Trading Places

A few years ago, a thought came to me while cleaning at one of our commercial clients, that there may be people like me, who want to clean, not because they have to, but for other reasons. I thought that like me, there may be people who consider cleaning to be therapeutic, meditative and physically exerting. At a Santropol Roulant board meeting, I proposed the idea to fellow board members and Tana Paddock, who was a board member then, took me up on the offer to work with Zenith Cleaners, not as a "cleaner" but as someone who wants to experience cleaning for reasons other than needing a job. Tana worked with Zenith Cleaners for about one year and it was a great experience for her. Tana ended up cleaning for organizations she had either had either led or consulted for. I thought that was really exciting.

For me, cleaning is not just about cleaning. It is about relationships, it is about working out, it is about meditation, it is about seeing the world through a different lens and being in a different role than my training and background has prepared me for. I cannot describe what it feels like to be a cleaner doing high dusting in a clothing store one night and the next morning be speaking to a graduating MBA class at HEC Montreal. It tends to enlarge your frame of reference, at the very least.

We are open to people who want to trade places, meditate, work out, lose weight - everyone who was slightly overweight when they joined Zenith Cleaners get to lose weight without having to pay a dime to do so. Instead, they get paid. One thing to note though is that when we are cleaners, we are cleaners and we are present with the work that needs to be done. We are present with the need to satisfy our clients and ensure they have a great experience with us.