June Newsletter 2020

denverconcierg on July 1, 2020

COVID-19 Update

As most of you already know, we are back to work. We closed in March as part of the Stay at Home Order. April as well. In May, we went back to work as soon as we could (May 11), with all precautions we could think of in place.

June is our first full month back and we are happy to report, so far so good.

Our precautions seem to be working, and we are thankful that our ladies are well, and not one has shown signs of any illness. As we have mentioned to many of you, the key for us all to stay healthy is to avoid one another while in your homes.

If you aren’t close to our ladies, and they aren’t close to you, we can reduce the risk of any transmission to nearly zero. We know many of you are at home while we clean, if you can ensure that you are in a different area of your home than our cleaning teams, we are certain we are both safe.

Our PPE protects us from any germs that may be on surfaces, so if we continue to distance, we should have no issues.

Beyond those obvious changes, it is business as usual for Denver Concierge. As time passes, we hope that we can get back to normal topics here, but we want to make sure you know that we are being highly vigilant in our efforts.

Thank you from all of us for your trust, support, kindness, and care.

Please stay safe and if you have any questions about our operations or ideas on how we can do better, please let us know.

Green & Proud

We don’t like to toot our own horn. In fact, we rely on your feedback, reviews and loyalty to get us through our days.

However, there is one thing we are super proud of.

Way back in 2008 we led the way in Denver as the very first Certified, Green Clean maid service. In fact, we were the first certified residential company in Colorado.

Sure, many have followed, mostly because of perception and marketing….and because we did it first.

Marketing and perception are not the reasons we went through the certification process.

We did it because taking care of the environment and being responsible corporate citizens was and remains very important to us.

We remain committed to the environment and are happy to announce our recertification.

We go through an annual process to ensure we are operating properly and using only green certified products and procedures.

Full details on the Green Clean Institute and all they do can be found here. We look forward to many more years of doing things the right way.

It’s the only way we know.

Colorado Economy Rebounding

We know things aren’t great. We aren’t anywhere near the robust economy that we were all enjoying before this madness began.

However, there are signs of life.

Colorado added 68,000 jobs in the month of May. That is the good news. The bad news, of course is that only represents 20% of the lost/suspended jobs that this crisis has caused.

Unemployment in May dropped a full two points from 12.2% to 10.2%.

Both of those numbers outpace the national average fairly substantially.

From the DBJ article, “Luke Teater, OSPB deputy director, said in a presentation to the Joint Budget Committee that the state’s small businesses are doing better in aggregate than national small businesses, according to several measurements. The number that are missing rent or utility payments is about 12%, below the national average of 15%, and the number that have had to reduce work hours recently is about 20%, compared to about 25% nationally.”

This is good news. Also, unlike many states, we seem to be managing the transition with no big spikes in cases.

The full article in the Denver Business Journal can be found here.

Can we go out now? Please?

Last month we mentioned restaurants and how much they need us. It got us thinking….what else are we missing?

We know many of you love the arts. Denver has such a vibrant scene of music, museums, the Zoo, we have been wondering how this could all work in this era.

For starters, all the concerts and shows that we know of have either been rescheduled or cancelled. Too tough to socially distance a concert.

Our friends at the convention center are not faring well either, as there really isn’t an effective way to host meetings of hundreds or thousands with good social distancing.

What about the museums? The Zoo?

The nice people at 5280 Magazine published a good piece on how 9 Denver institutions are reopening.

This includes the Zoo, Botanic Gardens, the Aquarium, Libraries and more.

Each has its own restrictions and guidelines, but how nice to have some of our cultural mainstays back!!!

I am so proud to be a resident of a state that is handling this so well. Our people seem to understand and for the most part, abide by rules that are allowing us to get back to some sense of living our lives again.

We will join you all in doing our best to resume our lives, safely and responsibly as we try to get back to normal.

Be safe Denver!

The 4 Second Workout

There was a funny scene in a movie with Ben Stiller years ago about “8-minute abs”. The question came up “why not 7-minute abs? Or 6-minute abs?”

Great questions that we can’t answer, but it was a funny scene.

So, when we saw the headline about a 4 SECOND workout, we had to dive in.

It seems that most American adults sit for nearly 10 hours each day. Now that many of us don’t have a commute anymore, we suspect that number is creeping higher.

Now what do we do? Can’t really go to the gym safely right now. If you do, it sure isn’t the way that it used to be, with appointments, distancing and the like.

Many of us don’t have gyms at home.

So how what? From the article, “The health impacts of this inactivity can be considerable, with studies linking prolonged sitting to increased risks for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disruptions. In particular, multiple hours of sitting can contribute to a later rise in the bloodstream of fatty acids, known as triglycerides, probably in part because muscles at rest produce less than contracting muscles do of a substance that breaks up triglycerides. High levels of triglycerides, in turn, are linked to an increased risk of heart disease and other metabolic problems.”

It turns out that small bursts of intense activity can potentially assist with the downside of all this sitting.

The full article can be found here, it’s quite interesting. We don’t want the “COVID 15“, so this is definitely something we may try!!

Monthly Award Winners

We misspoke (or wrote) here last month. We were closed in April and only restarted in May, so we still only have a partial month to report.

Look for our list of top performers for the first full month (June) in next month’s newsletter.

I can tell you however that our ladies have been courageous and determined in their efforts to keep working safely and to make sure you are taken care of.

We have not had anyone complain or push back on our new protocols. Our people are fully engaged and so happy to be back doing what they love.

In truth, they all deserve an award.

There really aren’t a lot of words that would effectively describe how we feel about our people.

Their loyalty, grit and love for what they do in your homes shines through every day.

Another salute to our wonderful workforce!!!!

When the pandemic first started to show itself as the monster that it has become, I think we all felt as if we’d been transferred overnight to an alien world. The reality of it was nigh on impossible to grasp.

Oddly, several months later this world doesn’t seem quite so new. It’s interesting what we can adjust to. Equally interesting is to realize that while many things in our lives have not changed, our perception of them certainly has.

Take Denver Concierge as an example (of course). Once we opened and were cleaning again, getting the teams dispatched in the morning, last minute schedule changes, day to day problems cropping up without notice and many times without precedent; what used to appear as hectic overdrive in the running of a service business suddenly took on an aura of welcome normalcy.

We gained a new appreciation for sameness. The frantic pace was suddenly soothing.

I guess this is my way of saying it’s great to back with you. As always, thank you for inviting us into your homes!

Queen Bee

May Newsletter 2020

denverconcierg on June 1, 2020

Business as Usual…Almost

Yes, we are tired of talking about Coronavirus. We are sure you are as well.

Thankfully, we are now back to work. It has been a nice, warm reunion between our folks and you, and we appreciate it more than you know. We have been cleaning some of you for a very long time and we know our ladies feel like family. They feel the same way about you.

We won’t go into any of the protective stuff we are doing, it’s all been covered in past newsletters. Rest assured it is very thorough and if you missed it you can learn more here.

