Just last week I received a phone call, right here on the clean office landline. The nature of the conversation went something like this:
Anonymous Caller: Hey, are you hiring?
Me: We’re always looking!
Anonymous Caller: Well, why wasn’t I hired when I applied?
Me: I can check our records, but it could be a qualification issue.
Anonymous Caller: Really? I mean, it’s cleaning. How hard can it be, right?
I sat in my seat, slightly ill-tempered and a bit bothered. It’s not just cleaning. It takes skill.
After such convo’, the inspiration for my next blog stood there, arms crossed and foot tapping, waiting to be written. The words poured out of my fingertips and onto the keyboard, filling the vessel of this page. It takes skill, I tell you!
People who clean are essential to our everyday lives – and they are not so easily replaceable as many may assume. To prove it, here are 4 truths about cleaners (you should definitely know):
1. It’s Easier Said Than Done
Sure, at some point in life, everyone must clean. But have you done it for a living? Have you had to clean a place that didn’t belong to you? Have you ever been in a dirty common area (e.g., your building’s elevator) and thought “hey, I would totally clean this”? No. It takes a high level of dedication and skill to clean, trust us (we’ve been doing it for years!). Not just anyone can do what we do.
2. Career vs. 9-5
Is janitorial work really the last resort when you’ve dedicated 20 years of your life to perfecting the craft? I can’t speak for everyone on this matter. However, I can say that here at Service Keepers, we’ve built an army of strong employees that have been here for years – and want to stay for the long haul. Is this then not a career? Sure looks that way. We clean because it’s a passion, not because it’s a fallback.
3. Our Work = Your Happiness
Your health, productivity, and mood depend on us and the type of results we deliver. How? It’s simple really: you can live your day-to-day life without having to worry about the messes that surround you. The dirty elevator? Cleaned. The unkempt desk? Organized. That spill Billy from 2 doors down created this morning? Taken care of. Oh, and Susie’s untrained puppy issue? Yep, we cleaned that, too. It’s one less thing for you to worry about so that you can focus on the rest of your day.
4. And We’re Humans, Too
In case you missed it, cleaners are people. We’re not systemized machines programmed to follow you wherever you go, dustpan and broom ready-in-hand just waiting for your next move. Yes, it’s our job to ensure we’ve cleaned every nook-and-cranny of a facility. But we have limits, too. So please, pick-up after yourself if you can. Makes for a cleaner world.
