Service Built One Block At A Time
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THE STORY BEHIND HOME CLEAN HOME
For a shy boy who considered a room with people as inviting as a room with sharp spikes, choosing a career that centered on regular contact with people was unthinkable. Samuel Mejía Olivieri grew up on the outskirts of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He spent much of his youth accompanied by his No. 2 pencil—constantly drawing from his imagination—and his BMX bike, a time sweeter in hindsight. When he was 16 his family moved to Georgia and settled in North Decatur. He studied mechanical drafting at DeKalb Technical Institute (presently Georgia Piedmont Technical College).
In 1992, Samuel moved to upstate New York to volunteer for a nonprofit educational organization where he spent three years learning the value of service and hard work. Afterwards, he formed a family of his own and settled in Jersey City, New Jersey. While supporting his wife and baby girl, he learned important lessons from two very different lines of business that would have an impact on Home Clean Home's service years later. |
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In early 1996, Samuel became a delivery driver for Coffee Associates, Inc., a coffee-roasting company serving restaurants, coffee shops and bodegas in New York City and the tri-state area. He says, "It's never a good idea to trifle with New Yorkers' coffee. I learned that being timely with deliveries was key to ensuring customer satisfaction. Being honest and well-mannered with people will set you apart, that's the way I was brought up. Most customers will appreciate your business when you treat them fairly and decently." In time, Samuel became Assistant Plant Manager where he managed inventory, equipment orders and loading of delivery vans. His four and a half years at Coffee Associates impressed in him the importance of staying one step ahead of the schedule and the plant's needs.
In summer of 2000 Samuel was hired by telecommunications provider Bell Atlantic at a pivotal moment for the company. Two weeks after his hire, Bell Atlantic merged with GTE and became Verizon. A key focus of his job at Verizon was to close sales of FiOS (fiber-optic service) throughout the mid-Atlantic region as the company pushed the dawn of fiber service for the masses. As with any large enterprise, a recurring frustration was how top-level decisions were handed down to employees without a full understanding of the customer-service environment. After 14 years at the company, Samuel says, "There is a tendency among corporate leadership to over-rely on the bird's eye view of the business with technical metrics and PowerPoint slides. But there are dynamics that can't be appreciated from the bird's eye view alone. When top management is absent from engaging directly with customers, blind spots will be inherent in their decisions and these will create gaps between leadership and employees, not to mention between the company and customers. That's when some aspects of customer service will miss the mark or fall through the cracks." Samuel saw how top management's lack of engagement at the "ground level" is detrimental to the customer and employee experiences. This taught him that a bird's eye view is not the conclusive perspective on any matter. "A bird that spends time working alongside land critters will only gain a deeper insight of its environment", he says. "Such insight will enable a team leader to make decisions with an accurate understanding of the needs of the customers, the needs of the employees who attend those customers, and a clear awareness of any practical limitations in attending those needs."
Unfortunately, high-stress levels prolonging for years had taken a toll on him. Then, after widowing in 2012, it took Samuel time to regain his bearings and focus. In time, he became determined to start a new life. First, he would have to pay off his debts. After nearly 19 years in New Jersey, he would return to Georgia—this time with his teenage daughter. In fall of 2014 he drove his way to Decatur in a rental truck, grateful to God and debt-free.
While employed as a painter, he contemplated the idea of working for himself by providing a low-tech service to busy people. When he asked a couple he knew about their work, they replied that they cleaned houses for a living. Intrigued, he asked if he could join them for two days to observe them at work and they happily obliged. That experience was enough to convince him that this was the path he'd been looking for.
Determined to become self-employed, he researched cleaning techniques. Initially, he sought clients by going house-to-house, leaving business cards and asking those who hired him for referrals. He established Home Clean Home in 2016 and formed a team, a group of hard-working friends that are like family. Samuel and his team have been serving the Decatur area and its surrounding communities ever since. Besides managing the business, he chooses to participate in the cleaning work. By staying close to the "ground level", he is aligned with the workers' perspective, provides knowledgeable guidance and avoids the "leader-worker disconnect". With 30 years of experience serving people, Samuel is happy to lead his team in helping Atlanta's homeowners and renters take good care of their homes.
In summer of 2000 Samuel was hired by telecommunications provider Bell Atlantic at a pivotal moment for the company. Two weeks after his hire, Bell Atlantic merged with GTE and became Verizon. A key focus of his job at Verizon was to close sales of FiOS (fiber-optic service) throughout the mid-Atlantic region as the company pushed the dawn of fiber service for the masses. As with any large enterprise, a recurring frustration was how top-level decisions were handed down to employees without a full understanding of the customer-service environment. After 14 years at the company, Samuel says, "There is a tendency among corporate leadership to over-rely on the bird's eye view of the business with technical metrics and PowerPoint slides. But there are dynamics that can't be appreciated from the bird's eye view alone. When top management is absent from engaging directly with customers, blind spots will be inherent in their decisions and these will create gaps between leadership and employees, not to mention between the company and customers. That's when some aspects of customer service will miss the mark or fall through the cracks." Samuel saw how top management's lack of engagement at the "ground level" is detrimental to the customer and employee experiences. This taught him that a bird's eye view is not the conclusive perspective on any matter. "A bird that spends time working alongside land critters will only gain a deeper insight of its environment", he says. "Such insight will enable a team leader to make decisions with an accurate understanding of the needs of the customers, the needs of the employees who attend those customers, and a clear awareness of any practical limitations in attending those needs."
Unfortunately, high-stress levels prolonging for years had taken a toll on him. Then, after widowing in 2012, it took Samuel time to regain his bearings and focus. In time, he became determined to start a new life. First, he would have to pay off his debts. After nearly 19 years in New Jersey, he would return to Georgia—this time with his teenage daughter. In fall of 2014 he drove his way to Decatur in a rental truck, grateful to God and debt-free.
While employed as a painter, he contemplated the idea of working for himself by providing a low-tech service to busy people. When he asked a couple he knew about their work, they replied that they cleaned houses for a living. Intrigued, he asked if he could join them for two days to observe them at work and they happily obliged. That experience was enough to convince him that this was the path he'd been looking for.
Determined to become self-employed, he researched cleaning techniques. Initially, he sought clients by going house-to-house, leaving business cards and asking those who hired him for referrals. He established Home Clean Home in 2016 and formed a team, a group of hard-working friends that are like family. Samuel and his team have been serving the Decatur area and its surrounding communities ever since. Besides managing the business, he chooses to participate in the cleaning work. By staying close to the "ground level", he is aligned with the workers' perspective, provides knowledgeable guidance and avoids the "leader-worker disconnect". With 30 years of experience serving people, Samuel is happy to lead his team in helping Atlanta's homeowners and renters take good care of their homes.