For now, we just want to express our gratitude for getting back to doing what we do best, taking care of our clients.

We hope you are all safe and sound and beginning to resume a somewhat normal life again. This month’s newsletter focuses on some of the happenings around Denver and in our quarantined lives.

Let’s hope by next month we have inched closer to normalcy. Be safe out there folks!

The Covid “15”

A long time ago when we started college we were warned about the “freshman 15”.

After a few weeks in the dining hall, combined with lots of extracurricular activity (drinking as we recall), the scale was suddenly a little off.

Some surveys are showing the quarantine is having the same effect. USA Today recently ran an article about this phenomenon which you can read here.

On a happy note, Medicine.net published an article that indicates things may not be as bad as we think.

From that article, “The maker of an internet-connected scale found that users had gained only .21 pounds in the first month of the lockdown. And while its users might not reflect the population as a whole, weight loss experts do say they’re seeing a fair number of people who are continuing to lose.

According to data provided by Lose It!, it’s users have lost less weight on average this March and April compared to the same months in 2019.”

Lots of booze, baking and extra time at home certainly have the potential to put some extra pounds on.

We hope you are staying healthy during these times!

Restaurants Need Us

Of course they do. But now more than ever.

We know a few of you are restaurant owners. We also know that nearly all of us go out to eat, or at least we used to, so this affects us all in some way or another.

State and city governments have now allowed re-openings across the Front Range and while things will be radically different, they need our support to survive.

We are also sad to report the closing of some of the iconic places in Denver. Morton’s the Steakhouse has officially closed its location downtown.

Breakfast staple Racine’s has also closed permanently. One of our favorite places, The Market, also shuttered its doors.

Others have followed suit and the preliminary look at some that have closed is quite depressing, but can be found here.

We have spoken with many of you in this industry and we are here to support you.

The Colorado Restaurant Association published a list this week of restaurants that are open across the state.

We aren’t sure about you, but we are going to do our best to support Denver’s once vibrant restaurant scene.

While it may not be like it was, we are pleased to get back out and support other small businesses in our community. Let’s all do our part to keep this important part of our economy going strong.

Contact Tracing and Privacy

You may have heard about the importance of contact tracing in containing this pandemic.

On paper, it seems very logical. Someone gets infected, and then all the interpersonal contact that person has had is traced and people are then quarantined.

Seems simple enough. Unless you are worried about privacy.

Recent smartphone updates have likely added contact tracing options to your OS, quite probably without your consent. The good news is that you can opt-in or out of the program.

PC Magazine wrote a great piece on this and exactly how it will work.

There is always a fine line between protection of privacy and doing what is best for the social good.

In this case, it appears that the companies organizing this are doing the best they can to create that balance.

Both Apple and Google have teamed up on this project and their comments can be found here.

Denver Real Estate Update

How the heck do you sell a property in this climate? Is buying one any easier?

We have spoken with several clients and partners in both the commercial and residential space and there is good and bad news.

Commercially, it’s not a happy time across the Front Range. Many retail stores can’t pay the rent, and many companies that were growing and planning new space put those plans on hold for the pandemic. Lots of “wait and see” going on commercially.

However, the new reliance on e-commerce and online shopping could very well help the industrial segment of the commercial space, according to this article by BisMag.

Residentially, there is a lot of pent up demand, and while open houses aren’t allowed (unless they are fewer than 10 people) things have opened up a bit.

Of course, virtual showings and tours have gone through the roof, so to speak. April numbers were not great, however, and CPR News published a good piece on the year over year effect of the pandemic here.

The list of guidelines for Front Range realtors can be found here.

We wish you the best in buying or selling in these challenging times.

Monthly Award Winners

Much like last month, nothing to report here for now. We hope to have some May award winners here in the June edition of our newsletter.

We will again use this space to say thanks publicly to all our people that have risked and will be risking their safety to make sure your homes are clean.

We are so happy to be back in your homes and we will continue to recognize our top people as things get back to normal.

For now, all our ladies are award winners in our minds, for taking the risk to make sure your home is clean.

We congratulate all of you for your courage and dedication.

So good to be back with our clients again! Thank you for the exuberant welcome you heaped on the ladies! There was a lot of catching up to do; new family members (babies, puppies, kittens) and new room rearrangements and designations. Several new houses and a lot of construction.

All in all, we are back to what we do best for the clients and I hope that our weekly or bi-weekly visits ease some of the stress of the current situation and some of the unease of change.

Thank you for having us and stay safe!

Queen Bee

April Newsletter 2020

denverconcierg on May 11, 2020

Let’s Get Safely Back to Work

Our March newsletter seems like an eternity ago! So much has happened in the month that has passed. As you know by now, we decided to cease operations for April in conjunction with the statewide Stay at Home Order that was mandated by Governor Polis.

The recent news of the lifting of this order is our signal to get back into your homes and get rid of all the germs. We have spoken with many of you and we know you need us.

We need you too.

Currently, there is a ton of confusion about when and how housecleaning can resume. Statewide, we believe that the lifting of the order will allow us to work beginning on the 27th. We also must obey the orders of the city of Denver, and those differ from the state order.

Bottom line? We are hopeful that we can begin work as soon as Monday the 27th. The next possible date would be an opening on May 1st. Should Denver, or other local municipalities that we operate in vary their dates, we will be complying with those as well.

Meanwhile, Angela will be communicating with each of you, and if you need to reach her directly with questions, you may do so easily here.

When we do get back to work, we have implemented numerous safety protocols that we wish to share with you here, so that you will be comfortable knowing we are taking every precaution we know of.

Procedurally, Angela will be reaching out to each of you this week to gauge your interest in having us back. We realize some of you won’t be ready, nor comfortable yet. In that spirit, we want to cover what we are doing to make sure you are safe, and that we are safe as well. Here goes:

1. We have implemented strict social distancing in our office space. Our processes for loading vehicles, interacting with office staff, etc. have all been modified to minimize contact. In fact, the only contact our people will have is with the other persons on your cleaning team. We are controlling this as much as possible, as you will read below.

2. We will be taking each associate’s temperature every morning and logging it. We have taken temperatures of all of them this week, so we have a baseline number for each. Anyone with even a slight spike will be sent home as a precautionary measure.

2. PPE will be worn by each associate in your homes. In our world, this means gloves and masks, at all times. These will be disposed of after each clean, and a new set put on before entering your home.

3. We also have a cool product called Theraworx Protect that we feel will significantly improve our safety. More details below, we think you will like it.

4. All previous safety protocols (see last month’s newsletter) regarding equipment usage, disinfecting, etc. are also still in place. If you would like us to use your equipment, we are happy to do so.

There is no reason for our associates to get within six feet of you or your family. If you have any reason to discuss what is needed, just reach out to Angela and she will make sure the team takes care of it.

