Since turning their CrestClean franchise into a full-time business Sandeep Kumar and Anju Anju haven’t looked back.
It’s been a little over two months since CrestClean became their main income stream. They’ve already doubled the size of the business by taking on more cleaning contracts.
As well as giving Sandeep more opportunities to pursue his love of hiking, the move has enabled the Timaru couple to spend a lot more time with each other.
They had originally bought the business for Anju, who had been employed mainly doing casual jobs, including working part-time for another CrestClean franchisee.
She knew the job well and one of the key attractions of CrestClean was the work is mostly in the evenings, leaving Anju free in the day to look after their child, says Sandeep.
“Initially we had looked at buying a courier business but we had a child to consider,” he says. “CrestClean suited our requirements. I could carry on working in the day and Anju could do the cleaning work at night.”
Going full-time for Sandeep meant leaving the company where he worked as composite technician manufacturing fibreglass parts for commercial vehicles. It was an industry he’d been employed in for nearly 10 years.
Sandeep and Anju enjoy making the most of the day before starting work mid-afternoon. “We have heaps of free time together before we leave to begin the cleaning. I really like hiking in the mountains,” says Sandeep.
“Anju likes to spend her time cooking but she also comes with me on the easier hikes.”
Sandeep says owning a CrestClean business has brought them the security of a regular income, especially important just now as the COVID-19 situation has created a lot of uncertainty.
“During the coronavirus outbreak heaps of people lost their jobs but we had a guaranteed income from CrestClean and we didn’t have too much to worry about.”
Job satisfaction is a high priority for Sandeep and Anju. They go out of their way to visit customers in the daytime to seek feedback and to ensure everyone is happy with their work.
“It develops good relationships with the customer and they know our faces. We get to hear if there’s anything that we might be missing with the cleaning or any extra work that’s needed,” says Sandeep.
Robert Glenie, CrestClean’s South Canterbury Regional Manager, says going full time with their business was a smart move for Sandeep and Anju.
“It’s been a very big change for them but they are now really happy and their business is doing extremely well.
“Their customers are delighted with the quality of their work and I’ve just been so impressed by the fact they go out of their way to visit them.
“It really helps cement the relationship and the customer sees them as responsible business owners and not just the cleaners.”
