Amid the joy and celebrations, the holiday season can also be stressful, especially when considering the added work of preparing a home for guests. Before getting to enjoy the fun of family time, gift shopping, menu planning and decorating, the dirty work of getting on your hands and knees and bringing out the elbow grease can be enough to want to cancel Christmas.
Elite Home Cleaning — located in Rochester Hills and servicing clients in Troy, Auburn Hills, Oakland Twp. and Shelby Twp. — can step in to help. This family-owned business has offered consistent, reliable and personalized service since 2004, personally training and overseeing the company’s technicians to handle everything from regularly recurring upkeep to deep house and move-in/move-out cleaning. At this time of year, they receive numerous calls from people needing help preparing for the holidays.
“Our calls increase starting in the fall, and our current clients are adjusting their schedule, so their cleanings fall on the week of Christmas and New Year’s Eve,” owner Lori Frye says. “We get pretty busy.”
“It’s like a second spring cleaning, when you close all the windows up and you want to make it more comfortable for the indoor time in Michigan,” says Erica Nowak, Frye’s daughter and the company’s operations manager. Starting in fall, things get crazy — people are feeling stressed after dealing with school drop-offs, homework and other responsibilities. What we do allows them more time with their family rather than spending the whole evening or weekend cleaning up.”
Frye started Elite Home Cleaning when she was seeking a new growth opportunity after raising her children, and Nowak joined the business 11 years ago. At first, she filled in part-time for a longtime office manager who moved on. Soon, after Nowak’s oldest son, Everett, was born, Frye suggested she join the team full-time.
“Our work, helping clients — especially busy new moms, the elderly, people recovering from surgery or a person who works full-time — is like giving them back time. I work full-time and have two sons (eight-year-old Everett and four-year-old Ryder). Just knowing how much stress and pressure we can take off of families is really rewarding.”
As a local business, the Elite experience for new clients is unique from that of corporate cleaning companies. Once they receive a request for information, they respond with a telephone call within just a few hours. After a 10- to 15-minute chat to learn more about the client’s needs, they can send out information and an estimate, in addition to information provided on their website (elitehomecleaning.net) and by email.
“I still have clients who started with me 21 years ago,” Frye says. “I love learning about our clients and problem-solving with our technicians. I’ve gotten feedback from technicians saying this is the best job they’ve ever had. That brings us almost to tears. Bottom-line is that we really care. We love our community and are lucky to have wonderful clients and devoted technicians. And it’s just a fun company to run.”