ServiceMaster of Gwinnett
Thirty years ago (1991) Joe and Sandy Williamson were seeking a business to run. Sandy was employed as the Administrator for an international company but decided that she would be able to devote time on weekends to a new startup company. Joe would be able to work full-time. The couple met the local distributor for the ServiceMaster company and were impressed with the potential this business offered. They soon bought a license in a part of Gwinnett County where they lived and after initial training Joe began providing cleaning and restoration services to local customers. At the time, neither partner had any experience in this line of work, so the support of a franchise network was extremely important. It turned out that the ServiceMaster distributor was very helpful, and the couple quickly received much-needed expertise. The young company soon developed a loyal following.
At the beginning of their search Joe and Sandy decided that the most important feature of their new venture should be customer service. As Joe pointed out at the time, “If we sell a product, somebody can invent a better product. If we provide services and are diligent in making those services the best they can be, no one can compete with us.” This philosophy has grown the company from a small operation in the Williamson basement to a large company with two offices covering a large territory in northeast and middle Georgia. The one element that has never changed is the emphasis on customer service.
While he was still in high school, the Williamson’s son Russell began working part-time and summers for the company. As a helper to the experienced technicians, Russell learned the business from the ground up. By the time he went into college at the University of Georgia he had a firm foundation in the ServiceMaster way of taking care of customers, and after graduation he began working for the company full-time. Today Russell is General Manager of the company and is doing a great job of maintaining and increasing the business. As the customer base and territory have increased over the years, Russell’s management has enabled the companies to maintain the high level of customer service for which they are known.
Over the years ServiceMaster of Gwinnett and ServiceMaster Five Points have served thousands of customers, many of whom still rely on these companies for services. Technologies have changed, and owners and technicians alike have had to keep current on the best processes to accomplish their work. One thing that has not changed, though, is the original set of goals from thirty years ago:
- To Honor God in All We Do
- To Help People Develop
- To Pursue Excellence
- To Grow Profitably
