November 2006 Newsletter

• Duticall present "10 Year" achievemnt award
• Duticall client recognises the achievement
• The Acoustic Cleaning Service

Preudhomme's Law of Window Cleaning: It's on the other side.

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"It is amazing how quickly the kids learn to drive a car or use the computer yet are unable to understand the lawnmower, washing machine or vacuum cleaner."

---Ben Bergor

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Duticall present "10 Year" achievement award

Recently, yet another Duticall Contractor was presented with an achievement award recognising 10 years of service excellence in the cleaning industry under the Duticall banner.

Munendra Nath and his wife Uma received the award recently at a celebration luncheon held at Aqalinea Restaurant, Teneriffe. Adrian Hinwood and Frank Wagner, owners of Duticall, made the presentation.

A Duticall Contractor tells his story.

Munendra Nath has lived in Australia for 26 years and during that time he has worked hard to achieve his goals -

• a happy family life with his wife Uma, his 11 year old son Avishek and his 16 year old daughter Anjana,
• a fully paid-up 5 bedroom riverside home on a 2½ acre property and
• a secure income from his own cleaning business.

Munendra tells it in his own words -

"In 1980 I left Fiji to make a new life for myself in Australia. When I arrived in Melbourne the total extent of my wealth was $438.00. I found work in the hospitality industry and over the years qualified as a chef and earned a diploma in Hotel and Catering Management. Apart from my regular job there was many a time that I was earning extra income from other sources such as washing dishes and driving taxis.

It was whilst I was learning the arts of housekeeping and laundry that I obtained my grounding in cleaning services which in turn paved the way towards my entry into office cleaning.

In 1988 my wife Uma arrived from Fiji and we went house hunting together. Fortunately I had, by that time, managed to save sufficient money to put down a reasonable deposit to secure our first home.

By 1996 I was working as an internal auditor in hotel and catering services, I had a son aged 1 and a daughter aged 6 and I was badly in need of greater flexibility in my life so that I could spend quality time with my children in their early years. I left my job, sold the house and, together with Uma and the children, headed to Queensland.

Through friends I heard about Duticall and learned how easy it was to get started as a Duticall Contractor. Easy that is providing you are prepared to put your money on the line to underpin your commitment to quality, service and reliability. An interesting concept…one that would be guaranteed to put off the faint-hearted or those of dubious character. Fortunately what I heard about Duticall was all good and the company has since proved to be both professional and dedicated.

From the sale of the old house, I was able to put down a deposit on a new house in Burpengary with sufficient left over to give me a start with Duticall. This change in my career allowed me flexible work hours and more time to assist in my children's education.

I currently have 6 Clients, including Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (see separate article), which I service between midnight and early morning most weekdays and then I have a BIG day on Saturday when I have the advantage of seeing the premises in daylight. Looking after my Clients could take up to 55 man hours a week but with Uma's help my time is usually less than this.

'What is the secret to keeping clients happy?' My answer, in a word, is reliability…I have not missed a clean in the last 10 years. I believe my Clients recognise my professionalism and trust me to look after their premises, their master keys and alarm codes. I always take great care to ensure all doors are locked and liaise directly with security companies or Clients if there is any security breach. In the past I have encountered break-ins and robberies which I have immediately reported to the appropriate authority.

'What frustrations are there?' Client's staff do not always take as much care in an office environment as they would at home and they rarely consider the cleaner. As a result -

• kitchen spills are not immediately wiped up with the result that strong chemicals are often needed to remove the stains,
• it is common to find staff leaving 3 or 4 dirty cups on their desk at the end of the day instead of taking them to the kitchen,
• cardboard boxes to be disposed of are left whole when they could easily be broken down flat and
• liquid waste and bottles are thrown into bins normally used for waste paper.

Fortunately many of these frustrations are sorted out by Duticall as they keep in regular contact with the Clients and myself. That on-going assistance and follow-up procedure ensures a good Client and Contractor relationship.

I am pleased with my continuing association with Duticall…It has been instrumental in helping me achieve success and happiness in my life."