Challenge
Cedar Crest is a campus-style retirement community with over 130 acres of resident housing, beautiful manicured landscaped areas, gathering facilities, and an onsite medical center. To clean the windows both inside and out, a carefully planned schedule for each of the tenants’ residences must be communicated to the client who then keeps residents informed. Window cleaning can be a strenuous and dirty job, so leaving the residents’ apartments without damaging or soiling carpets or furniture is difficult. In addition, responding to special requests by the residents or changes in schedule from the facility coordinator must be dealt with on a real-time basis. Access to the outside windows at Cedar Crest was difficult and ground rigged equipment such as lifts, ladders, and extension tools were necessary. Squeezing in work within certain hours and specified parameters makes completing a schedule in a retirement community extremely difficult.
Solution
Valcourt worked with Cedar Crest’s Facilities Coordinator to create a comprehensive schedule of window cleaning work that carefully outlined where work would be performed, and sequenced the schedule of services that reduced inconveniences to residents. Valcourt assigned a dedicated service manager who successfully dealt with a changing schedule and special resident requests. As work took place over five weeks, the Cedar Crest housekeeping staff and the residents became very comfortable with the Valcourt Service Manager and crew. Proactive communication with the residents about the work crew’s schedule was in large part responsible for virtually no complaints at Cedar Crest, as well as keeping our work areas clean and having all employees in Valcourt’s easily identifiable uniforms. While using ground-rigged equipment, Valcourt employed protective measures that prevented any damage to the meticulously landscaped areas throughout the community. Valcourt realizes that it’s the little things and the teamwork that makes for a successful project at a retirement community like Cedar Crest.
