"They always do a thorough job," Jensen said. "They clean the baseboards and all the places behind the doors we tend to forget."

Although most customers request services every other week, John and Lisa said they will accommodate any type of schedule. Since many clients are not at home during their regular cleaning, the Allards have a special system of keeping track of house keys. All keys are kept under close scrutiny and passed out to the cleaning teams each morning and collected at the end of each day.

"About 70 percent of our clients are key customers," Lisa said.

For John and Lisa the best part about being a Molly Maid franchise is being able to provide a wanted service so many people desire. They also are happy they created jobs for their employees. "I always wanted to be more involved in the community," John said. "This business allows me flexibility and control of my own schedule."