After replacing L & M Cleaning Inc. in August, Sinclair Community College’s new cleaning crew – GCA Services Inc. – has had to work hard to prove themselves to Sinclair faculty, according to its Department Manager Johnny Probus.
“L & M had a lot more staff during the daytime,” Probus said. “Because people used to see them more they thought more things were getting done.”
Probus said most of GCA’s major cleaning gets done at night so they can clean while there are considerably less people on campus. Probus said all the chemicals used by GCA are environmentally friendly and the switch in cleaning companies saves Sinclair more than $1 million a year, according to Sinclair.edu. Probus said the responsibilities of GCA’s 73 employees are to clean everything from the ceiling to the floor.
“The biggest challenge (of the job) is to keep up with demands,” said GCA day shifter Ben Faircloth. “A lot of times you could be cleaning one bathroom and you might get a call that there’s an emergency in another bathroom. That right there, it can be a little hectic.”
Faircloth, nicknamed “Washcloth” by his co-workers because of how well he cleans, said he feels like his job is very important because he thinks a clean environment helps bring out healthy behavior. Faircloth has been working for GCA for approximately eight months and said one key to his success is his outgoing personality.
“I’m from the South,” Faircloth said. “In the South everybody is your friend until they prove you otherwise.”
Faircloth said that attitude benefits him because if somebody from GCA misses a spot the faculty will just ask him to take care of it instead of calling management. GCA Supervisor Beverly Coleman worked for L & M last year when she was a crewmember and she said GCA communicates a lot better with employees and offers more room for advancement.
“(GCA’s) doors are always open. You can call them anytime and speak to them and that’s what we didn’t have with L & M at all period,” Coleman said. “You couldn’t even have (your boss’s) contact numbers if you needed to speak to them.”
Williams takes classes at Sinclair and said her major, Mental Health, helped her advance within the company because it’s taught her how to deal with different personalities. Another reason Williams enjoys GCA is because of Probus’ willingness to come out and clean with the rest of the crew when they’re short-handed.
“My biggest thing is to make (Sinclair) clean not just for me and my family – my wife attends school here – but for everybody so they can feel like they’re coming to the cleanest and nicest college in Ohio or in the United States,” Probus said. “I want them to feel that way.”
Probus said while GCA is starting to get better feedback from faculty, they are still trying to improve. Probus holds a weekly meeting to advise his staff on cleaning tips and safety issues, as well as sending out surveys to faculty to get comment on how well they’re performing their job.
“We’re not trying to hide anything here,” Probus said. “Our door (in Building 5, Room 013) is always open.”