Education/School Customer Spotlight: Deb Yassen, St. Laurence School in Upper Darby, PA
Teachers can’t shape and mold young minds very well when kids are out sick with the common cold or flu.
That’s why a clean school is a crucial component of learning. Teachers are the real heroes of education, of course, and good textbooks and lesson plans are critical and…well, there are so many important components to getting a solid education. But being able to stay healthy is certainly somewhere in the mix – and that can be challenging to do at a school. You may share desks with other students. You mingle in the hallways with them. Kids sneeze. They cough. They may forget to wash their hands after going to the bathroom. They may not flush (and sorry for that visual). If somebody isn’t sanitizing and scrubbing down a school, well, the only upside may be that science teachers will have far more germs to look at under the microscope.
Few commercial properties require deep cleans quite like schools. That’s why, at Stratus Building Solutions, we and our franchise owners, and their employees, pride ourselves with offering amazingly green and eco-friendly commercial cleaning. The eco-friendly part may be as important as getting a school clean. You don’t want to get rid of the germs, only for children and teenagers to then get sick from the chemicals you leave behind.
Deb Yassen, a business manager and accountant with St. Laurence Parish and School in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, agrees. We really appreciate that she took some time out of her busy schedule to discuss how she enjoys working with Stratus Building Solutions. Here are some highlights from our conversation.
How long have you worked with Stratus Building Solutions (SBS)? “They started July or August of this year,” Yassen says. “They really understand the needs of the school and do a very good job.”
In fact, Yassen adds that the administration is considering having Stratus expand their service to the nearby church as well. We would obviously love that and would be happy to help!
How did you first hear about SBS? Yassen says that she found Stratus Building Solutions online. She saw their reviews first and actually didn’t see the website until after reading through them. She really liked the before and after photos – and was relieved that they turned out to be representative of the work they would eventually do for St. Laurence.
What set Stratus apart when you were choosing a cleaning company? Yassen says that Stratus cleaned more in two days than their previous cleaners did in a little over 10 months. Yassen says that the school definitely was not getting its money’s worth. For instance, every time the previous cleaning service cleaned the floors, the clean version never looked any better than the dirty version.
“We could really tell a difference once we hired Stratus,” Yassen says. She also said (and, no, we didn’t ask her to say this) that “Stratus has a great set of standards and takes pride in what they do.” Yassen liked that – since the school takes a lot of pride in their work, too.
Why Yassen likes working with Stratus. She says that Stratus is very receptive and takes her calls immediately. “They are good at communicating. They’re perceptive, open to suggestions, and address concerns promptly,” Yassen says, who adds that she always loves the results.
The biggest benefits that Yassen has seen. Many, Yassen says. She liked how quickly of the Stratus team was able to get to work and clean the school from top to bottom. “We were in a jam this summer,” Yassen says. She was new to the school system, and they needed a new cleaning company, but she didn’t find SBS until shortly before the school year began.
She also has been very happy with the continued cleaning.
“At the end of the day, the school is clean, and the students can feel the difference,” Yassen says, adding enthusiastically: “Stratus is worth every dollar.”
(Seriously, we didn’t ask her, or pay her, to say this. We also didn’t bring in an apple and put it on her desk. That would have been a nice touch, though.)
The tricky part about cleaning a school like St. Laurence. The building has been around for 100 years; in fact, the school, this year, is celebrating its 100th birthday.
“It hasn’t been made over or revamped, and there are a lot of areas that need attention so we can maintain the building. And naturally, kids bring in a lot of germs. Regular cleaning helps keep the number of kids who get sick down and reduces the number of absences.”
Would you recommend Stratus to other businesses? “Yes, absolutely,” Yassen says.
Thankfully, it sounds like Stratus Building Solutions is passing with flying colors with Yassen and her team at St. Laurence School.If you’d like to learn more about what we do for schools and universities, give us a call today!