Celebrating 10 years of positivity and perseverance for the Prasads
When bad weather regularly stopped Salend Prasad from working in his construction job, he and his wife, Rakeshni, set out to find something that would provide their family with a steady and stable income.
They found the stability they were looking for when they purchased a CrestClean franchise. After a decade in business, Salend and Rakeshni Prasad are still going strong.
It’s safe to say that the Prasads are not afraid of hard work. Rakeshni also works full-time as a Manager at Pak n Save, while Salend focuses on the franchise full-time. Every weeknight, Rakeshni helps Salend with his clean at Howick Intermediate.
Rakeshni has an inherently positive attitude and finds joy in her work. She says helping Salend at the school after a full day in her managerial role at the supermarket has its perks.
“It’s good for my health too because I don’t have to pay for the gym! My husband jokes, ‘You don’t need to go to the gym; Howick Intermediate is your gym’,” laughs Rakeshni.
The couple have several long-standing customers, some who have been with them since day one. They value their customers, and take any opportunity to exceed their expectations.
“Sometimes we do extra work to help the school. At the end of the day, that’s our site. We don’t mind doing anything extra because we want the buildings to look nice, tidy and clean,” says Rakeshni.
“My husband was at the school at 7am today because the school is opening again tomorrow. He wanted to do a final vacuum, ready to go for the kids.”
“Sometimes on Saturdays we do extra work at the school so it stays up to date.”
Salend and Rakeshni have an incredible work ethic that’s led to many tangible rewards. They own a home in Papatoetoe and recently bought a boat for Salend’s birthday. They have also been able to offer their daughter unique travel and study experiences abroad.
“Our daughter was in Australia for two years and then spent one year in the US where she did an internship at Disneyland. We’ve worked hard at Crest to earn money to pay for her to go away and study,” says Rakeshni.
Rakeshni admits that times were tough when they first arrived here from Fiji 30 years ago, but they turned their life around when they became CrestClean franchisees.
“We struggled a lot when we first came to New Zealand, but now, we are back on our feet. We’ve got everything. We don’t need to worry about anything because of the support we get from CrestClean.”
It’s been 18 years since they visited home, but Salend and Rakeshni go back to Fiji next month to attend a family wedding. Prioritising their customers as always, they’re making it a quick four-day trip to ensure they uphold their high standard of work.
“We are both looking forward to going back home, but we don’t want to go for too long because we have our business to look after,” says Rakeshni.
The Prasads cherish the freedom and opportunity that comes from owning their own business.
“It gives me freedom with family life. In the weekends we do all the sites on Saturday, so we are free on Sunday,” says Rakeshni.
“We recommend it to so many people. I say that with Crest, you can be your own boss. As long as you do your job properly, nobody’s going to hassle you.”
