Time for the Grandkids Every Day
North Harbour Regional Director Neil Kumar (left) and CrestClean’s Managing Director Grant McLauchlan (right), congratulating Michael and Jean Dellow for their 7 Years Long Service.
Even though they’ve doubled the size of their business during their seven years as CrestClean franchisees, Jean and Michael Dellow are not too busy to spend a special part of every day visiting their three grandchildren.
“Because we work near where they live in Wellsford, we stop by every day on the way to work and spend a bit of time together, for about an hour everyday. Then we go to work and then go home. It’s great,” says Jean, who initially read about CrestClean in an advertisement in the Rodney Times seven years ago. At the time, Michael had been fishing for 35 years and was ready for something different. They bought a business with $60,000, that’s grown to over $113,000 today, and they’re glad they made the change.
“It has its pros and cons, and most of them are pros,” says Jean. “You’ve got to be very committed, but overall we enjoy it and it suits our lifestyle.”
Jean says CrestClean’s management and administrative services make it easy to run their own business, pointing out that Neil Kumar’s experience as a franchisee makes him an excellent and understanding Regional Director. “We have quite a bit of respect for Neil because he’s done it. He understands where we’re coming from and what we’re going through.”
North Harbour’s Regional Director, Neil Kumar, has an equal amount of respect for the Dellows “They’re a very hardworking and passionate team,” he says. “They’re so great to work with.”
Jean also shared many good words about Chris Chapman, CrestClean’s National Quality/Training Manager. “We always have time for Chris. He’s full of knowledge.”
“All in all, it’s a really good team that’s heading in the right direction,” she adds. “After hearing Grant McLauchlan speak at our team meeting, we know that, so it’s nice to be in touch with the managing director every now and then. It’s not a company that sitting on its hands and doing nothing. It impressed us from the beginning – that’s why we came on board.”
But, she reflects, the company’s business model and growth still impresses them. “If it wasn’t a good team we wouldn’t have stayed seven years. We’ll see if we’re here another seven years!”
