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Atyourrequest : one of New Zealand’s largest home and commercial services franchises.
Added: (Sat Oct 24 2009)
Franchise Profile
After just five years,@ Your Request has become one of New Zealand’s largest home and commercial services franchises. According to founder Adrian Kenny, much of that success is because of the key role played by regional franchisees such as Craig Jones and Russell Clement in Hawkes Bay. Craig is the regional franchisee for Commercial Care (including cleaning) and Lawn & Garden Care, while Russell handles the Home Care side. They describe themselves as business CEO’s, recruiting local franchisees and then looking after local marketing, quoting, attracting new customers, training and maintaining quality control. Craig and Russell are both in the country’s top 20% of income earners, yet they say that cleaning seems to be below the radar for many people looking for business opportunities. ‘Frankly, we have more work than franchisees to do it right now,’ says Russell. ‘It’s time New Zealanders got over the Victorian mindset that working in a service industry such as cleaning commercial premises or someone’s home is in some way menial. When I was a chef I ran five star hotel kitchens in Canada and Bermuda, and I spent at least 30% of my time in the kitchen cleaning! But as an @ Your Request franchisee, you’re nobody’s servant – you’re a business owner with a high caliber of client and can turn over upwards of $65,000 a year for a 40-hour week.’ So confident is @ Your Request of this that it offers a ten year minimum income guarantee of at least $1000 per week.
Rewarding Opportunity
Even these incentives haven’t stopped Russell and Craig hearing otherwise ideal candidates sometimes say they’ve ‘changed their mind.’ According to Craig, ‘It seems that people are sometimes talked out of a tremendous, rewarding opportunity by the attitude of others
towards cleaning – despite the fact that it delivers heaps of job satisfaction.’ And he should know – like Russell, Craig is hands-on, cleaning commercial premises in Napier and Hastings as well as looking after eight franchisees already with a ninth in the pipeline. It’s a necessary part of his technique for building his region and selling successful franchises. ‘When I follow up enquiries from new clients or referrals, I often do the cleaning work myself to establish the high @ Your Request standards,’ explains Craig. ‘Once I’ve built up enough to create a viable, ready-made business I appoint a new franchisee. I can package new clients so that a business can offer a full-time opportunity, or a part-time business that will generate supplementary income. My newest franchisees, an Indian couple, are doing just that. They were encouraged to get involved by another couple who have been with us for the past year and by working together for around ten hours per week they are able to add more than $30,000 to their salaries. Having arrived from India five years ago with very little, they’re now buying a home and making the most of the Hawkes Bay lifestyle.’
Lifestyle, Income, Security
It’s that famous lifestyle that motivated Craig’s decision to become an @ Your Request regional franchisee after 14 years with the police force and time spent as a MAF investigator. ‘I’ve always had a lot of respect for Adrian Kenny, his business acumen and business philosophies so when I saw he had started @ Your Request I approached him about my becoming the Hawkes Bay franchisee,’ recounts Craig. ‘By 2006 I was in business as the regional franchisee for Home Care, Lawn & Garden Care and Commercial Care. With such a well-developed business model I hit the ground running and quickly built up my first four commercial care franchisees.’ Finding his business energies spread thin, Craig later made the decision to sell the home care franchise and met Canadian Russell Clement, who had recently settled in Hawkes Bay with his Kiwi wife and young family. ‘Coming to New Zealand was the opportunity to break away from my 18 years of unsociable hours as a chef,’ explains Russell. ‘Working in five star establishments attracted me to the five star image of @ Your Request with its smart uniforms and vehicles. I was equally impressed with the mentoring and support provided as well as the company’s state-of-the-art Franchise Management System, which is about to get even better. I’ve appointed one Hawkes Bay local as a franchisee so far and have two more businesses ready to go. @ Your Request offers a business that people can be proud of with clients who, from my own experience, are really nice.’ @ Your Request franchises start from $9-18,000 depending on area, plus equipment and a suitable vehicle. As for the recession, the pair report no impact on business. ‘@ Your Request has both a strong brand image and an excellent reputation for five star service,’ says Craig. ‘Commercial premises need to be cleaned, busy households have no time to do a proper job and gardens keep growing.’ As Adrian Kenny says, ‘@ Your Request is built by people who want to work and take pride in their work. If that sounds like you, we offer the comfort of one of the best franchise work level guarantees and the best support system in the business. There are opportunities in many parts of the country for people to start right now, so don’t delay – give us a call and find out more.’
Systems, Training & Customer Care Equal Premium Service
‘When people see the words “premium service” they automatically assume that it comes with a premium price tag, but with @ Your Request this is not always the case’ says Adrian Kenny. ‘Through using the latest equipment and chemicals, and the best techniques perfected through ongoing training and supervision from the regional franchisees, each franchisee is able to deliver a higher quality, professional result without necessarily costing more. @ Your Request also prides itself on providing a flexible managed service where the customer has access to a customer services representative with whom they can discuss any aspect of the service. That representative then works with the customer to tailor the service to the customer’s needs. This is not only great for the customer – it also suits franchisees who have English as a second language and might find it difficult to communicate, sell to and generally deal with customers.’
Contact No : 0800 297 266
Website Address: http://www.atyourrequest.co.nz