J&P Cleaning Services - MacGregor Homegrown Business
MacGregor is filled to the brim with community-minded businesses and organizations, all working together to build the town and its people higher. Its with this in mind that Sadie Rushton, one of MacGregor Chamber’s brightest member, originally thought up the idea to write a series of articles focusing on our local businesses and organizations, seeking to highlight some of this good work they are doing for our town, as well as to share some new things you may not have known about them along the way. However, following the ravages of Covid-19 on our small town over the past few months, the need of this series changed to something greater still.
And so, to begin we will be interviewing Patty Henry of J&P Cleaning Services, ran by Henry, and her daughter Jill. J&P was hit particularly hard by Covid-19, being forced to close completely. But this week after months away, they opened their doors again, and would love to have your business.
So Patty, Tell me what does J&P do specifically? And Who all is involved?
We do regular cleaning, both commercial and residential. Beyond this, we do one time cleans, move in/out cleans, and spring and fall cleans as well. My daughter Jill and I are full partners in J&P, and we also currently employ two other girls from the area.
Tell me the story of how you began J&P. When did your business start? Why?
I began J&P only a few years ago, on October 1, 2016. I originally started the business because Jill moved back home with her family from out of province and needed a place to work. We began simple, with a post on Facebook to see how much interest there might be and then we went from there. We still have customers that started with us back in 2016. Then on August 1st, 2019 we officially became partners.
The J&P Float for the 2018 MacGregor Christmas Parade
How has running your business gone over the years?
Like any business, running J&P has certainly had its challenges. Our customer base has quadrupled over the past 3 years which is a huge upside. The downside has been having enough employees to look after them all. We currently have customers from Carberry to Portage and Gladstone to Treherne and everywhere else in between. That is a huge amount of area to keep on top of and still keep customer satisfaction high!
Why did you begin J&P in MacGregor? What do you think MacGregor has to offer that other places don't?
I started the business in MacGregor because that is where I live. The business is based out of my home, which helps. It helps keep overhead costs low, and stay plugged in to the town. One of the great things that MacGregor offers is that we are a small community and we realize that if we do not support our local small businesses they won’t survive.
What does J&P give back to MacGregor beyond its services?
Since we began, we have donated a number of cleaning gift certificates to fundraisers in our area, as well as doing giveaways on our Facebook page. I serve as a member on the MacGregor Chamber. We also have a lot of fun come the Christmas season when we submit a J&P Float to the MacGregor and Austin parades!
Patty Henry and her daughter Jill Currie; J&P Cleaning Services
To finish, i want to ask How has Covid-19 impacted your business?
Covid-19 forced us to shut down our business all the way back on March 20th. There wasn’t much of an alternative because we bring all of our own supplies (mops & pails, etc.) into our customer’s homes. Due to the fact that we clean numerous places a day, it was not possible to be sure that is a case of Covid-19 hit one of the houses we cleaned, that we wouldn’t carry the germs from one place to the next after that. So for the safety of both our employees and our customers, plus numerous cancellations, we made the decision to cease operations for the time being. With the government slowly starting to open things up this week, we have now made the decision to try and get back up and running by May 11th, 2020.
Any additional details that would encourage people to employ your business?
Jill was trained by a professional cleaner at her former job. She trains all of our new staff to a very high professional standard. All of our staff are required to submit criminal record checks as well as sign a confidentiality agreement with us. We try to pick a slot that works for our customer and then stick with that. We like consistency and so do our customers. That being said. we do everything we can to accommodate any changes that need to be made.
If you are in need of cleaning services and you live in the greater MacGregor region, why not give J&P Cleaning Services a try? Their contact information can be found by clicking the buttons below.