SerVantage profile - BIC Sept2013

The team at SerVantage.

Our Service – Your Advantage… that’s SerVantage Raising the Bar on Cleaning Standards for Commercial Property Owners Written and photographed by Mary Savage

W

hen a client asks for one thing and they get something else, it’s a problem – period. Yet the solution is simple: listen to your clients and give them what they want. “Eighty per cent of problems arise because of miscommunication,” says Hugh Deas-Dawlish, vice president, SerVantage Services Group, Alberta division.

Ironically, SerVantage is not a communications company.

They are a full-service facilities maintenance company. Their core business is commercial, health care and retail janitorial services. However, in order to better service their clients they have expanded their business over the years to include parkade, window and construction cleaning. They also provide line painting, concrete grinding, polymer applications and other related services. They have achieved remarkable growth because their approach is simple: they listen to their clients and provide proactive, creative solutions. They consider themselves to be solution providers – and it’s been their mandate from day one.

Nearly 40 years ago John Petersen, CEO, bought the Vancouver company from his father, then known as Scandinavian Building Maintenance, changing the company name in 2004 to SerVantage Services Group. Petersen has built SerVantage over the years based on honest, ethical service that goes above and beyond what the client expects.

Three decades later, Petersen’s son, Craig Petersen, COO, opened the Calgary branch and put those same practices in place to begin developing the business in Alberta. Joining John and Craig is Rob Spanier, CFO. Spanier has been with SerVantage over 20 years and has worked closely with the Petersens to help grow the business.

When Craig opened the Calgary branch in June of 2003, they had 60 employees and four building contracts. Today the COR certified Calgary operation employs over 400 people and services 35 buildings, and in the past six months they have added an additional one million square feet in service contracts.

SerVantage 10th Anniversary

“At a time when most companies seem to be growing through acquisitions we prefer to grow our company organically by earning the trust of our clients. Our expansion comes from creating new relationships with property management companies and also from working vertically within our existing client base,” says Deas-Dawlish.

SerVantage is fortunate to work with clients that treat them like partners, which enables them to provide solutions for issues that arise outside of their scope of work.

“We try to foster a relationship where our clients feel comfortable coming to us to help them solve problems that may not be directly related to cleaning,” comments Deas-Dawlish.

“We partner with suppliers that provide the most effective and innovative products,” says Deas-Dawlish. “We stay on the cutting edge of technology for products, equipment and processes in order to enable us to provide the best service possible to our clients. We were one of the first companies to do ATP testing: a cleaning method to check a surface to determine the biological content – we go above and beyond normal cleaning. On a regular basis, we test the high-traffic touch points to ensure our processes and procedures are being effective,” he continues.

SerVantage has built a business that also goes above and beyond industry requirements: they are active members of BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) and ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association). Two years ago, they received accreditation with CIMS (Cleaning Industry Management Standard) and CIMS GB (Green Buildings).

And they achieved both certifications with honours.

‘Green’ cleaning is a large part of SerVantage’s business and they have been proponents of green cleaning products and processes for years. CIMS and CIMS GB are not industry requirements, in fact there are only a handful of companies in Canada that have achieved this status – partly due to the stringent approvals process.

In 2009, SerVantage was the first commercial cleaning company in Western Canada to receive the Environmental

Stewardship Award awarded through the Environmental Choice Program to companies based on their ‘environmental best practices.’

According to Deas-Dawlish, “Green cleaning requires a commitment to working with specific chemicals and propro cesses,” he adds. “Today, green cleaning is essential in order to participate in the bid process of many new buildings and LEED initiatives.”

Likewise, when it comes to municipal and government building contracts, you have to be COR certified, although as a cleaning company, it’s not an industry requirement.

SerVantage achieved COR certification two years ago to illustrate their commitment to the health and safety of their clients and employees.

“The cleaning business is simple yet complex – whether it’s 80,000 square feet or 800,000 square feet – there are so many variables that come into play. Our job is to manage these variables and make our clients’ lives easier. We try to anticipate any potential issues and provide solutions to circumvent them,” he comments.

“We are very fortunate to work with a lot of exceptional people – both our clients and employees. Our clients feel more like friends and the SerVantage team always goes the extra mile in an attempt to exceed their expectations,” says Deas-Dawlish.

“We have an amazing team, from our front-line employees to our senior management, who work tirelessly to ensure our clients’ needs are met. It’s not a glamorous business, but it’s a very challenging and exciting industry and we are exceptionally lucky to have the client base that we do – it is because of them that we enjoy coming to work each day,” he remarks.

As the Calgary operation celebrates their 10th anniversary, the SerVantage team pauses from the workday to extend a sincere note of gratitude to all of their clients, business partners, suppliers and employees. SerVantage acknowledges the importance of every relationship and the role it has played in contributing to their success.

www.servantage.ca

Congratulations Servantage on providing 10 years of excellent service and dedication to the Calgary area.

We at PlanetClean® would like to express our gratitude for being chosen as a partner in your successful journey throughout the years. Many years of continued success.

16 Locations across Western Canada to serve You planetclean.com Tel: (403) 252-3356 Toll Free: 1 (866) 447-4510 www.planetclean.com

SerVantage 10th Anniversary