Today we’d like to introduce you to Marci Hernandez. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Keepers Commercial Cleaning is known for being a local Arizona family-owned business that provides exceptional cleaning services to our customers. Our purpose is to serve people so they can do what they love. We truly care about everyone from customers, to staff, to cleaning crews and strive to make everyone feel appreciated. All our efforts are to help better the lives of those around us.
In 2008 Carlos and Marci Hernandez started Keepers. At that time Carlos was a commercial insurance broker who sold primarily to construction companies. But due to the recession, most construction businesses were closing their doors fast. The income for the Hernandez family was quickly shrinking. Carlos came to Marci with a crazy idea. He wanted to start his own cleaning business. At the time Marci was working as an office manager.
They had two small kids ages 4 and 2, and Marci was expecting their third. To say they were already stretched thin is an understatement. They had doubts about launching a startup, but Carlos had already worked in commercial cleaning through college and the cost for start-up supplies was minimal. After all, they already owned a vacuum! After 15 years they have learned many of the ups and downs of owning a business.
From starting with nothing they have grown to provide services for over 600 customers. When Keepers first launched, they didn’t fully understand how vital cleaning services would be. The more local businesses they worked with, the more gratitude and relief their clients expressed, and the more they saw that the goal wasn’t just to clean floors and restock supplies. It was to allow teams and managers to focus on what matters to their businesses.
So, when a doctor walks into an exam room? She doesn’t think twice about whether it’s been properly disinfected — she is free to focus on her patient. When a business manager sits down to plan for company growth, he doesn’t worry whether or not they have the resources to ensure every new business space will be clean and well-stocked with office supplies. He gets to focus on the future. When a teacher enters her classroom, she doesn’t need to waste time ensuring that everything has been disinfected correctly. She can be confident that the space is ready for them to learn.
Keepers have been recognized by the Phoenix Business Journal as one of the largest janitorial businesses as well as Top Women Owned and Minority Owned businesses. In March of 2021, they were named a Success Award Winner by the Maricopa County Small Business Development Center. In August of 2021, Keepers was named a BBB Torch Award Finalist and received the Image Award from Building Service Contractors Association International.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When we started Keepers, we did not anticipate the struggles we would face. But once we started, we knew that if we kept at it, we could make this business a success. In the early days, Carlos kept his day job because we needed that money to help cover the bills. He worked all day selling insurance, then spent all afternoon cold-calling businesses and knocking on doors. At night, he cleaned.
For over a year and a half, he worked this insane schedule. Work all morning, find new clients, and then clean until 1 or 2 in the morning. At 7 am, he would wake up and do it all over again. Of course, we knew our family couldn’t keep going like this for long. As our client list steadily grew, we were able to finally hire more help. And then suddenly, we had far more work than we had team members.
The moment we realized we needed to plan for growth and develop our team of trusted, reliable workers was a Thursday afternoon. A company in Tucson had contacted us with a job — 7 preschools needed cleaning. It was a huge job, so we recruited two other cleaning teams to come and help us out.
At the very last minute, both teams backed out. Carlos suddenly had 7 schools to clean, and no additional staff to help him. But we had to figure it out — and fast — because they were relying on us! Carlos got together an emergency team and they got started as soon as possible. Their small team of 4 worked all night long. Just as the teachers began arriving the next morning, they finished the last school.
Eight years into the business we had a supervisor who was not performing up to their job duties. When we let them go, they decided to form their own company to compete with us. Since they knew our customers, they went to them directly and spread lies about Carlos and me to gain their business. They also stole our staff members to work for them directly. This was a huge hit as we lost nearly a third of our customers. It was a tough time but we knew we had to press on and not let it affect us.
In the past year, we have had to let two team members go, not because of job performance, but because culturally they were not the right fit for Keepers. This was a difficult decision because both team members were performing their duties at or above expectations. We listened to what our team members had to say about how they treated those around them. When we realized the cultural mismatch, we knew a change was necessary.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Keepers Commercial Cleaning?
Keepers provides commercial cleaning services to a wide variety of industries. They specialize in class A office buildings, medical facilities, educational facilities, warehouses, industrial facilities, churches, apartment complexes, and hotel staff. Cleaning services include day porter staff, night cleaning staff, housekeeping, and move-out cleaning.
Other specialty cleaning services offered include carpet cleaning, window cleaning, VCT strip and wax, tile and grout cleaning, and consumable supplies. For those who are frustrated with their current cleaning company, Keepers Commercial Cleaning is a proactive, reliable, and responsive cleaning company.
Keepers guarantee your satisfaction or your money back. Unlike cleaning companies that do the bare minimum, Keepers performs regular inspections, so they correct any imperfections before you even notice them.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
We believe in continual growth within the company and encourage our employees to surround themselves with inspiring books and podcasts. We provide an Audible account for each of our employees and have them read along with us as a team. Each week in our team meeting we discuss what we learned in the previous chapter.
As a team, we just finished reading the book, “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Lencioni. This was a great experience to see team members recognize the impact culture can have on an organization. Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This is something we believe in and are constantly reinforcing the importance of culture.
When we have a new hire we let everyone else know they have to be the ambassadors of culture and not let the “new guys” change the culture we have worked so hard to create. We also provide coaching opportunities for our staff to meet with a life coach. This life coach helps them recognize areas for improvement and issues they may be struggling with. The coach offers practical solutions for overcoming obstacles and encourages a growth mindset.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.keeperscleanaz.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keeperscleanaz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keeperscleanaz/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/keeperscleanaz
Image Credits
Julia Hidalgo