Finally, it is important to communicate that we are not forcing any associate to come and work. Anyone that is high risk or caring for someone high risk will be staying home until the situation changes. They will be paid for this time, thanks to the SBA payroll protection loan which we were able to obtain.

We are so excited to get back to doing what we do best. It is our mission to make your home as germ-free as possible and help us all get back to some sense of normalcy.

Thank you so much for your patience, your understanding, and most importantly, your loyalty. We hope to be here for years to come, helping you and your home stay clean and happy as we have since 1998.

Theraworx Protect

What if we told you there was a product that you could apply to your hands, face and all sensitive areas that would barricade you topically from Coronavirus for 4-6 hours?

Oh, and you don’t need to wash your hands while it’s on.

It exists, and it is called Theraworx Protect.

We have a friend that is in HAZMAT, former military and is now in the private sector teaching people about biohazards, chemical impacts, etc.

He recommended this product to us and we enthusiastically ordered some while we were away.

Each of your team members will not only have the above-mentioned PPE and precautions in their repertoire but they will each be covered in Theraworx.

Clinical studies all back this up and we are so excited to use it in the field.

We hope this gives you further confidence that we are taking every step of this reopening seriously.

To learn more about Theraworx Protect, visit them here. They have a bit of a lead time issue, as you can imagine, but the product is endorsed widely by the pros in the HAZMAT space.

Our Kind Clients

Wow.

The last thing we expected during this tough time was the outpouring of care and concern for our people by our wonderful clients.

The list is too long (and frankly most of you wouldn’t want the credit anyway) of clients that offered to pay for their cleans while we were closed. Many of you did.

Some of you sent big tips and/or wanted to compensate your team directly and that is appreciated too.

As we mentioned above, we were able to secure SBA funding for the Payroll Protection Act, and we have been paying our associates immediately upon receiving these funds. They won’t miss a check, thankfully.

There was, however, a window there where we had no revenue and a lot of concerned folks, so everything you did is and was greatly appreciated.

I am certain that you will see that gratitude in the faces of your team when they hit your homes soon.

Not only do they express their thanks but we as a company do as well. At a time when so many are being selfish and have lost focus on humanity, you have given us all reasons to believe in the goodness of people.

Thanks to all of you for sticking with us, we will see you all soon.

We love you.

How Does Your Home Make You Feel?

What exactly does that mean?

For most of you it has changed a lot lately, as you have likely been spending way more time there than you are used to.

In our world, we have noticed things that maybe we had not before.

Our wonderful friend at Designer Premier, Marina Dagenais, published a good article on this in her newsletter this month.

She asks, “Is my Home Environment Affecting my Mental Well Being?” We dove in and loved what she had to say about architecture, natural light, colors, etc.

We aren’t sure what positive things will come out of this (we have some ideas in the column right of this) but we know reconnecting with our homes is one of them.

The article can be found here. We can only imagine the interior design business is a little slow right now, so when it comes time to get some pros involved, please reach out to Marina at Designer Premier.

Life After a Pandemic

Yes, we know this is far from over.

But why not take a minute to think about what good might come of this? There must be something?

We can come up with all the negative things about this time….but those are easy to find.

How about a short list of good things that will come out of this?

Air quality is better. Fewer traffic accidents for sure, at least for the moment.

More interpersonally, how about the value of a handshake. A hug? Being outside? For us, our appreciation of these things is now much higher than ever. The next hug we give might last 30 seconds.

Awkward.

Anyway, a cool, quick article on Medium.com, about the positive changes we might be able to take away can be found here.

For those cerebral types in our readership, we found a deep rabbit hole to go down relative to the economy.

The main premise involves looking at other pandemics in the past and seeing what worked and didn’t work.

The controversial headline is that social distancing might not just save lives but could actually be good for the economy.

Make sure you have a cup of coffee before you dive in, but if you are interested the article can be found here.

Monthly Award Winners

Sadly, we will not have any award winners since it was a partial month and things were very different around here.

I will use this space to say thanks publicly to all our people that have risked and will be risking their safety to make sure your homes are clean.

While we are taking every precaution, leaving one’s home increases the risk above zero regardless of what one is doing.

So today, I salute our awesome people for taking pride in what they do.

They miss you as much as the company does, and I know they are excited to help improve your lives, even in little ways like making sure your home is clean.

Thank you ladies!

It feels good to reach out to our clients again, even if it is in the form of my monthly Queen Bee Corner. Seems like forever since we have seen you all.

I have received quite a few client texts over these past few weeks, anxious to know when we are coming back. When the stay at home order is lifted is the answer, and it can’t be soon enough for us either!

I am still working, albeit from home, planning our strategies for entering a new world when we come out on the other side of this. So, feel free to text or call if you want to touch base.

I need to take a moment to thank all our clients for the incredible generosity you have shown to our ladies during this time. Generosity of spirit, monetary generosity, and overwhelming generosity in your concern for their health and welfare. My heartfelt thanks to you all!

Be safe,

Queen Bee

February Newsletter 2020

denverconcierg on February 25, 2020

Take the Leap (Year)

2020 is a Leap Year. This means February has a 29th day this year (which gives us an excuse for having this newsletter out so late).

As our loyal readers know, we love to share quirky facts about different topics, plus there is only so much you want to read about our wonderful housecleaning service!

Did you know that you can tell a leap year by whether the last two digits of the year we are in is divisible by 4? The odds of being born on a Leap Day are 1 in 1,461. Tony Robbins was born on Leap Day. There was even a dude back in the 1800s who was born and died on a Leap Day. He was 68, which means he only had 17 birthdays!!

The origins of Leap Year have to do with synchronizing the Gregorian calendar to our solar calendar, and it ensures that our solar events (equinoxes for example) occur on the same day. Think of it as a calibration device for our calendars!

For more fun Leap Year facts, check out this fun piece by Reader’s Digest. For those of you that want more scientific detail, here you go.

This year the 29th is on Saturday, and we hope you enjoy the extra day of the year.

Lastly, and because we are in the fun and giving mood, any client that can show Angela that they or any member of their current household was born on Leap Day will receive a free clean. Yep, 100% free, just because we hate that you only have a birthday every four years!!!

Happy Leap Year!

Broncos Development Plan Update

Last year, we wrote about the plan to develop the area near Broncos Stadium. Or Empower Field, if you like.

The plans for this development are taking shape and include six phases, ranging from Old Colfax to the Decatur Federal District.

They will be developing 55 acres directly south of Empower Field. From the article, “The development of the 55 acres in West Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood will transform an area that mostly consists of stadium surface parking into a mixed-use neighborhood with “market-rate and affordable housing, office, entertainment, hospitality and other stadium-related land uses,” according to the framework.”

In June of last year, the city council voted to approve the plan, but many details are still to be filled in.

The complete overview from the Denver Business Journal can be found here.

Getting to your Best Idea

All of us have been faced with hairy problems. Or, sometimes need a creative solution for different challenges in life.

Our teachers used to tell us, “your first answer is probably correct”. We found that to be true a lot of the time, but as problems become more complex, that is not likely true.

Then we ran across a great piece by the Stanford Graduate School of Business that asserts maybe your second favorite idea is the best.

Just how good are we at knowing if an initial idea is worth our effort? Justin Berg at Stanford ran some experiments and the results are fascinating.

It turns out your “gut” is partially right. Initial ideas are solid, but often lack the abstract or creative element. Further fleshing out of the problem often leads to a more solid solution. Hence the notion that ideas below the first option are often the best.

The full piece can be found here, fascinating stuff.

Denver Traffic Bottlenecks

Do any of you drive on I-70? Yep, us too. We know just how painful it can be.

We have written in the past about the crazy population growth we are experiencing, and our city planners are doing their best to make sure we have enough infrastructure to handle it all.

Unfortunately, all this construction combined with the population explosion has crippled some of our main arteries.

The American Transportation Research Institute studied the 100 worst bottlenecks around the U.S. and to no one’s surprise, Denver has three of them.

Central 70, I-25/I-76 intersection and the dreaded mousetrap where I-70 and I-25 connect are our three problem areas. Crazy stat of the day? The only time the Central 70 stretch is at the normal speed limit is between 2 and 4 AM!

We don’t have it the worst though, as Houston and Atlanta have seven and six respectively, leading the way. The worst news is that we are tied with Los Angeles and New York City with three each. All those folks moving here from California will now feel right at home!

The full article on Westword can be found here.

Don’t Forget to Vote

Those of you that get ballots by mail may already know this, but are you aware that it is time to vote here in Colorado?

There are two primaries running in Colorado currently. Back in 2016, Colorado decided to do away with presidential caucusing.

This means, we now have ballots that are due March 3rd for the presidential primaries.

You may vote for the primary to which you are party registered, and if you are unaffiliated you may vote for either but not both.

In-person voting is also available, and for the first time ever, anyone 17 years of age will be able to vote in the primary if they turn 18 before November 3rd.

The full lowdown on the presidential primary process and the changes this year can be found here, thanks to 5280 Magazine.

Monthly Award Winners

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for January 2020!

Our top Cleaning Associates for the month were Josefina Quinonez, Concepcion Reyes, Maria Zapata, Aurora Dominguez and Madel Carmen Estrada,

In the Team Leader ranks, our top Team Leaders were Juana Olivas and Socorro Ibarra.

Thanks to all our team members for their hard work and dedication!

Congrats ladies!

The primary focus of our company is twofold: the employees’ qualifications to represent the company in the clients’ homes, and the quality of their work.

Once these are in place, we concentrate on getting the right teams with the right clients. This works remarkably well until it doesn’t. Snow, client cancelations, and employee last minute absenteeism can all disrupt the usual client team scenario.

There is however an unexpected benefit to having a different team in your home from time to time.

No two teams clean exactly the same way. Unlike a hotel room with standard fixtures and furnishings, homes vary wildly, and what one team, or even the client for that matter, may not notice during scheduled visits, a different team may pick up on and put right. However slight, your home will be the happier for it.

“Sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck”

The Dalai Lama

Bee

January Newsletter 2020

denverconcierg on January 24, 2020

Measurement Systems & You

Do you know that we measure almost everything at Denver Concierge? We wouldn’t expect you to, but it is a big part of what we do behind the scenes to make sure your home is spotless and done right every time.

You might notice we announce our monthly (and annual this month) winners for top Cleaning Associates and Team Leaders at the bottom of our newsletter each time. Some of you may be wondering just how we figure all of this out, so this month we will explain it a bit.

Every person that is in your home is evaluated on a number of different categories. First and foremost is your feedback! Compliments and complaints/issues are logged for each employee and factored into the rating. How each person manages their equipment and vehicle is also part of the evaluation.

We also measure things like the time it should take to perform the work, how efficient we are, overtime, and all sorts of things that might bore you to tears, but it’s the lifeblood of how we operate.

Every month, we put the names in lights, not only in the newsletter but on our company communication board. This way each person knows exactly how they are doing relative to everyone else. Someone very smart once said “what gets measured, gets made”, and we take that to heart.

So, the next time we are in your home, please know that there is a lot going on behind the scenes in not only how we clean your homes, but in continuous improvement and having an engaged, aware workforce.

As always, thanks for being part of the Denver Concierge family!!

A Decade of Home Pricing Growth

As we celebrate the numerical passing of a decade, it’s always fun to reflect on what has happened, especially with our home values.

Denver and the Front Range have experienced wild growth over the past 10 years, and according to Redfin, the median home price in Denver increased 109%, from $202,896 at the start of 2010 to $424,051 at end of 2019.

That is a ton of growth and should be very good news. Unless you are a new homebuyer, because also according to Redfin, annual median income growth was 2.8% in Denver over the past decade.

That makes it pretty tough to keep up!

The nice people at the Denver Business Journal published this article, along with a list of the top neighborhoods for growth during the last decade.

Denver Arts 2020

We know that many of you love the arts. We do too, and we wanted to share some of the big exhibits that are coming in 2020.

First and foremost, any of you that love Monet will be blown away by the current exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. With 120 of his paintings on display it is quite spectacular.

Beyond Claude Monet, you can find Norman Rockwell, Robert Rauschenberg, and others in 2020.

Denver.org published a list of the must-see art exhibits coming to our fine city here.

5280 Magazine also has their take on the most important exhibitions to arrive in Denver in 2020, and that includes everything from sculptures to photography.

The complete list of what they are excited about can be found here.

Do you need Winter Tires?

We weren’t so sure until we read up on this. To be honest, we have always been the “all-season” tire type, but we think it might be time to change our ways (and our tires).

Did you know that if you use all-season tires throughout the winter you will experience 25-50 percent less traction than winter designated tires?

Despite the name, it’s a myth that your “all-season” tires will perform as well in freezing weather (or even in near-freezing) as they do in temperate weather. Because of their composition, all-season tires start to stiffen up and lose traction in temperatures under 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

The folks in Canada, who are experts in crummy weather use them, as more than half of Canadian drivers install winter/snow tires on their cars, and they see a real benefit.

There are fewer winter-related accidents, injuries, and deaths when cars are required to be fitted with winter/snow tires, a recent Quebec-based study found.

And the most recent survey report from the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada suggests that two-thirds of Canadian drivers are using winter/snow tires (which are required in some provinces).

The full article from our friends at AAA Colorado can be found here. Be safe out there Denver!!!

7 Lies that Rich People Tell

Ok, so maybe not lies…how about exaggerations? Or maybe advice about money that they simply don’t follow?

We saw this article on one of our favorite content sites, Medium.com , and it immediately required our attention.

It seems that many of the tried and true things that we are told about ways to accumulate wealth just aren’t factual.

Things like “diversify”, “save your money”, “avoid debt” that most of us accept as fact, simply aren’t true when it comes to the super wealthy.

