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Our Integrity web team stumbled across this Asian chain of TOILET themed restaurants. Do you think they refer to their dishwashers as janitors? They are technically cleaning toilets…
"Other janitorial companies taint the industry's reputation, creating disappointment by over-promising and underperforming. But Integrity Construction Maintenance, Inc. in Sebastopol CA is known for satisfying its clients." - Prime Buyer's Report
Build It. Clean It. Maintain It. All With Integrity.
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Green Business Solution: Dispensers
In most circumstances, Integrity Construction Maintenance, Inc. offers dispensers installation complimentary to clients for whom we supply janitorial consumables.
1.) Roll towels:
Consider changing your paper towel dispensers from multifold towels to controlled-use roll towel dispensers. Green Seal estimates this change will reduce usage by 25-35%. These towels also require restocking less frequently, cutting back on labor.
2.) Foam Soap:
Switching from liquid to foam soap is another way to reduce usage. Foam soap requires less product per hand wash, does not drip like liquid, and conserves water due to a reduction in both lather time—the soap dispenses as a lather, and rinse time—liquid soaps adhere to the skin, requiring greater effort to remove residue.
3.) Toilet paper dispensers:
Dual roll sliding toilet paper dispensers are ideal for decreasing usage in that they encourage the completion of full rolls, versus the standard dispensers in which rolls are changed out when low. They also prevent supply pilfering in public restrooms.
Client Spotlight: Mid-century Dining at Midtown Café
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Our construction division recently had the honor of working with a Sonoma County institution, Chris Clemons of Pengrove’s Super Burger, on his latest venture. Midtown Café, located on 4th Street in Santa Rosa (across from the original Super Burger), is an homage to decades past, when meals were a social event and food was fresh and made with pride.
Looking for a place to take a working lunch break? Take advantage of free Wi-Fi while washing the “Gobble Pipe”, their popular Thanksgiving-inspired sandwich of turkey, brie, caramelized onion, and cranberry mustard aioli, down with a classic, glass-bottle Coke. Want to watch a football game before the sports bars open? With hours from 7 am– 3pm, enjoy their big screen TV and a “Sueyside”, the best-selling stack of 5 pancakes layered with ham, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and fried egg.
Job foreman Greg Garrison was impressed with Chris’s passion for creating a unique dining experience. The kitchen is open so you can see your sandwiches being made fresh to order. The walls are hung with vintage advertisements and flapper art above period-perfect wainscoting. Dining tables include classic games like dominoes and conversation starting books like “Would You Rather?” They also stock a library of autographed books from local authors (they host book signings monthly).
A true supporter of local businesses, Midtown Café makes all sandwiches on Pengrove-baked Full Circle bread, brews locally roasted fair-trade organic coffees and teas, and has local beers on tap. Their free range turkey and beef are roasted in house, where they also make their corned beef. Enjoy!
Cleaning as Art?
Our company president always says that maintaining a facility properly takes a trained eye, artistic talent, and vision. In fact, we ