Another Thanksgiving is upon us. In my past life as a fast food franchisee, Thanksgiving was my favorite day of the year. Not because I had a thankful heart, but because it was a day of no worries.  My franchisor would only allow us to close for two days a year, and I relished turkey day most of all. Not much work needed to be done around the house to prepare for this day of giving thanks. No unpacking and then rehanging last year’s Christmas lights; no trips to the hardware store to purchase more Christmas lights so not to be outdone by the neighbor. No, Thanksgiving had a special meaning for me. On this glorious day, no employees were going to call out sick. It would be impossible for a member of our staff to be involved in an accident. No Client would call with a concern. The restaurant would be clean all day long.

When we were in the fast food franchise industry my wife and I always felt thankful for the long hours our employees and managers would work, but we felt bad about the impact it had in their lives. Our lives too. The good news about restaurant work is that you are rarely sitting in rush hour traffic. The bad news about restaurant work is that it is largely performed when the rest of your friends and family are celebrating birthday parties, socializing at cookouts and sleeping.

We knew there had to be a better way. It took us a long time to find it but we have we created a business that did not exist before. Our residential house cleaning,business, You’ve Got MAIDS, is based on the premise a business can have its cake and eat it too. Our residential house cleaners now work normal daytime hours with weekends and holidays off. Sure we could be open 7 days a week, but we felt that would be inconsistent with our goal to attract and retain the best house cleaners at You’ve Got MAIDS.

Running a fast food franchised business is no different than running a professional residential house cleaning franchise. In reality they are the same. To run a successful business the franchise owners must manage Customer Service and Cash Flow. Everything you do must support those two priorities, and they cannot exist for long without each other. It is a perfect union.

Christians are taught that everyday should be Thanksgiving. Even the bad days. Paul was joyful even when he was being persecuted in prison. I haven’t met many Christians that walk this talk, but I admire those that quietly practice a grateful heart even in the midst of struggles. I will keep working at it, but it is an uphill journey.

We can count on problems in the future, and these struggles strengthen us. In fact they define each of us individually. I challenge you look back at your personal history, & revisit a tribulation that has helped to make you a better person.

This year I will be thankful for my family, my friends, my country, our franchise partners, managers, customer service reps, residential house cleaners & our Clients at You’ve Got MAIDS.

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You’ve Got MAIDS®

Franchise Approval Department

Tel 843 388 7887

http://www.youvegotmaids.com/

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Copyright © 2009 You’ve Got MAIDS, Inc. Each franchise independently owned and operated.

Tags: Maid Philosophy

In South Africa, Nelson Mandela wrote, “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”

In Great Britain, former member of Parliament, Neil Kinnock said, “Resentment is an extremely bitter diet, and eventually poisonous. I have no desire to make my own toxins.”

In Germany, Fredric Nietzsche wrote “Nothing on earth consumes a man more quickly than the passion of resentment”

In India, Gandhi told a billion people, “An eye for an eye would make the whole world blind.”

And in America, Ann Lander‘s wrote, “Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head.”

Every once in a while I talk to a bitter person. I’m in the service industry…it comes with the territory, but it always amazes me when a total stranger goes from 0 to 60 in less than 10 seconds.

Sometimes that bitterness is directed at me. I do my best to forgive them, not condone their behavior, but just to forgive. I’m not perfect at this, rather it is a work in progress.

I’m not advocating being a doormat when someone is yelling at you. Stick to your guns if you are right, beg apologies if you are wrong…just don’t throw gasoline on an open fire.

Forgive, don’t forget, and move on. Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. Take your frustration and treat it like a book on your library shelf. You don’t think about it, but if you had to pull it down and dust it off you could recall the plot quick enough.

If you think about it forgiveness has nothing to do with the other guy. It is about you. About what you think about. About your happiness. Forgiveness is always an inside job.

What does this have to do with running a professional maid service? Nothing.  Everything.

If you are evaluating being in business, but not being all alone, please consider our maid service franchise.  You’ve Got MAIDS is authorized to support franchisee’s in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, & Wyoming.  If you are seeking to join a house cleaning franchise and your state is not listed, please contact us anyway; we will let you know when we are scheduled to roll out our franchise in your state.  You’ve Got MAIDS, America’s Finest Maid Service™!

You’ve Got MAIDS®

Franchise Approval Department

Tel 843 388 7888

http://www.youvegotmaids.com/

Check us out on: twitter, YOUTUBE, facebook

Copyright © 2009 You’ve Got MAIDS, Inc. Each franchise independently owned and operated.

Tags: Maid Philosophy

Some people get wigged out when they first hire a maid service.

They never thought they would be the type of person to hire a professional maid service. Now they are busy, they can afford it, and they want their house cleaned on a regular basis.

Some overcompensate.  They make friends with the maids in an effort to show that they are good people, and don’t look down on anyone.  This almost always leads to failure.

Keep a professional distance between you and your maids.  Robert Frost wrote good fences make for good neighbors in his poem Mending Wall.  Perhaps Frost was questioning the need for fences, nonetheless, barriers are a good thing in many circumstances.  Hiring a maid service falls into this category.

Barriers, whether made out of wood, stone, or simple healthy distance, create a boundary that makes everyone more comfortable and effective.  How could children play soccer without lines drawn on the grass? Go back to the reason you hired the maid service in the first place.  You wanted your house cleaned.  You were not looking for a new friend.

Some maids use friendship as a bridge to poor job performance.  Independent maids are notorious for this.  Your compassion to their problems might result in tips, loans, passes for being late or not showing up at all.  When the quality of the maid service declines, whether it’s an occasional service or an overall decline, you will be less likely to complain.  Sometimes this just happens.  For others, it’s contrived.  Familiarity breeds contempt.  It’s also true that familiarity breeds content.

The best advice is to keep a professional distance from your maids.  Better yet, hire a professional maid service and shift the burden of customer satisfaction and maid management to their shoulders.

Click here to request a free estimate for professional maid services.

You’ve Got MAIDS®

Franchise Approval Department

Tel 843 388 7888

http://www.youvegotmaids.com/

Check us out on: twitter, YOUTUBE, facebook

Copyright © 2009 You’ve Got MAIDS, Inc. Each franchise independently owned and operated.

Tags: Maid Philosophy

Photo: ♥serendipity

Assume the best in people, and reap the reward. When you assume the best of an employee, associate, or Home Cleaning Client, you may just fish your wish. You may get the result you truly want. Whether you are wrong or right in your assumption often has little to do with your outcome.

If this is true, our lives are less affected by what happens to us, and more influenced by our reactions. By implementing a positive, see the best in people outlook, each one of us ignites tiny chain reactions of positive vibrations. Where they will spread may be further than we initially hoped or imagined.

Tom Hanks claims he is not a cynical person. He assumes the best of everybody until he is proven. I like Hanks philosophy, but it is not entirely evolved.  Ronald Reagan boiled it down to…Trust, but verify.

Assume a Best-Case Scenario, while keeping your eyes open. By assuming the best in someone, you minimize defensiveness in that person. It’s also a more enjoyable way to pass through life.

• Home Cleaning Service Clients assume the best of your maid service.
• Maid Services, assume the best of your maids and Home Cleaning Service Clients.

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Copyright © 2009 You’ve Got MAIDS, Inc.  Each franchise independently owned and operated.

Tags: Maid Philosophy