Reading this article gave us a fresh perspective on money and made us think long and hard about some of the things we have been told in the past about money management and creating wealth.

For example, Warren Buffett himself said that people that diversify simply don’t know what to do with their money!

The full article can be found here, fascinating stuff!!

2019 Award Winners

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for December 2019, and our annual award winners!

Our top Cleaning Associates for the month were Josefina Quinonez, Maria Zapata, Sandra Vidales, Aurora Dominguez and Enedina Mendoza.

In the Team Leader ranks, our top Team Leaders were Natalia Olivas and Rosa Chavez.

For the year….drum roll please!

Our top ranked Cleaning Associates were Aurora Dominguez and Maria Zapata. Both were tied at the top for number one, with Josefina Quinonez coming in 3rd.

Our top Team Leader of the year was Rosa Chavez. Natalia Olivas finished 2nd.

Thanks to all our team members for their hard work, and a special thanks to our annual award winners!

Congrats ladies!

Now that the holiday season is officially over, we are able to get our clients back on their regular schedules with their regular teams. Yay!

We appreciate you working with us to accommodate our ladies’ holidays and days off to be with their families. Rearranging days, hours and teams is annoying for clients and equally so for us in the office doing the rearranging!

On the other hand, it pales in comparison to the great attitude our ladies bring to their jobs each day. There are glitches here and there, but I can say in all honesty that every team’s mindset throughout the day is to do their very best in each of your homes.

As an employer or as a client it doesn’t get much better than that.

Bee

November Newsletter 2019

denverconcierg on December 8, 2019

Holiday Schedule & Happenings

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! We want to take this time to say thanks to all the wonderful clients, associates and partners that make our lives better every day.

This year we will be closed on Thanksgiving, November 28th and the following Friday the 29th. We will also be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the 24th and 25th of December respectively.

In this month’s newsletter, we are focused on ways to make your holiday season better. From living green in the winter to holiday stress management we want to try and contribute to making this season the best ever for you.

We feel y0ur stress with holiday parties, cleanings, and the challenges that weather brings this time of year.

We promise to do our best to keep your homes sparkling clean so you have one less thing to worry about.

Thank you for your business and your faith in allowing us into your homes each day.

We wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving and a stress-free December with friends and family.

Winter Fun in Denver

One of the things that we love about Denver is all the wonderful things to do year-round.

For you holiday lights lovers, there are fun things like the Denver Zoo lights, the Blossoms of Light at the Botanic Gardens and the 9 News Parade of Lights.

Of course, the Colorado Ballet is performing the Nutcracker over the holidays, which usually gets us in the spirit!

Don’t forget the Polar Express train ride at the Colorado Railroad Museum, which is a great time for the kids.

For the adults in the crowd, CU South is hosting Movie and Martinis, where you can drink your stress away and watch Christmas Vacation with your friends.

These are just some of the fun events in Denver this holiday season. For a complete list, visit the folks at Denver.org here.

Denver Housing Downturn?

All good things must come to an end. Or at least that is what we have heard.

Most of you probably have not-so-fond memories of the 2008 housing downturn. Hard to believe that was over 10 years ago.

It hit us hard, but as you can see from the graph above, we have rallied as well as any market in the United States….so what now?

Many experts have speculated on what might happen in hot housing markets like Denver‘s.

The folks at Redfin published a great article about housing bubbles and the likelihood of a downturn in the near future.

Fortunately, Denver is outside of the top 10 areas to be concerned with, but that doesn’t mean we are out of the woods.

To learn more and to see the cool interactive chart, visit the full report here.

Holiday Coping Skills

We have covered some fun things for you to do this winter, but what about those of us that get stressed at the holidays?

We read a study that 45% of Americans would prefer to skip Christmas entirely.

Nearly a quarter of Americans reported feeling “extreme stress” come holiday time, according to a poll by the American Psychological Association. Holiday stress statistics show that up to 69 percent of people are stressed by the feeling of having a “lack of time,” 69 percent are stressed by perceiving a “lack of money,” and 51 percent are stressed out about the “pressure to give or get gifts.”

So how do we cope?

We found a nice list from the folks at the Mayo Clinic (they are super smart) here.

Our favorite site that we found is chock-full of tips about how to beat the holiday doldrums. They cover everything from mindfulness to healthy boundaries. We found it useful and it can be found here.

Here’s to a low-stress holiday season this year!!

Green Living this Winter

By Guest Columnist Frances Black

When the thermometer plummets, challenges abound for keeping your green-cleaned house environmentally friendly. In Denver, where the weather changes in an instant, these challenges are amplified. A few steps can help

1. Be window wise. During the day, open curtains on south-facing walls to let in the warmth. At night, close them. Consider using thermal curtains.

2. Chill out. When you’re asleep or away, lower your thermostat 10 to 15 degrees. A smart thermostat makes this easy.

3. Plug the leaks. Caulk and weather-stripping stop heat loss from doors and windows. Don’t forget to look for leaks around utility cut-throughs, chimneys, and recessed lights.

4. Service your system. Clean your furnace or boiler and replace filters now. Keep flues and wood-burning fireplaces clean. Close the damper when not in use. Purchase grates of C-shaped metal tubes to circulate the fire-warmed air. Shut the doors and lower the thermostat to 50 and 55 degrees.

5. Drain the sprinkler system. Denver’s lawn watering restrictions are in effect from May till October. But a frozen pipe can send water gushing into the street, resulting in a fine and wasted water in the winter. Turn the sprinkler system off and drain all pipes.

For more tips, download the Energy Saver Guide. Going green this winter can save you a lot of green in the long run.

Monthly Award Winners

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for October 2019.

Our top Cleaning Associates for the month were Aurora Dominguez, Maria Zapata, Josefina Puga, Josefina Quinonez and Paz Jimenez.

In the Team Leader ranks, our top Team Leaders were Rosa Chavez and Socorro Ibarra.

Thanks to all our team members for their hard work, and a special thanks to our award winners!

Congrats ladies!

At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon it seems to me that Thanksgiving is losing its pride of place in our holiday roster. It’s but a shadow of its former self; more a stepping stone to Christmas than a stand -alone celebration.

Granted, the traditional Thanksgiving didn’t incur a lot of spending, which may have made it less exciting. Basically, food and travel, which I always equated in my mind with family. Food plus travel equals family gathering.

Black Friday has shifted closer and closer, impinging on the long languid feast and after dinner nap in favor of – once again – spending.

I see a future where we just grab a turkey leg at the courtyard in the mall and keep on going. Until then I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!!

Bee

October Newsletter 2019

denverconcierg on October 25, 2019

Halloween Fun Facts

With fall and winter comes holidays, and while we don’t really celebrate this one with time off, Halloween is next.

Did you know that trick or treating comes from the Middle Age practice of the poor dressing up in costumes and going around door to door during Hallowmas begging for food or money in exchange for prayers?

The earliest known reference to “trick or treating” in North America is from Alberta, Canada in 1927.

Jack O’ Lanterns come from the Irish tale of “Stingy Jack”, which you can read all about here if you are curious.

For those of you that have little ones going out to forage for candy, we want them to be safe and enjoy themselves. We ran across a nice list of safety tips for trick or treaters and it can be found here.

Denver is also full of fun things to do for young and old including corn mazes, parties and movie nights. The folks at Denver.org published a great list of happenings in and around town this year, check it out here.

We wish you and yours a Happy Halloween!!!!

Ski Season

We got our first dusting of snow a week or so ago…..that has to make you skiers and snowboarders very happy!

In that spirit we thought we would give you the run down on Colorado ski resorts and what the schedule looks like for 2019-20.

Arapahoe Basin started making snow on October 2nd and opened on the 11th. Keystone immediately followed, opening on the 12th.

Loveland started making snow on the 3rd and while they have yet to announce their opening, they should be next.

Other notable resorts opening days:

Breckenridge-November 8

Winter Park -November 13

Eldora and Vail-November 15

Steamboat-November 23

Snowmass-November 28

For the full list of opening days, click here.

We hope all you snow lovers have a wonderful season of powder!

Can You Detect a Liar?

All of us tell lies….yes you too.

Most of them are harmless, designed to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.

“Do these pants make me look fat?” is a good example. (By the way, the answer to that question is always…”no honey”).

Those little lies are harmless and common.

What about when you are involved with a big negotiation? Or maybe trying to find out if your child was doing something they shouldn’t be?

We recently attended a cool seminar by Traci Brown that gave us some great tips on body language and other giveaways.

That got us thinking and certainly paying more attention to those around us. It seems that while the words people say are one thing, the body nearly always betrays the liar, IF we know what to look for.

We found a piece from Parade that interviewed CIA officers for their top signs that someone is lying to you.

Also, Forensics Colleges has their top 10 “tells” when someone might be hiding things.

All in all, we like to believe in the goodness of people, but that has gotten us in trouble before.

Being on the lookout for all of the non-verbal signs makes it much easier to detect deception.

Minimum Wage Increase

You may have heard that a law recently passed that allows any city in Colorado to set their own minimum wage.

The current minimum wage in Colorado is $11.10, with $12.00 going into effect on January 1, 2020.

Following this new law, Mayor Hancock immediately then proposed a big increase for city employees which was approved as follows:

“Under the approved measure, the minimum wage for city employees and contractors would raise from $11.10 to $13 per hour by this July. It would then increase to $14 per hour in 2020 and $15 per hour by July 2021.”

Restaurants in Denver are certainly concerned, as outlined here in 5280.

Denver Concierge pays our people well and always will, but this will certainly put pressure on our industry in total when it comes to getting the best people in your homes.

Looks like the days of a $25 cheeseburger might not be far away.

Winterizing Your Lawn

We talk a lot here about what we do inside your homes, but we also realize that outside is important as well.

We also know that many of you have beautiful yards and lawns, so we thought that we would give you a quick checklist of exactly what your lawn needs going into winter.

Hopefully you have had your sprinkler system blown out and shut off for the winter. Not doing so can obviously cause damage from freezing.

Beyond that, the folks at Rachio, who make an amazing automated sprinkler system came up with five things you should do to prepare your lawn for the impending cold.

That list can be found here, and is very straightforward.

Monthly Award Winners

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for September 2019.

Our top Cleaning Associates for the month were Maria Zapata, Josefina Puga, Patricia Rodriguez, Aurora Dominguez and Concepcion Reyes.

In the Team Leader ranks, our top Team Leaders were Natalia Olivas and Rosa Chavez.

Thanks to all our team members for their hard work, and a special thanks to our award winners!

Congrats ladies!

Keeping up with technological advances is daunting and not all are applicable to our business. However, over the years since the inception of Denver Concierge we have gladly embraced a few:

Cell phones; say no more. Ditto GPS.

Texting; it has been roughly two years since we introduced texting as an additional means to communicate with our clients.

It is an instant way to contact you in an emergency, or for you to contact us with last minute changes.

Door keypads; many of you now have keypads for the primary door of your home in addition to garage keypads, thus eliminating the need to give us a key, or hide a key.

If you are not texting me, and would like to, let me know. If you want to change from key access to code, let me know that too!

In the meantime,

Happy Halloween!!!

Bee

September Newsletter 2019

denverconcierg on September 25, 2019

Employee Safety & Wellness

We think we are pretty good at housecleaning, and we hope you agree.

However, there are a few other things that we think we are pretty good at, and none is more important than taking care of our wonderful associates.

We employ some amazing people and it is our mission in life to make sure they are properly taken care of. Did you know that we train our people intensively on how to operate safely in your homes? So much so that we have received Pinnacol Assurance’s (our worker’s compensation carrier) highest recognition for safety, their cost containment certificate. We have been recertified each year since 2006. In fact, along with full worker’s compensation insurance, we are bonded and carry a large amount of liability insurance, which we hope we never need.

We also conduct safety audits and our associates are evaluated not only on the quality of work in your homes but on the way they operate to ensure that injuries don’t take place.

This is also why we are very strict when it comes to using cleaning solutions other than the green-certified ones that we bring on every visit. No, we won’t use bleach, regardless of circumstance. There are occasions where you may have a special request and we consider all of these, providing we can ensure the safety of our people.

Finally, you may not know this, but along with paying our people well, we believe we are the only cleaning company in Denver that offers paid vacations to its associates. We also offer health insurance and are very flexible in allowing our people time off as needed.

We certainly know that we are not the least expensive choice you could make in choosing a cleaning company. We wanted to give you a peek behind the scenes to let you know that the price you pay for your clean goes to the proper place, as we support so many families across the front range.

The bottom line? Our folks love what they do and we love having you as clients.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our local business!!!

Judi’s House Luncheon

One of our favorite causes anywhere is Denver‘s own Judi’s House.

We have mentioned them here in the past, but wanted to do so again since they have a wonderful annual event coming up that we highly recommend.

For those of you that don’t know, Judi’s House was founded by our friends Brook and Brian Griese and it provides support for children that have suffered loss in their lives. They have been instrumental in helping thousands of children deal with grief and heal from trauma.

Each year they host a luncheon called “Strength in the Face of Adversity”. Past speakers include Mitch Albom, Bob Costas, Bob Griese and Archie Manning.

This year’s event is on the 2nd of October at the Hyatt Regency downtown and features former NFL running back and philanthropist Warrick Dunn.

We attend this great event each year, and we hope to see some of you there. Full event details can be found here, or you may contact Courtney Ellis at Judi’s House here, or call her at 720.343.8481.

5280 Dines Event

Yes, we do love to eat and experience all our fair city’s fine cuisine whenever we can.

When we run across an event that features 25 of Denver‘s top restaurants, we feel compelled to share.

