When their largest industrial client came to Alejandro & Javier Barquero and needed them to help find a way to save money, the Savannah, GA based franchisees were willing to be flexible, and it paid off. Because of their solution to the budget issue, the client offered for Jani-King to take over two additional divisions of their plant.
“We found ourselves in a competitive rebid situation due to our client needing to consolidate services and save money at the same time,” said Alejandro. “We were able to work with the regional office to find creative ways to lower costs and still maintain profit. For us, Anna Hubner was instrumental in the signing of the accounts. She supervises the day to day operations and training for us at the customer location and her commitment to this account was key in the decision process. In the end, we not only were able to retain our largest account but added two other divisions as well.”
Alejandro & Javier purchased their franchise in 2006 and did all of the cleaning themselves for the first year and a half. Over the years, they grew their business to it’s highest point when they had close to 90 employees. Currently, the franchise employs 38 workers.”
“The most difficult challenge for us was trusting employees when we began to grow,” said Alejandro. “We had some struggles at first but we soon realized that we wanted to be business owners, not janitors. We also learned that there are people who enjoy cleaning and are great at it.”
The franchisees receive regular assistance from the regional office and contribute that along with communication to success with customers.
“The Regional Office has been a great resource for us. When we have questions about bidding a job or technical questions about floors or anything else they are a wealth of knowledge and help,” said Alejandro. “We don’t cut corners and we are always honest in our dealings with our clients. We also believe that constant communication is key to our relationships. If a problem should arise I want to know about it and immediately take care of it. That can only be done if we are in a constant state of communication.”
