Focus on Service Propels Two Maids’ Record-Breaking Growth

Focus on Service Propels Two Maids’ Record-Breaking Growth

Customer service has always been central to the working lives of Chantel and Jared Trujillo, and it was a key factor in their decision to invest in a Two Maids residential cleaning franchise. Their commitment to service for customers, as well as their employees, has contributed to their Two Maids franchise becoming the fastest growing in the history of the brand, which is a member of the Home Franchise Concepts family of brands. In recognition of their accomplishments, the Trujillos recently received the Two Maids Franchisee of the Year Award.

“Two Maids just resonated with our backgrounds, with what we already were doing in life,” says Chantel, who had management, sales and customer service experience.

“With me being in hospitality as a restaurant manager,” Jared adds, “my goal every day is to take care of customers and make people happy through the food they put in their mouths. And the Two Maids franchise is similar, where you’re taking care of the customer by providing them with a service, making sure their homes feel comfortable for them.”

Something of Their Own

The Trujillos’ goal in investing in a franchise was to diversify their income and gain greater control of their financial future with a business of their own. A franchise consultant Chantel had met through a networking group proposed a few concepts including Two Maids. The Trujillos liked the resiliency of home services brands, and they believed there was growing demand for services that could give working parents, such as themselves, more quality time with their families. The Trujillos were also impressed with Two Maids’ sleek website, technology-enabled tools and recurring revenue model.

Initially, their plan was for Chantel to continue in her full-time work as a financial advisor and for Jared to serve as a semi-absentee franchise owner while continuing in his full-time role as manager of a chain of local restaurants. But, after more research and discussion, they recognized that Chantel’s broad experience and skillset made her better suited as the full-time owner-operator of the residential cleaning franchise.

“As the owner-operator, everything I would do on a daily basis was similar to what I’d done in my previous corporate jobs, so it would be easy to take what I’d learned in those jobs and implement it into something for us. And that’s what it boiled down to: something for us, and something that we really, really enjoyed,” she says.

‘Loud and Proud’

Even before opening their two territories in September 2024 and March 2025 in Albuquerque and nearby Rio Rancho, N.M., the Trujillos hit the ground running with marketing through social media and in-person networking. “We didn’t wait for the doors to open,” she says. “I’d go back to the networking group and talk about what was happening – like, ‘Hey, we just signed a lease,’ ‘We just got our building,’ ‘We painted it this week.’ So, we were being very loud and proud about the business to anybody we talked to. It didn’t matter if you just met us or if you’ve known us for years. And, as soon as our doors opened, people were starting to book with us.”

The Trujillos have continued their marketing strategy. “If there is an opportunity to get our name out somewhere, we’re going to take advantage of it,” says Jared, who also relied on some old-school marketing – street signs at busy intersections – that was extremely cost-effective in building brand recognition and generating leads. Chantel also asks her employees to hang marketing materials on doors. If someone responds, the employee gets a gift card or some other reward.

The Trujillos also made the most of training and support from the franchisor, as well as advice from other franchisees. “We started building those relationships right away,” Chantel says. “What I love about Two Maids is, although it’s a fairly large company, it still has that family-like feel because everybody knows each other and you can just reach out. And that means a lot to us.”

Recurring Revenue through Excellent Service

Excellent customer service involves more than a thorough house cleaning, and the Trujillos recognized that. Responsiveness to leads and reliability in scheduling were other factors, which have contributed to repeat customers and recurring revenue. In addition to their residential customers, the Trujillos’ clients include property managers, real estate agents and short-term rental owners, who demand prompt, reliable service. “To be there when they need us is the reputation we want to build for growth,” Jared says.

Chantel knew she needed adequate staffing to ensure reliability from day one. So, instead of hiring a recommended four employees at the outset, she hired six. The team has grown to 20 professional house cleaners, and Chantel says she’s constantly hiring. If she doesn’t have enough house cleaners for a job, she pitches in or she asks Jared to help out if he’s not working at one of his restaurants.

Flexibility has been helpful in retaining customers. When they have financial issues and need to cut back, for example, the Trujillos work to create solutions like reducing the frequency of services or scaling back on the type of cleaning, Chantel says.

Continuous Innovation

Because the business took off so fast, Chantel hired an assistant manager only two weeks after opening, and that person follows up on all leads, making 40 or more calls a day. “You can’t expect the lead to just sell itself, or to call just once and be done. So, you have to call it, and call it multiple times,” she says.

Recently, Chantel solicited feedback from other franchise owners to come up with a job description for a quality manager whom she’s hired to do training and on-site inspections. The Trujillos hope adding the quality manager will help their house cleaning franchise reach a new milestone. 

Full-Circle Relationship Building

The Trujillos understand that team-building is key to providing excellent customer service. “I believe in building employees up, because if they’re happy, they’re going to make your customers happier, and the customers want to continue doing business with us and doing business with them,” Chantel says.

She leaned on her prior experience as a manager to foster those internal relationships, and provide motivation and a little fun. “This is not an easy job to begin with. They’re in one to five houses a day cleaning, and it can be hard. So, I want to make the experience as positive as I can,” she says. “So, we knew we had to start from the time they walk into our office by making it a very welcoming place to set the tone for the rest of their day.”

She says snacks, beverages and breakfast and sandwich foods are always available. Potlucks are a perpetual favorite. Holiday and seasonal decorations add to the festive ambiance, along with fun activities like a Valentine’s Day card exchange or themed T-shirts that Chantel makes for the employees to wear on Fridays.

With Two Maids “Maid to Shine” program, professional house cleaners are paid on commission for their performance, and they earn extra if they get positive online reviews from clients of the residential cleaning franchise. They also get to participate in contests for prizes such as gift cards when they receive positive reviews. “Not only do they get extra money or prizes, but they get recognition,” Chantel says. “I read them their reviews, and if they get a great review, I’ll say, ‘Look at the difference that you made in this customer’s day.’ And you would be surprised at how often they’re like, ‘Wow!’ It’s a great reminder that what we do is important.”

For more information about franchising opportunities, visit Home Franchise Concepts’ website.