On October 20 from 6-9 PM, The Hangar in Stanley Marketplace will feature the winning chefs from 5280’s top 25 restaurants across the front range.

The full lowdown on this “foodie” event can be found here.

For those of you that haven’t been to the Hangar, you can find details here.

Tickets also come with a one year subscription to 5280 Magazine. Happy dining!

Airport Project Imploding

As you frequent travelers know, DIA is a mess. Recently we featured a story about the great hall expansion, which included costs and timelines for this massive $1.8B project.

Not so fast, as they say.

It seems this project has officially imploded with lots of blame to be thrown around.

From Westword, “After months of escalating disputes over cost overruns and delays, Denver International Airport will terminate its $1.8 billion contract with the development consortium it chose to oversee a massive terminal renovation project in 2017, officials said”

Whoops. With cost overruns and missed deadlines, evidently it was too much for the folks at DIA to bear.

The project was originally due to be completed in 2021, and has now been pushed out to 2025. Get ready for the mess at DIA to continue folks.

More details on the story can be found here courtesy of CBS 4.

Along with this recent news, it hasn’t been a good couple of months for the folks at DIA, that is for sure.

Life Lessons, Learned Once (Hopefully)

Every now and then we like to share self improvement stuff. Ever since the first email from Medium.com popped into our inbox, we find ourselves reading more and more from the various writers they have there.

From marketing to self-improvement, the topics are varied and interesting.

This month we came across a great piece about 7 brutal life lessons that we all need to learn…..unfortunately often it takes multiple times for things to sink in.

From the article, “Some of the hardest life lessons repeat themselves over and over again, and it’s on each and every one of us to be reflective enough to witness them happening in the moment — so that this time around, a different decision can be made.”

The full text can be found here, it’s a quick read and we hope you enjoy it.

Monthly Award Winners

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for August 2019.

Our top Cleaning Associates for the month were Maria Zapata, Maria Sanchez, Josefina Puga, Martha Garcia and Aurora Dominguez.

Our top Team Leaders were Rosa Chavez and Natalia Olivas.

In the race for our annual winners, Maria Zapata and Aurora Dominguez are tied for the lead for Cleaning Associate of the year. Mayra Soto and Rosa Chavez lead the way for Team Leader of the year.

Thanks to all our team members for their hard work, and a special thanks to our award winners!

Congrats ladies!

Through all the years Denver Concierge has been cleaning houses, our goal has been to make our clients’ lives easier.

Many of you are reluctant to report any concerns, or to bother me with added instructions or requests.

Please be assured that first of all I love hearing from you, secondly my main raison d’etre in the company is liaison between client and employee.

A quick text to me could save you time and possibly frustration. I am also responsible for correcting any missteps that should occur in the cleaning process, which removes the client from the disciplinary process. Again, making your lives easier.

In closing, we are very indebted to our employees, and any interaction whether compliment or complaint is always carried out in a quiet, calm and respectful manner. We are grateful to our clients for their equally respectful approach to the ladies who clean their homes.

As always thank you for being with us.

Bee

August Newsletter 2019

denverconcierg on August 25, 2019

Fall is Here (Almost)

Wow, summer is going fast. Kids are back to school now; the Broncos are practicing and the mornings are just a bit cooler.

While we do have one more month of summer officially, Labor Day is approaching. Of course, we will be closed on that day, which falls on Monday, September 2nd this year.

As we roll into fall, we wanted to share some ideas on things you can do around your home to properly prepare for fall and the change in season that occurs. Everything from furnace inspections to gutter cleaning, there is always a lot to do.

We came across a great list of 15 projects that you can start to ponder, courtesy of the folks at Family Handyman.

For those of you that want to hold off on the outdoor stuff, we absolutely love the suggestions for “designing the perfect bedroom”, courtesy of our pal Marina Dagenais at Designer Premier this month.

If you are super creative and have some time, we also came across this list of fun, but smaller DIY things you can do.

We hope you were able to get the kids back in school with very little fuss and we hope you have a wonderful end to your summer.

Go Broncos!!

Partners We Love

As our regular readers know, we love to feature true professionals in our “Partners we Love” section.

These are people that share our values when it comes to getting things done for their clients and operating in a professional and ethical way.

Our friends at Colorosa Commercial Properties/Keller Williams Commercial did a fabulous job managing the sale of our commercial property last month.

They managed the process, and our expectations masterfully throughout and adapted quickly when the inevitable curveballs came our way.

They are also great negotiators and understand the true art of “win-win” outcomes.

If you are looking for advice on a commercial property sale, or just want to know what is going on in the Denver commercial real estate world, please look up our friend Rachel Colorosa.

She is the managing partner and can be reached at 303-886-8154, or at [email protected].

5G Is Coming

Most of us have heard of 5G, but what does it mean for us practically?

Dish Network made headlines with a 2023 deadline for complete rollout of its 5G plan, including its partnerships with T-Mobile and Sprint.

While Denver isn’t fully implemented yet, we have seen the icon pop up on our phones, so we know something is up. Verizon seems to be leading the way in Denver, though.

In a nutshell, 5G provides more bandwidth than 4G (or 3G) for cell phone data users. This means speed increases of 5-10X!

On the other hand, the increased bandwidth will likely come with some coverage gaps, so all the coverage we have grown to love with 4G/LTE may not extend to the 5G network.

To fully understand the pros and cons of 5G, we found this article which lays it out nicely.

For a comparison of the speed difference that we can expect, the folks at Digital Trends came up with this informative piece.

We are always excited when technology takes a leap forward. For a list of where 5G is currently available and when it might be coming, by carrier, check this out.

Happy surfing!!!

Tax Evasion..Wait, What?

No, we do not advocate tax evasion.

However, we found an interesting article about the 2010 law that was passed that attempted to discourage hiding of income in foreign accounts.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, required all foreign financial institutions to automatically provide the Internal Revenue Service with information on any accounts held by U.S. citizens.

This made it much harder for rich Americans to avoid U.S. taxes by hiding their money, and the investment income it generates, in foreign banks and opaque shell corporations.

Of course, there are always unintended consequences of ideas like this.

Folks have gotten more creative and are using new tactics like investing in real estate and art to skirt these requirements.

This article by the Stanford Graduate School of Business sums it up perfectly.

The bottom line? Folks will always look for creative ways to reduce/avoid taxes. Some legal ways to do this can be found here. If you are lucky enough to be in the top 0.5% we found these strategies as well.

Is Grit better than IQ?

Our friend Heather Klutznick at Trilogy Financial posed that question in her monthly newsletter, and it caught our eye.

We have never been the smartest folks around, but we have always worked really hard. In fact, it’s always been our goal to outwork everyone around us.

The funny thing is when you do that, you end up ahead of at least half the people and companies you are competing with. Most people give up way too easily.

