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It’s rather surreal sitting here writing this, to be honest. On Friday night at a glitzy black tie awards bash in Guildford in the presence of some established and successful companies, we were pronounced winners of the 2012 Toast of Surrey Business Awards.

From over 60,000 small businesses in Surrey, we were nominated as one of four finalists in the category for businesses with up to £1m turnover. We were all over the moon to be nominated as finalists but to have won is such a thrill. I can’t really remember what I blurted out in the acceptance speech but the gist of it was that Dave and I are really humbled by the win and proud of our team for all their hard work and for making in happen.

The judge of our category, Sarah De’Lacy of the Surrey Research Park, had some complimentary words ‘Source Supplies’ principles for their business was to meet industry standards; then raise the bar. The very foundation of their company is based on service, understanding their customers and empowering their employees. They demonstrated positive business growth during difficult economic times and have an impressive plan for continuous expansion, which recognises the contribution from staff, customers and their suppliers. An inspiring company.’

From Dave, Claire, Brian, Steve, Ben, Craig and myself; a huge thanks to our customers for their continued loyalty. Onward and upwards!

2012 has started on a high for us. A letter arrived on the Source doormat on Monday saying we have been selected as one of the four finalists for the 2012 Toast of Surrey Business Awards. Obviously we’re all delighted and humbled to even be considered so to be in with a realistic shout of being nominated the best business under £1m turnover in Surrey is unbelievable. Especially considering we were operating from shipping containers and my bedroom 18 months ago.

What will this award mean to Source?

We’ve decided to set up a business in one of the most competitive industries out there, I believe. We also decided to make a ‘go’ of it two years ago when it was arguably a risky time to try and build a business. So, to be nominated for an award contributes to efforts we make to inform people that we’re different to the competition. And better.

Our customers and prospects have 100′s of choices when deciding where to get their supplies. Hopefully, an award winning business will make that decision easier and give them the confidence they need to place their business with us.

My job is to introduce the world to Source Supplies Phone calls, print media, email campaigns – all cost us time and money so a bit of free publicity equates to big value PR for us, which is an added bonus of being nominated.

We’re up against some top small businesses so we have our work cut out. The judges arrive for an inspection in two weeks then an awards bash in early March. We also have a video to make and a photographer visited yesterday, who beat me up about the massive mole on my cheek which was highly amusing for Dave.

Fingers well and truly crossed!

Last week I visited one of our customers, an independent school in Hampshire, who had alerted me to excessive use of the hand towels we supply them. Kids across the school were trying to grab one hand towel at a time but due to the variety of different dispensers around the school, loads of these ill fitting hand towels were being dispensed and ending up in the bin. Sound familiar? Read on…

A solution was easy to find. The dispensers were old and a bit tatty so we replaced all the dispensers and changed the paper from a C Fold to a Z Fold. They reckon they will use 50% less as a result, saving £100′s. Could this be done at your school?

Their accounts department were pretty happy about it; ‘You’ve enabled us to have a much more efficient use of paper towels with a simple, cost effective solution. It’s tidier and is much better for the environment too as we’ve reduced wasted towels by 50%’.

Needless to say, we exchanged all of their old stock for the new hand towels so they could start saving money straight away.

The Z Fold dispenser you see here in the picture is only £15. With high volume usage of paper towels, we can often supply them FOC. Call us to have a chat about a solution on 01252 758530.

Have you seen our Source Secrets? Using the right hand towels with the right dispenser is our number 1 Source Secret so to avoid throwing money in the bin, give us a call and we can ensure you’ve got the right product. For more trade tips and tricks, click here to get your hands on our secrets.

All in all, it’s been another positive year for Source Supplies. As with any small business, there have been growing pains at times but this is all part and parcel of moving a company forward.

Thanks

We thoroughly enjoy working with all customers; both our ever faithful and those who have joined us during 2011. It takes a leap of faith to change suppliers and we appreciate all the steps taken by our new customers that enabled us to do business with them. We hope that that faith is being repaid with the service we promised and always strive to achieve.

Similarly, in such a competitive and often price driven market, a massive thanks goes to our long term customers who bat away the advances of many suppliers who are all doing their best to build their customer base too. The loyalty doesn’t go unrecognised and we hope it’s evident in our service.

Our Team

We’ve welcomed a few new faces to Source Supplies in 2011. Steve, Claire and Ben are all doing a sterling job and have embraced the Source ‘way’ in earnest. All of the team are constantly contributing to making the business tick and everyone brings a unique quality to the business. To learn a bit more about each of us, just click here to read the staff profiles.

