Business Spotlight: Clear Skies Residential Cleaning

By Mathew White

EDMONTON — It takes a lot of moxie to say you’re the friendliest anything, but it’s something Seth Glick does with full conviction.

“I would say we’re the friendliest window cleaners in Edmonton, one hundred per cent,” said Glick.  “Maybe there are some people that are friendly, but we are Edmonton’s friendliest window cleaners.”

Glick makes his living as Chief Friendliness Officer of Clear Skies Residential Cleaning – a home-based company in west Edmonton.

Background

Glick said he first got into window and gutter cleaning as a summer job while taking the Bachelor of Management course at Grant MacEwan University.

Upon graduation and in need of some real-world experience, Glick set out to find something he wasn’t getting from his textbooks.

“I was looking for a company to start where I could take all the things that I learnt and try them,” said Glick.

So with minimal start-up costs and the opportunity to expand, Clear Skies was born in 2008.

“I love living here so I wanted to do something where I could meet pretty much as many people as possible and build that relationship.”

Business

Over the past three years, Clear Skies has managed to build a solid clientele, and according to Glick, business has been going great.  He credits the companies’ three-tier friendliness policy, which includes house friendly, pet friendly and family friendly, for much of their success.

“I’ve been working a lot on making everything very rememberable and remarkable,” said Glick.

Having a mini-squeegee on hand for curious children, dog treats in the van for rowdy pups and padding on ladders for extra protection are just a few examples of the things Clear Skies is doing to create a great experience.

“We’re not going to come in and start swearing on the telephone or smoking a cigarette or spitting on the floor, just little things that people have had happen in the past, and we try to prevent that,” said Glick.

“It’s really just about owning the service.”

Beyond the experience, Glick said that having your windows cleaned is one of the most rewarding things someone can do for their home.  He compared it to walking around with dirty glasses.

“Once they’re clean, you see the world in a whole different light.”

The Future

With two full-time employees (including himself) and one part-time helper, Glick said the business is almost at the point where it will have to expand.

“I plan on getting another van, another crew, take a step back from day-to-day cleaning and work on the business itself,” said Glick.

After that, Glick said there’s really no telling what his future is, but whatever happens, he will definitely be living in Edmonton.