From her newsletter, “It turns out that intelligence might not be the best indicator of future success. According to psychologist Angela Duckworth, the secret to outstanding achievement isn’t talent. Instead, it’s a special blend of persistence and passion that she calls “grit.”

The full article from Forbes can be found here. We also ran across a short piece on medium.com that echoes this sentiment.

The bottom line? You cannot control your IQ, but you can control your effort and your attitude!

Thanks to Heather for publishing and sharing this information. To learn more about Trilogy Financial and the great work Heather does, she can be reached by the links above!

Stay gritty Denver.

Monthly Award Winners

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for July 2019.

Our top Cleaning Associates for the month were Aurora Dominguez, Josefina Quinonez, Sandra Puga, Sandra Vidales, and Maria Zapata.

In the Team Leader ranks, our top Team Leaders were Natalia Olivas and Rosa Chavez.

Thanks to all our team members for their hard work, and a special thanks to our award winners!

Congrats ladies!

Just for fun I thought I’d throw out a few interesting facts about our employee training procedures

Very important! We don’t have to teach our employees how to clean. We hire ladies who like to clean. We guide them and teach them about product and equipment usage and safety measures in the homes.

Our ongoing challenge is to increase their awareness of the interior placement of objects and furniture. The natural tendency is to move everything to clean, then put everything back – somewhere.

The total focus is cleanliness. Throws, pillows, decorative items, toiletries; secondary. I know this is perceived by the client as the ladies imposing their own preferences, but truthfully, they just see the shining counters and clean floors.

One thing our ladies need no training in is their polite and pleasant demeanor, whether in your homes, amongst themselves, or with the office staff.

I honestly thank each Team Leader at the end of whatever conversation we have throughout the day, and I always pass along the kind comments of our clients. So thank you too!

Bee

July Newsletter

denverconcierg on July 23, 2019

Did you Forget the Windows?

We had a long talk with our window washer, and we realized he isn’t busy enough these days. With the beautifully hot and sunny summer we are having, we decided to refocus our efforts a bit.

Through August 31, anyone booking a window washing will receive 10% off. Just mention the newsletter to Angela and we will get you booked at the discount.

In case you actually did forget (we do it all the time), we have been washing windows now for a couple of years. We use only the finest products by a company called Unger, the world leader in window washing technology.

Did you know that over time windows will degrade if they aren’t cleaned? The majority of particles, like those that makeup water and minerals, can damage your glass windows over time. The particles will enter the glass’ pores and effectively contaminate and corrode the windows. The first things you may notice will be some light scratches or cracks, but an unmaintained window can eventually be altered on a structural level and will need a full replacement. Cleaning your windows will prevent this outcome and give your windows far more longevity.

We have some very cool stuff that will prevent streaking and spotting, and that will protect your windows going forward as well. Give Angela a call and we will get our window washer out to take a look and make sure your windows are sparkling clean!!!

Partners We Love

It’s been a while since we featured anyone here, as you know we are very picky about recommending folks to our beloved clients and partners.

We recently had our hardwood floors redone and they were nothing short of perfect. Following that, we had some laminate flooring put down in a commercial space and that was perfect as well!

So, we figured we would give a shout out to Hardwoods by Heaps. Scott Heaps, the owner, is as down to earth a gent as you will find.

His crew is professional, on time and gets the job done. On top of that, he keeps his overhead very low, and was the most price competitive on both of our bids.

If you need a quote on your flooring needs, we would suggest giving Scott a call. Mention Denver Concierge and he will give you his best rate!

His number is 303-886-6889, or you can email him here.

Best of luck with your floors!

Your Neighborhood Rated

What are the best neighborhoods in Denver? Our friends at 5280 Magazine have spoken and the list is pretty interesting.

They utilized a formula that brings many relevant factors into play and seems fairly well thought out.

From the article “Our ranking uses four variables: home prices, crime data, school rankings, and an X factor score (more on that below). Each category is weighted (30 percent for year-over-year percentage increase in home values; 25 percent for safety; 15 percent for neighborhood school ratings; and 30 percent for the X factor).

The top neighborhoods?

1. Denver Country Club

2. Belcaro

3. Wash Park

4. Virginia Village

5. University Park

The full article, along with a very cool interactive map can be found here.

Hail and Colorado

Hail. Ugh.

If you are like us, you are quite over it. We have many clients that have had extensive hail damage to either their homes or vehicles during this wild season of weather we seem to be having.

While there isn’t anything we can do to prevent hail, there are people that are working very hard to figure out how to mitigate its damage.

Colorado is especially prone to this destruction because it sits in what is known as “Hail Alley”, a swath of the country that also includes parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.

Nationally, annual hail damage has topped $10 billion for home and car owners and lessees for more than a decade. The damages to properties, plus the resulting insurance payouts, just keep growing.

In fact, Coloradans have the third fastest rising hail insurance rates nationwide.

So, what can we do? The folks at NCAR in Boulder are spending lots of time on this problem and that story can be found here.

For ways to protect your home against hail damage (there aren’t many things to do) please check this out.

Leading with Compassion

Yes, that is the Dalai Lama.

What does he have to do with leadership, you may ask?

We see stories in the news continually that give us examples of poor leadership. We have had bosses in the past that believed that intimidation and fear were the only way to get things done.

We left those jobs.

Most people do. In fact, more people leave jobs due to culture than pay, and it’s not even close.

The Dalai Lama chimed in on leadership with compassion in mind, and it struck a chord with us.

From the article, “Leaders, whatever field they work in, have a strong impact on people’s lives and on how the world develops. We should remember that we are visitors on this planet. We are here for 90 or 100 years at the most. During this time, we should work to leave the world a better place.”

“What might a better world look like? I believe the answer is straightforward: A better world is one where people are happier. Why? Because all human beings want to be happy, and no one wants to suffer. Our desire for happiness is something we all have in common.”

We hope you take time to read this simple but meaningful piece on true leadership. We try every day at Denver Concierge to lead in this manner and we hope it shows in your homes!!

The full article can be found here.

Monthly Award Winners

Please join me in congratulating our best performers for June 2019.

Our top Cleaning Associates for the month were Josefina Quinonez, Aurora Dominguez, Rosario de La Rosa, Maria Zapata and Sandra Vidales.

In the Team Leader ranks, our top Team Leaders were Rosa Chavez and Natalia Olivas.

Thanks to all our team members for their hard work, and a special thanks to our award winners!

Congrats ladies!

I would like to send out a reminder to please run all instructions for your team through me here at the office. Sometimes the ladies are unsure of the instructions given by the client but are too shy to ask them to explain.

In the same vein, our insurance company is very strict as far as what the ladies are allowed to clean in the houses, how they clean (e.g. no ladders higher than 3 steps), and what products can be used. This is strictly for the safety of the employees, and my involvement adds another layer of assurance.

I meet with the teams each day before dispatch to give out instructions and convey any client concerns or compliments.

You can always send me a text if that is quicker. 303-588-6847.

Happy summer! Stay cool!

Bee