Merry Maids of Kingston wins Franchisee of the Year at ServiceMaster business awards

Franchisee Gary Rolfe has been successfully cleaning homes in the area since 2017

Merry Maids of Kingston celebrated after taking home 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, a franchise of ServiceMaster, owned and managed by Gary Rolfe and has been successfully cleaning homes in the area since 2017. Rolfe said: “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 eight-bedroom houses – my motto is – if you don’t try, you will never know if you can do it!”

The Franchisee of the Year award is 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 Rolfe 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.”

The 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 and 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 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 in excess of £1m-plus, and new franchisees that have got great results from their start up, and beaten their financial projections.”

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 and at their own expense.

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.