The Maid To Perfection� System Is Built On Anticipating Needs - Not Merely Providing A Service

BALTIMORE, MD | Monday, November 01, 1999

Maid to Perfection�, in nine short years, has built a real name for itself within the franchise industry, and among the cleaning franchisers in particular. This was achieved by anticipating the needs of both consumers and franchise team partners rather than profiling the cleaning systems that were built to function in the 20th century. Those days are truly over! The sophisticated consumers and franchise owners of the new millennium have different goals, needs and concerns than those who ushered in the cleaning franchise industry twentysome years ago.

In the late 1970’s maid service was a new concept that a changing society was ready for. Prior to that time maids were individuals who worked for single well-to-do families and took on any number of chores and responsibilities for "small change and carfare home on the weekend". That profile is dying with that generation. Additionally, middle class families needed people to clean their homes, but didn’t have room or the desire to house a live-in maid. With highly-educated women and financial pressures forging the modern 2-earner family, the watchword for the 1980’s was "Quality Time". The other factor contributing to the demise of the old-world live-in maid was the dreaded Internal Revenue Service, which frowned on cash paid under the table, and still does! So, the brief evolution of the maid service franchise seemingly began and ended there. Franchise systems were built, carved in granite and sold as great business opportunities to hundreds of budding entrepreneurs, ready and willing to pounce on this new growth market. There were maid service franchises, janitorial franchises, carpet cleaning franchises, window cleaning franchise etc., each with a single focus of expertise for marketing and providing service to a growing segment of the consumer public that was challenged to find more "Quality Time".

Meanwhile, back in suburban Baltimore, locally-owned MIDY TIDY, under the guidance of Lori and Michael Katzenberger were providing a veritable "value package" of services to homeowners. These customers didn’t realize that their hardwood floors needed waxing and buffing, that they didn’t need to stay home to let the outside carpet cleaning company in, because their maid service had their house key and could provide the same quality of service while the homeowners were at work. They could get their windows cleaned inside and out, or have cathedral areas serviced. MIDY TIDY was a comprehensive, one-stop, residential and commercial cleaning company that could charge top dollar for commercial cleaning applications brought into the residential market.

The name had to go, but the concept was tremendous. By building in diversified and complimentary service options that could spread the net profit margins up, a new cleaning franchise concept designed for the 21st century was in the making. It would be a system that could satisfy an increasingly knowledgeable and demanding consumer market that didn’t want to deal with five different companies to fill all of their home cleaning needs. In 1990 Maid to Perfection� was born and sold the first of many successful franchises.

In the same way that Maid to Perfection� has built a franchise system with growth options based on a diversified service markets, they’ve attracted more aggressive franchisees by creating discount incentives to plan for geographic growth as well. If a single office location in a populace area can service several defined franchise territories, why not make it attractive for prospective franchisees to buy multiple territories. Again, Maid to Perfection� designed a program to anticipate entrepreneurial needs. Today the average team partner owns about 3.5 franchise territories, with every other territory being half-priced on the franchise fee and 100% financed by Maid to Perfection� at extremely reasonable interest rates. They would rather help to build "little empires" capable of dominating a geographic market, and lend ongoing support to fewer qualified owners, than sell a bunch of little "mom and pop businesses".

Anticipating needs is a never-ending challenge that the corporate staff strives for every day. Within the consumer market, some franchisees are now offering tile floor grout cleaning at top dollar. This service, which was introduced by a franchisee in upstate New York, is not only lucrative, it can be done by the same equipment that is already being used to do floor buffing, hardwood waxing and carpet cleaning. What’s more the competition for the market is practically non-existent because consumers weren’t even aware that their floor grout could be cleaned without harming the tile surface.

Meanwhile on the franchisee support side, CEO, Michael Katzenberger, whose background is in financing and the stock market, has introduced the most aggressive growth plan yet. Today both new and existing franchisees are encouraged to seek local cleaning companies of all types for buyouts and absorption into the franchise system. New team partners, with certain financial capabilities, are coming out of a week of initial headquarters training, and immediately calling established competitors who may want to sell their businesses. Maid to Perfection, Corp. assists in the screening process to assure that the situations are right for the new franchisees and the system as a whole. Without the built in diversity of service options many of these buyout scenarios would not be possible.

What’s on the horizon for the franchise system known for discovering horizons? The vast commercial cleaning market is also growing by leaps and bounds. Secretaries are no longer expected to do the chores that are now contracted out. Furthermore, every business of every variety is being cleaned by someone every single operational day. Maid to Perfection� franchisees have always had the option to pursue commercial cleaning contracts, and the corporate offices have been bidding all varieties of commercial contracts since their MIDY TIDY days. The same equipment that is used for residential work was specifically selected because it can also be used for commercial application. That need was anticipated. Now Maid to Perfection� is creating special incentive programs designed to encourage franchisees to enter this market more aggressively through new corporate staff whose sole purpose will be to search, screen through and bid large commercial contracts.

You can choose your clich�. They’re really cleaning up! They’re going to leave the competition in the dust! Anyway you look at it, Maid to Perfection� has anticipated the changes in the consumer market as well as anticipating the 21st century franchise team partner to create a truly unique franchise opportunity. This system has been Maid to Perfection�.

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Maid To Perfection
1101 Opal Ct. 2nd Fl.
Hagerstown, MD

Phone: (301)790-7900
Toll Free: 1-800-648-6243
Fax: (301)790-3949

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