Service Built One Block At A Time
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THE BACKSTORY OF HOME CLEAN HOME
Choosing a career that focused on regular contact with people was at one time unthinkable for Samuel, a boy held captive by shyness. Going into a room full of people was as appealing as entering a tunnel of sharp spikes. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Samuel Mejía Olivieri spent much of his childhood accompanied by his No. 2 pencil—constantly drawing from his imagination. 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 the early 1990's, Samuel spent three years volunteering for a nonprofit educational organization in New York state. Then 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. These seemingly unrelated industries would have an impact on Home Clean Home's service years later. |
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By 1996, Samuel was driving a delivery van for Coffee Associates, Inc., a coffee-roasting company that served 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 and their 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 you when you treat them fairly and decently." In time, Samuel was promoted to Assistant Plant Manager where he was responsible for supplying an 11-van fleet, manage inventory and other tasks. His time at Coffee Associates taught him the value of staying two steps ahead of the schedule and the business' needs.
In 2000 Samuel was hired by Bell Atlantic just weeks before it transformed into telecommunications giant Verizon. In the sales and service department, his job focused on pushing the dawn of "fiber-to-the-premises", a then new infrastructure where fiber-optic cables were spooled out across streets and directly into homes. For Samuel, a typical day was spent engaging with customers across eight states in English, Spanish and even some Portuguese. The main objective was to close sales of FiOS (fiber-optic service) in the New York Metro area and Mid-Atlantic region. Helping a customer required navigating seven software systems and interacting with other departments. After resolving the customer's issue, a 20-plus checklist of statements, questions, offers, disclosures and courteous remarks was required to be included in a friendly conversation that should not exceed 14 minutes. Missed points would lower your call performance score and impact your job performance assessment. A recurring frustration was how top-level decisions were handed down to employees without fully understanding the customer-service environment. After 14 years at Verizon, Samuel says, "There is a tendency among corporate leadership to over-rely on the bird's eye view of the business by focusing too much on technical metrics and PowerPoint slides. While those tools are valuable, there are dynamics that can't be appreciated from the bird's eye view alone. When top management doesn't engage directly with customers, their viewpoint will have blind spots that will negatively impact their decisions. I've seen how corporate's distance from the 'ground level' is detrimental to the customer and employee experiences. And I learned that the bird's eye view is not necessarily the conclusive perspective on any matter. A bird may cherish the view from above. That viewpoint is a privilege. But working with land critters will give it a deeper insight of the environment. That insight grants wisdom. Privilege benefits a few, but wisdom benefits many."
Unfortunately, high-stress levels that prolonged for years took a mental and emotional toll on him. Then, after widowing in 2012, it took Samuel time to regain his bearings. Gradually, he became determined to start a new life. First, he would have to pay off significant debts. After nearly 19 years in New Jersey, he would return to Georgia. In fall of 2014, with his teenage daughter by his side, 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 he had found the path he was looking for.
Determined to be self-employed, he researched cleaning techniques, sought clients by going house to house, left business cards and asked 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 manager-worker disconnect. He is proud of building a small business one block at a time over many years. With 30 years of experience serving people, Samuel is happy to lead his team in helping Atlanta's homeowners and renters take great care of their homes.
In 2000 Samuel was hired by Bell Atlantic just weeks before it transformed into telecommunications giant Verizon. In the sales and service department, his job focused on pushing the dawn of "fiber-to-the-premises", a then new infrastructure where fiber-optic cables were spooled out across streets and directly into homes. For Samuel, a typical day was spent engaging with customers across eight states in English, Spanish and even some Portuguese. The main objective was to close sales of FiOS (fiber-optic service) in the New York Metro area and Mid-Atlantic region. Helping a customer required navigating seven software systems and interacting with other departments. After resolving the customer's issue, a 20-plus checklist of statements, questions, offers, disclosures and courteous remarks was required to be included in a friendly conversation that should not exceed 14 minutes. Missed points would lower your call performance score and impact your job performance assessment. A recurring frustration was how top-level decisions were handed down to employees without fully understanding the customer-service environment. After 14 years at Verizon, Samuel says, "There is a tendency among corporate leadership to over-rely on the bird's eye view of the business by focusing too much on technical metrics and PowerPoint slides. While those tools are valuable, there are dynamics that can't be appreciated from the bird's eye view alone. When top management doesn't engage directly with customers, their viewpoint will have blind spots that will negatively impact their decisions. I've seen how corporate's distance from the 'ground level' is detrimental to the customer and employee experiences. And I learned that the bird's eye view is not necessarily the conclusive perspective on any matter. A bird may cherish the view from above. That viewpoint is a privilege. But working with land critters will give it a deeper insight of the environment. That insight grants wisdom. Privilege benefits a few, but wisdom benefits many."
Unfortunately, high-stress levels that prolonged for years took a mental and emotional toll on him. Then, after widowing in 2012, it took Samuel time to regain his bearings. Gradually, he became determined to start a new life. First, he would have to pay off significant debts. After nearly 19 years in New Jersey, he would return to Georgia. In fall of 2014, with his teenage daughter by his side, 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 he had found the path he was looking for.
Determined to be self-employed, he researched cleaning techniques, sought clients by going house to house, left business cards and asked 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 manager-worker disconnect. He is proud of building a small business one block at a time over many years. With 30 years of experience serving people, Samuel is happy to lead his team in helping Atlanta's homeowners and renters take great care of their homes.