Internal Changes

There have been a couple of changes at Source HQ; another office, a new van, some new signage and additional warehouse space. We’ve also been reorganising some business processes in a bid to be more organised and more efficient. Hopefully, to our customers, we’ll look like a duck; serene on the surface, yet working like mad under the surface.

Charity

We joined forces with several charities this year; Ideas Tap, Joe Glover Trust and O2e. The business contributed many hours of my time in order to make Race Across America happen. As part of the RAAM Roses, and with the support and sponsorship of a few of our customers, over £25,000 was raised for this one event. Thanks to those customers who generously donated.

2012 sees us nominate children’s charity Ordinary2extraordinary (O2e) as our official charity and we’re proudly parading their logo on our uniforms and vehicles. Volunteer lead O2e encourages people from all walks of life to push their own boundaries through exercise and adventure, raising money for several kid’scharities that is divided to each of them at the end of the year. Why not visit their Facebook page and hit ‘like’ and see what events you could get involved in?

2012

We have some new objectives for 2012 and the main one centres around bringing an even better service to our customers. We’re planning to do this in a number of ways which we’re looking forward to implementing. Of course, we value your suggestions and feedback so please do contact us with your views and let us know if you think we should be doing anything differently.

Other plans include; completing our product range on our current website with in depth product details and possibly updating it to an e-commerce platform. We’ll be increasing our product range and working on all the feedback we’ve gathered from our customers. I’ll also be aiming to consistently publish more blogs and videos packed with useful and/or informative content.

To all our customers; thank you for giving a small but passionate cleaning supplies company a chance. We strive to be the best and we are delighted to have you as a customer. You have been fantastic.

Have a great Christmas, a fun New Year and a prosperous 2012.

The Source Team

Time to ACT!

Selden’s Act Original is one of our best sellers and rightly so; it’s well priced and does a good job. Act is best used daily. It helps remove lime scale in toilets and urinals, yes, but letting it build up will probably require a stronger chemical to break it down (see H018 React).

However, are you getting the most out of this wonderfully versatile washroom product? If you’re using it just to clean toilets then the answer is NO!

So, what else can you use Act for in the washroom?

Descaling. Use Act around the base of the taps where lime scale builds up or on a shower head and your cleaners will be taking one less product into the washroom. Here’s how to use it;

1. Apply a small amount to the lime scale effected area
2. Agitate it with a scouring pad or brush
3. Leave for a few minutes
4. Rinse off with water

For use in toilet and urinals, follow these steps

1. Flush or rinse toilet/urinal
2. Apply Act around the bowl
3. Agitate with a brush to create foam
4. Leave for 30 seconds
5. Flush (this will leave white foam and bubbles that release fragrance when they burst

NOTE; NEVER leave Act or any acid in the toilet or urinal. ALWAYS flush or rinse off. Leaving it on may look nice and assure your customers that the toilet has been cleaned but it’s a dangerous move.

Remember; Act is safe on stainless steel but avoid using this on acid sensitive surfaces such as terrazzo, marble, chrome and enamel.

*The MSDS recommends that gloves are worn when using this product

Give it a go, if you have any questions then Dave and I are on hand to answer them anytime. 

There’s been a few changes at Source HQ in recent months and with a handful of new customers choosing to do business with us, I thought it would be useful to introduce our team.

Steve

Mr Versatile. Steve’s main role is to look after our warehouse, however, Steve is only too happy to jump in one of the vans to help out with deliveries, collections and errands and is very popular on customer sites because of his chirpy nature and helpful attitude. Steve also looks after our customers who pop in to collect orders and can often be found chatting about fishing with a few of our regulars.

Dave

Source’s go-to man and co-owner. Often referred to as the ‘Rainman’ of the cleaning trade, Dave looks after the day-to-day operations and logistics. He spends most of his day with a phone glued to his ear speaking to customers, suppliers, drivers and prospective customers and he loves every minute. If you’re looking for product advice or a solution to a cleaning conundrum then Dave’s your man.

Brian

Meet a Source champion of customer service. Brian embraces our attitude towards creating a fantastic customer experience in the short time he’s on site delivering your order. Building rapport wherever he goes, Brian is more than a delivery driver; he’s an ambassador for the business. A loyal royal, Brian’s a season ticket holder at the Madjeski Stadium – a massive Reading FC fan! He also runs a Sunday League football team with his sons.

Claire

We couldn’t have wished for a more capable, friendly and organised person to apply for the role of Office Manager in October. Claire quickly organised Source HQ and implemented loads of changes that are helping to drive the business forward. Crucially, Claire’s got an eye for customer service too and is on hand to take your calls and emails.

Ollie (Me!)

