By Lewis Fagan – Owner of Houseproud Cleaning and Home Help Services
I would like to tell you a bit about how Houseproud came about and what my personal background is. My parents owned a Residential Home for Older People when I was 13 yrs old. I helped out with the cleaning for pocket money whilst I was still at school. The family then expanded into providing Home Care Services and when I left school I worked in the office but my job included cleaning the office so I was still cleaning. When my parents retired myself and my brothers and sisters all went to work in other professions. Ten years ago my sister started Houseproud Cleaning Services on a very small scale and worked only in Atherton. Four years ago my sister invited me to take over the business and expand it, while she did a Beauty Therapy Course at College. I increased the areas that we covered to Atherton, Tyldesley, Astley, Leigh, Hindley, Westhoughton, Lostock and Lowton. Cleaning Business and added Home Help Services to the business. In 2010 we now have 10 staff members and provide services to over 100 clients in this area.
At the time I took over the business there was, and still is, a big gap in the market for a professional high quality cleaning service where the customer comes first and the staff really enjoy their work and take great pride in providing a five star housekeeping service. In addition I found that the Home Care Services that are available at the moment are of a very poor standard with different people visiting vulnerable people’s homes and rushing around because they have so many people to visit in one day. The client’s needs are not a priority with these companies. Our Home Help Service is completely different. When I was a child my grandma had a Home Help Lady that did anything she wanted, she went to the shop, helped her to write and read letters, read the newspaper to her, cleaned her house, did all her errands, went to particular shops that she liked to use, helped her choose what to wear, put some rollers in and styled her hair and a million other things. That no longer happens, or it didn’t until we came along, because that is exactly what we offer. Our staff visit people for a certain length of time according to the clients budget, and while they are there the client decides what she needs help with and they carry these duties out. The key to our success is our staff who love the job that they do and are truly dedicated to the company. They provide friendship and a vital contact to the outside world. I give them my personal mobile number and tell them to ring me if they need anything at all. The reassurance that this give people who may be living on their own is invaluable. We believe that local people should have local people providing local services. This ensures that our area thrives and our local population has jobs available.
Due to my family experience and the experience I have gained over the last few years, I can guarantee that Houseproud Cleaning and Home Help Services provides the very best service in the area.
All my staff have been trained to the highest standards. They attend a rigorous training course designed by myself to meet the highest expectations of our clients. They have a ten year work history check; we put them through the highest police checks at enhanced level so that they are eligible to work with children and vulnerable adults.
CAUTION
Please be very careful when hiring cleaning or home help staff. You will get lots of leaflets through your door all stating that they have experience. In reality a lot of these have
• No experience
• No insurance
• Not registered with Inland Revenue
• Not registered with Trading Standards
• No landline number
• No address
• No office base
Do you really want someone like this in your home to help you, or giving your keys to them? They may be a couple of pounds cheaper as they have cut all the above corners, but you wouldn’t buy a mini if you really wanted a Rolls Royce even though it’s cheaper!