A Message From the Owner

Why Denver Concierge?

By John Kitts, Owner

John Kitts - Denver Concierge What makes Denver Concierge different? Well, we believe lots of things. If you feel like reading a bit, I would love to take you on a brief journey of why I would choose our company if I were reading this right now. Thanks for coming along with me, I will try to keep things interesting.

For starters, our industry is incredibly competitive. I always joke that if you have a mop and a phone, congratulations you are now in the housecleaning business! The truth is, there are no regulations, no certifications, no training that is required at all in order to clean someone’s home. Anyone out there can represent themselves as a cleaning company, which is pretty scary considering they will have complete access to your home.

That is one of the reasons I purchased Denver Concierge back in 2006 (we have been around for sixteen years in total). I saw an industry that had no businesses with the discipline and rigor that make really successful organizations thrive. I also felt like there was a need for a real, professional organization to land on the scene of housecleaning. My background is in manufacturing and process improvement as a Tier One supplier for General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Mercedes Benz to name a few. While our current work is not quite as intricate here as it was in my past life, I have found that the discipline required to run those businesses is very applicable to ours now, and that discipline and process orientation are some of the things that set us apart.

Regarding competitors, if you have done any research on cleaning companies in Denver, I am sure you ran across lots of them. We are flattered that a few of them insist on mentioning us in their ads and copy. It’s good publicity.

Truth is, we welcome them and any others that want to mix it up. We have improved on every process in the nearly nine years we have had Denver Concierge. The only way to truly compare us is to try us for yourselves. We know what we do is different and the only thing that gives anyone in this business an edge is how they clean and how they treat their employees and clients. That’s how we have been successful for so long. We answer the phone when people call and relationships are what keep us going. There is a big difference in the entire experience, I promise you.

In short, we love to compete at what we do. We know we are dramatically different because our clients tell us so. We employ 70 people that care deeply about the homes they clean. We train them in the Denver Concierge way of cleaning. The way we clean is so unique that our training program results in about half of the people that apply with us ending up choosing to work at other companies where the standards are not as high (see above). We do not own a mop. Nope, not one. Every inch of your floors are cleaned by us, by hand. Just like your grandmother and her mother probably did, before the advent of Swiffers, Pledge and other products that make you feel like you are cleaning deeply when you aren’t. Just because it smells “pretty” doesn’t make it clean.

We are regularly told that “this is the deepest clean I have ever seen”, or “I feel like my house just had a bath.” We provide things like baseboards (cleaned by hand) high dusting and other time consuming processes as part of what we do on every clean. Our standard cleaning package is designed to blow you away….we don’t have any other way to do it. It will be the deepest, most thorough clean you have ever seen or we simply haven’t done our job.

Another thing to know about us is that we care about the environment. We like to do so in a thoughtful, responsible way. That’s why we spent our time and money to join up with the Green Clean Institute back in 2008, before green was even fashionable. We were the first cleaning company in Colorado to do so. A few others have followed, but it isn’t certain if it was because they care about the environment, or because they had to, in order to keep up with Denver Concierge. We like being the leaders in our industry.

We also lead the way in caring about our community and by showing it. Every penny we earn stays right here in Denver, unlike the franchises (see Merry Maids, Molly Maids, The Maids, Maid Pro, the list goes on and on) who have to send chunks of their proceeds out of state to franchise headquarters. We are family owned and operated and we support other local businesses. We are members of the Mile High Business Alliance, Cor2Cor Professional Alliance, Domestic Estate Managers Association, and other organizations that support small business across the Front Range.

We are also passionate about participating in local charities and giving back. We partner with Judi’s House (a home for grieving children founded by Brian Griese). We support the Cancer League of Colorado, The Denver (and National) MS Society, the Denver Rape Crisis Center, Bal Swan School, Project C.U.R.E. and many others. It is important for us to give back to the community that supports us. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

The most important thought I can leave you with is that there will ALWAYS be someone cheaper for whatever service you need, including ours. In our industry, that savings comes with risk to you. Before allowing someone into your home, you should, at a minimum, ask the following questions:

Are your cleaning associates documented? Can those documents be reviewed?
Do you perform criminal background checks?
Do you carry Worker’s Compensation Insurance for your employees? If so, are you cost contained (given only to a select few companies that pass rigorous requirements)?
Do you carry liability insurance for your employees and clients?
Have you passed a safety audit by your insurance company to ensure safety and liability issues are mitigated and properly managed?
Are you bonded?
Do you have a tenured work force, or do you have high turnover at your company?
Do you treat your employees the right way, offering good pay and vacations?
Do you have a Quality Manager that periodically checks the work you do?
Do you provide all the supplies and equipment for the work you do?
Do you provide a vehicle so the employees can get to the job safely?
Do you train your cleaning associates on how to operate in a home safely?
Are your cleaning associates paid for the entire day or just by the job/house?
Do your cleaning associates wear readily identifiable uniforms?
Do you or your company use any substances that could be harmful to your cleaning associates, clients or pets?
Are you Green Clean Institute Certified, or do you have other green certification?
Do you have rules for your cleaning associates once inside a client’s home (no cell phones, no talking, no backpacks, for example)?
Do you evaluate your cleaning associates regularly on quality and service?
Do you pay bonuses to your cleaning associates and is pay tied to the quality of their work?
Do you hold an A+ rating with the BBB? If not, what is your rating?

If the answer to any of these twenty questions is no, then you should reconsider who cleans your home. Doing business this way costs more money, but it’s that investment that separates us from the field. We also spend more time in your home, due to the fact that we say YES to all of these questions. An example of this is that a lot of companies pay by the house, which means their employees are in a big hurry to finish yours and get to the next one, potentially skimping on quality to do so. Like anything, we believe you get what you pay for, and it is our hope and belief that with us the value received far exceeds the price paid.

On an annual basis, we perform nearly 15,000 house cleanings across the Front Range. In most cases we have complete, unfettered access and we are flattered that our clients trust us to be in their homes and we work every day to retain and build on that trust. It’s a responsibility we take very seriously and one that no doubt has contributed to our A+ rating with the Denver Better Business Bureau. An A+ rating is tough to achieve and maintain. You can be sure it didn’t happen by accident.

The bottom line is if we are in your home, you don’t have to think about anything except coming home to an immaculate house. We want your experience to be worry free.

We have lots of references if you would like to check us out. They include Denver’s best and brightest and they would love to tell you about what we do and why they are loyal to Denver Concierge. Almost all of our business comes from referrals, which we are also very proud of.

If you would like to speak with me directly, my direct office phone is 303-975-2816 or email me anytime at [email protected]. Yes, I am that kind of owner. I personally return all phone calls and would enjoy discussing the best housecleaning around (or any other topic you have in mind). If for some reason I am out of the office, tell them you read my letter and want to speak with me, and they will provide my cell phone.

We want to make sure you have the best experience possible when dealing with us and I am here for all the constructive feedback you are willing to offer.

Thank you for spending the time to read this, and we hope that you will give us a try. I personally promise you that you will see the difference.

– John