Opportunity
Founded in 2011, Boston Building Maintenance, LLC (BBM) is a janitorial-service provider, owned and managed by the sister-brother team of Brittany Hampton and Jonathan Beale. From carpet and tile cleaning to window washing to emergency response clean-up, the certified woman-owned business enterprise offers a variety of services for commercial offices, healthcare facilities, hotels and single and multi-tenant buildings.
“Since our founding, we’ve been able to translate our success in the healthcare industry to other verticals to provide strong cleaning services at a variety of facilities,” said Brittany Hampton, Founder and CEO, BBM. “Carpet maintenance is key because it sends a message about caring to customers and employees, creates a healthier environment, and helps extend the life of carpet.”
BBM was relying on a standard shampoo and extraction method to clean carpet across its customers’ facilities. This resulted in extremely long dry times and consumption of large volumes of water. In 2019, the company won a contract with a hospitality property that required its building service contractor (BSC) to use carpet cleaning systems from Whittaker, a leader in low-moisture carpet encapsulation systems. This opened BBM’s eyes to a new approach to carpet care.
Solution
The Boston hotel property has wool carpet installed and knew that Whittaker’s low-moisture system provides the most consistent clean with WoolSafe® approved chemistries. Encapsulation cleaning combines the power of crystalizing polymers with detergent components to bind dry and oily soils with the chemistry. Custodial crews can then remove the remaining particles through vacuuming.
Whittaker’s interim carpet maintenance system is comprised of the Smart Care® TRIO machine and a comprehensive CRYSTAL® Chemistry range for a variety of stains. The TRIO machine features three counter-rotating brushes to lift the carpet pile and agitate the chemistry at the same time. This results in a more consistent clean that does not damage carpet fibers in the process. The process also uses less water and allows carpeted areas to dry quickly.
BBM uses three TRIO machines and Whittaker’s complete line of chemistry to clean carpet daily at the hotel. The company also plans to introduce the system at 15 other facilities it manages across Boston.
“From an efficiency and effectiveness standpoint, the Whittaker system is night and day compared to hot water extraction,” added Hampton. “Plus, Whittaker’s customer service is amazing. Their responsiveness and willingness to provide hands-on training sets the standard for what customer service should be. They have me as a customer for life.”
Results
With Whittaker’s machines and chemistry now part of its carpet care routine, Boston Building Maintenance has achieved the following benefits:
- Enhanced productivity. Thanks to Whittaker’s system, BBM’s employees can make one pass across carpeted areas whereas the previous approach would take multiple passes to fully remove stains. This allows employees to finish carpet care tasks in less time and avoid customer callbacks to address reappearing stains. Additionally, the low-moisture process has a much shorter dry time, which allows BBM to return carpeted areas to use more quickly than hot water extraction.
- Better stain removal. Hampton remarks that “Whittaker’s chemistry removes spots and stains far better than any other chemical used in the last eight years.” Superior stain removal helps BBM uphold its reputation as a BSC that takes pride in maintaining its customers’ facilities, while also protecting the hotel’s upscale brand.
- Customer satisfaction. Because Whittaker’s machines and chemistry remove stains on the first attempt, the hotel is extremely satisfied with the appearance of its carpet.
- Cost savings. As labor is the biggest expense for any service company, enabling employees to be more productive is crucial. With Whittaker’s TRIO machine, staff can clean carpet faster, resulting in cost savings for BBM and its customers.
- Improved employee satisfaction. The Whittaker machines are much lighter and ergonomic than hot water extraction machines. This results in less strain on employees, who are happier using this system.
“For other organizations unhappy with their current approach to carpet care or those considering Whittaker, don’t think twice about making the switch,” said Hampton. “Whittaker is hands-down the leader in the industry. The system quickly pays for itself between enhanced customer satisfaction and employee efficiency.”