Napier’s Queen of Quality reaches 10-year milestone
From the age of 13, Sophie Chase has embraced the value of hard work. Hailed CrestClean’s Queen of Quality, Sophie has an attention to detail like no other, making her a standout franchisee in Napier. Ten years on, Sophie continues to approach her work with the same level of pride as she did on day one.
Before joining CrestClean, Sophie juggled three jobs, getting only a few hours of sleep a day. She worked as a cleaner at the Freezing Works from midnight to 5am and Watties from 6am to 2pm. In the evenings, she’d spend a few hours cleaning motels, stealing moments of sleep before heading back to the Freezing Works for her midnight shift.
Sophie’s workday was far from conventional, but she wasn’t afraid of hard work.
“I’ve been like that all my life,” she says.
After 29 years at the Freezing Works, Sophie was ready for a change. Although becoming a business owner wasn’t on her radar, a friend who knew Sophie’s outstanding work ethic suggested she start her own cleaning business.
“I wanted to get out while I was still young enough to be employable. I wasn’t thinking about having my own business,” says Sophie.
“But I’ve always been hard-working, so I thought I’d give it a go.”
With almost three decade’s experience cleaning difficult environments, Sophie has exceptionally high standards. For this reason, many of her customers have stuck with her since day one, including Royston Hospital in Hastings where there is no room for error.
Sophie self-audits her work to ensure she misses nothing. When asked how she maintains such high standards, she said it’s all about mindset.
“It’s just about knowing that I’m doing the best I can every time. If you can maintain that mindset, it’s not that hard” she says.
Going from three jobs to one has been a great financial move for Sophie. Working alongside her husband, Terry (Fly) Wilson, Sophie now has a great work-life balance and a stable income.
“Before I went to CrestClean I had three jobs. Working a lot of hours wasn’t a big deal for me, but now I’m working not even half the amount and earning more than twice as much,” says Sophie.
With 14 Certificates of Excellence one Franchisee of the Year award under her belt, Sophie has some key advice for anyone looking to become a successful, long-term CrestClean franchisee.
“It’s about working smart, thinking ahead and finding better ways of tackling your jobs,” she says.
“You need to have a good work ethic.”
