CLEANING IS ABOUT A JOB WELL DONE - ROSELIN'S STORY
“Cleaning is about a job well done.” These are Rosline’s words after 22 years at Parapet. Two decades is no mean fit and here is what she had to say about her experience working at Parapet for this time.
I joined Parapet in 2002 July 14th as a sales person. Then the company was still starting out and there was the task of not only selling the service but also selling the name of the company. By then it was not a name known to many people in the cleaning industry but that would later on change.
There were three departments then Operations, Sales and Finance, with 10 people in the admin section and just a few stewards to help out. Then the roles of the Operations and Sales people would work interchangeably since we were just a young company starting out. Our MD then currently the GCEO would also come to help with the cleaning process in instances where we were short staffed.
This experience allowed me to not only have hands-on experience but learn the ins and outs of the business itself. I understood the product by the mere fact that I was also involved in some of the cleaning processes as well. We had one nissan and pick up then which we used to move around with when we needed to go do a site visit or when we needed to transport our cleaning tools as well as our staff. While at the moment we are using excel sheets and laptops to do workings then we only relied on a foolscap, a pencil and an eraser in case one made errors. Talk of humble beginnings.
When it came to my role as a sales person I wasn’t all confident as any sales person know making your first sales is never that easy. I got discouraged more often than you would think but Alex was such a supportive boss that he allowed us to learn and held our hand while we got the ropes. He not only got into meetings with us but encouraged us during the bad days when there was no breakthrough. Privilege is having a good and supportive boss and that is something I am forever grateful for. Eventually I closed one of our biggest clients then Daystar and BOC who we are still with to date.
As time went by my portfolio of clients grew and so did the company name. Parapet was no longer the startup I joined then but was now one of the most sought after cleaning companies because of the clientele it had built and the excellence in which we carried out our work. As our tagline says QUALITY SERVICE, ALL DAY, EVERYDAY. That became what we were known for.
As we speak we have over 500 clients and over 2000 stewards working with us with 4 Kenyan regional managers and 1 Ugandan regional manager, 30 admin personnel and 4 operation managers, all this can be attested to jobs well done and the referrals we got as well when doing the work we love and are passionate about.
People keep wondering why I have stayed 22 years in one company but when you have a boss like mine, build a client portfolio like I have and get all the support you need to give your best you are able to grow in whatever capacity. I strongly believe the grass is not greener on the other side but where you water it.