Dear Ol' Dad - You've Got to Have a System

At the time, working with, or should I say, for my dad both horrified and aggravated me. Dad ran a one of the larger janitorial contracting services in the area for quite a few years. He did homes, offices and businesses of every size and description. I still can't drive around town without thinking; yep, we did that place and that one and, that one too.

Dad gave me my first marketing job. I came up with the name of his company and designed his business cards. Dad's business, Roland's Clean Sweep Janitorial Service was also a great place to learn a few things about marketing. When you clean bathrooms, bedrooms and boardrooms, you get to know a lot about people, their lives and their businesses.

I learned about WOM (Word of Mouth) because my dad's business grew solely based on his reputation. One customer told a friend and they became a customer and they told a friend and they had him do their office and then their summer home. And, that's the way it grew. Now, you'd think getting things clean was the most important thing in the janitorial business. If so, you'd be wrong! Memorizing where everything was in a room, removing it and after you were finished cleaning it; putting everything back exactly where it was was the real secret to the business.

The one thing that I will never forget - how could I - it was my dad's mantra, was "you have to have a system. If you don't have a system, we'll be working against each other instead of together. There's a system for everything!" In marketing, it's Process, one of the expanded items in the old Marketing Mix. In the seven item Marketing Mix, there's the original fab four; Product, Price, Place and Promotion. I've always added People. But there's also Process and Physical Evidence.

Process, or as my dad called it, is a system of doing things. The old SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) that dictates everything from customer relations, to management to making bank deposits and beyond. Without a system there would be chaos. With a system there's a level of known expectations. Systems are great until you become a slave to it. And, yeah, the old man knew how to evolve as and when necessary. To his credit, his customers forced him to keep working for them long after his intended retirement goal.

I also learned about going the extra mile from him and to deliver not only as expected but to go beyond! On customer, who lived in New York, was on her way to her summer home in South Dartmouth. It was a ritual of over fifteen years. She called to let him know she was just up the road buying groceries and would be at the house shortly. She couldn't wait to get there and make herself a cup of tea. When she arrived, there was a pot of tea ready for her. All she had to do was unpack her bags after she enjoyed her tea. We put away the groceries.

At one point, there were a lot of people working for Dad. Many of them were very competent. But some of the older customers, those whom he had served for decades, still refused to let anyone, including me, do specific things because only Roland did it best.

If there was one thing he never considered, it was selling the business. Someone told him he could sell the business for a good price. I spoke to several of his customers and the answer was the same. No one could replace him and they'd just as soon not bother with the new owner. His secret to success was developing, improving and sticking with his system. He represented a value far higher than the services he charged for and, he wasn't the cheapest guy in town. He was proud of what he accomplished considering his learning disability. He was dyslectic and for a child growing up in the 30's and 40's, it was not very pleasant being considered, as he said he was called, stupid.

I asked him why he went into this business when he had a great job as a trainee instructor at the Berkshire-Hathaway Mills. He said that it gave him freedom and that he liked being his own boss. I asked why janitorial services? He said, as unpleasant a job as it may be to many, people need people to either help with or clean up for them and that is was a business anyone could do. I then asked him why so many of his competitors had closed. He responded, "Because they don't care about the customer. To them it's just a money-making thing. Yeah, any dummy can clean a rug but there's a lot more to it than that. - there's a system to it."

Of course! There was a lot more to the system than met the eye. It wasn't just about how you do things. It was about why you do things. I wonder what he would have said about Thomas Edison who said, "Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing."

I think they would have liked each other. I'm so glad I wrote this because in doing so, I just realized the old man taught me more than I actually thought he did...