Perfect 10 for a success story
BY PETE AUSTIN
A COUNTY firm is celebrating a decade in business with a success story that scores a perfect 10.
LCS Cleaning and Support Services now has 10 times as many staff and has seen turnover multiply by the same factor since it began in business back in 1998.
Founded by husband and wife team David and Lynn Lawrence, LCS today has 100 staff on its payroll and a turnover of £800,000 – making it one of the county’s biggest success stories of recent times.
Its gleaming record has been achieved through an obvious dedication to making things shine and sparkle as well as a devotion to making its service stand out through innovative processes to stay ahead of the competition.
Mr Lawrence, of Northampton, who began the business with his wife after he was made redundant from a national cleaning firm, puts the secret of the family firm’s success down to a dedication to good service and high quality staff.
He said: “What makes LCS different is that we use methods to ensure the customers’ best interests are our main focus.
“We carry out a free initial room survey in which each room is carefully measured so that an accurate cost can be given. This means there is no guesswork involved and we only charge for what we do.
“This accuracy means we have been able to save our clients money; one of our best customers saved £600 a week by swapping to our services.”
He added: “We also have a telephone staff tracking system which involves the staff member logging in each shift from within the customer’s company. This means we can ensure our cleaners are completing the hours and doing all the tasks the customer is paying for.”
LCS’s customers span the entire spectrum from factories and warehouses to pubs and medical centres.
Services include carpet and upholstery cleaning, window cleaning, graffiti removal, janitorial supplies and car park maintenance.
In 2008 LCS had both high and low spots.
On the negative side the firm was sad to lose one of its long term clients due to financial problems.
Mr Lawrence said: “After having worked together for many years it was a very sad time and made real the tough economic times facing all businesses.
“On the positive side we were delighted to have won the cleaning contract for one of the world’s leading footwear manufacturers and are looking forward to a long working relationship.”
Despite the 10 years of achievement LCS is not resting on its laurels.
It is about to launch a range of brand new services including factory cleaning, deep clean of commercial kitchens, industrial window cleaning using the latest clear water systems and additional specialist carpet work. In January it launched its new-look website.
Mr Lawrence is a member of the Collingtree chapter of BNI and credits the networking organisation as being a vital part of his company’s success.