Source Supplies town crier (without the outfit). I’m tasked with spreading the good word of Source Supplies and am the man behind the cup cakes and brownies. As co-owner, my objective for 2012 is to get to know the Source customers even better in a bid to keep using feedback to help improve the service and I’ll be swinging by your office to say hello in the near future.

Ben

Former driver of military vehicles in the British Army, Source’s youngest employee is more than comfortable behind the wheel of a Source van. Our most recent addition to the team, Ben is an warm guy and a reliable driver who took no time to strike up good relationships with our customers and has an attention to detail (must be the Army training!) that ensures efficient service on his behalf. Ben isn’t the biggest fan of parking wardens.

To speak to any of our team or to provide feedback of your customer experience, please call us anytime on 01252 877200 or email info@sourcesupplies.co.uk

To give your staff the best chance of achieving good results, an up to date understanding of how to get the most from your chemical range is really important.

You probably have a team of cleaners who have cleaned for years and are good at it, doing it their way. That’s fine but everyone can learn a few tricks of the trade. Here are my top 4 reasons why you should book in with us for a training session;

1. SAVES TIME – learning the best ways to use our chemicals will enable cleaners  to be more efficient
2. SAVES MONEY – excessive use of chemicals is a common mistake. Not only does it cause more work but it’s expensive!
3. BETTER RESULTS – is there a better way or a better product to use for a specific job? We’ve got some great tips for you
4. SAFETY – using the wrong chemical can be really dangerous and lead to all sorts of implications (!)

Here’s how it done;

• We come to you and train groups of about 10 at a time
• Allow for about 30 minutes per group
• We’ll issue a certificate for all attendees
• Your team go away and take their cleaning to the next level!

We’ll also set you up with personalised documentation including; training packs, wall charts for specific areas, safety data sheets, pocket task cards, dilution labels etc.

Want to book? Give us a call today on 01252 877200

‘We would definitely recommend the Selden COSHH Training as the first step for the development of all staff and operatives within the cleaning industry’ Carl Hannah, Managing Director -CJH Cleaning Services

One more thing. IT’S FREE!

We embrace any feedback from our customers because it’s valuable to us. However, we always get a bit sad when we have some negative feedback on one our products. Thankfully this isn’t too often.

So what’s the issue?

I’ve had a few reported incidents with our window cleaner; apparently it sometime leaves the odd streak.

How can it be solved?

Firstly, rest assured. The product works. Selden have spent loads of cash developing a chemical that produces good results and it’s one of the most popular items they manufacture. Secondly, the key, as with any chemical, is the application. Follow these steps for a guaranteed streak-free and gleaming mirror or glass pane;

1.  Fold a clean cloth in half or quarters (microfibre or glass cloths are probably your best bet)

2. Spray just once or twice onto the cloth, not the surface. 2 common mistakes right there;

• People often spray too much, thinking more is better. It’s not. It just creates more work for you.
• Some people spray directly onto the mirror or glass pane. Spray onto the cloth.

3. Wipe the surface vertically and then horizontally

4. Flip the cloth over and using the dry side, buff the surface in the same way you cleaned it

5. Voila!

*Top tip

If the side of the cloth you’ve used to clean the window is really damp after use, you’ve probably used too much.

Let us know how you get on! Feel free to post your feedback on our Facebook page. Click here

Or just give us a call on 01252 877200

So today, according to the Toilet Paper Encyclopedia, is National Toilet Paper Day.

It’s not often (or ever) that us in the cleaning trade have our own day so I thought I’d mark this occasion by throwing out a few facts and stats about life’s most essential consumable item.

1. Do most people hang the toilet paper roll with the sheet over or under?

According to the Cottonelle Roll Poll:

• 72% – hang toilet paper with the first sheet going over the roll
• 28%- prefer to hang the first sheet under the roll

2. Are most people “wadders” or “folders” of toilet paper?

When it comes to toilet paper, women are more apt to be grabbers and wadders, while men tend to be folders.
• Folders/Stackers: 40%
• Wadders: 40%
• Wrappers: 20%

3. By Recycling 1 ton of paper you save:

- 17 trees 6953 gallons of water
- 463 gallons of oil
- 587 pounds of air pollution
- 3.06 cubic yards of landfill space
- 4077 Kilowatt hours of energy

4. How much time does a person spend on the toilet over a lifetime?

According to various studies, the average person spends 3 years on the toilet over the course of a lifetime!

5. Do people who run supplies companies have really clean houses that are full of stock?

Despite co-owing a business that has over 15,000 rolls in stock at any one time, Dave never has any toilet paper in house and the other day, he even had to go to the local shop to buy some.

*Source: The Toilet Paper Encyclopedia http://encyclopedia.toiletpaperworld.com/