Kingston based cleaning company is celebrating after collecting one of the most prestigious business awards in franchising

Merry Maids of Kingston are left celebrating after scooping one of the most prestigious awards, the Dallen Peterson - Franchisee of the year award at ServiceMaster Ltd.’s annual business awards ceremony.

Merry Maids of Kingston, is a franchise of ServiceMaster, owned and managed by Gary Rolfe and has been successfully cleaning homes in the area since 2017.

Gary commented “I am still in shock that I won in all honesty! I am overwhelmed to have received this award, particularly so early on in my business. However, winning has given me enormous confidence that I can smash my targets for the next 12 months.

“Things have changed quite considerably over the last 12 months for both my business and within the network. I no longer say no to any job, whatever that is. I think in the early days of my business I was scared to tackle something different or awkward whereas now I just jump in with both feet and give it a whirl! We have tackled some extreme cleans and 8-bedroom houses – my moto is, if you don’t try, you will never know if you can do it!” Said Gary

The Franchisee of the Year 2018 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.

When asked what Gary felt added to him winning Franchisee of the Year he said:

“I think having a great team of staff, alongside organisation is a key asset to have in any business and its one I definitely didn’t have in the early stages of my business. I remember back to when I first started and I began visiting other business owners, it dawned on me how unorganised I was – whereas now my office and storage units are completely different – I always try to think ‘Clear Clutter, make space for you!’

“I also have a very positive relationship with my clients. I truly believe building lasting relationships really ensures you have a lasting and sustainable business to work with.” Added Gary

Winning Franchisee of the Year is and outstanding achievement and one not to be taken lightly – it requires hard work and dedication from business owners. 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.

“I have had many notable highs in the last year and this is the icing on the cake. Early in January I had set myself monthly targets which helped me enormously. We smashed these targets but twelve months ago, these targets seemed impossible. I would like to thank my staff, for all their hard work and commitment to helping us achieve these numbers but also all the members of the IRC who have given me great encouragement and support, and also everyone at Head Office.” Finished Gary

“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. Gary 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, Steve Morris

ServiceMaster has over 300 franchisees operating in close to 700 licensed areas under its brands, including Merry Maids, ServiceMaster Clean, Furniture Medic, TruGreen Professional LawnCare and Rosemary Bookkeeping. TruGreen has been recognised as a leading franchise opportunity in the Elite Franchise Top 100 franchises in the United Kingdom.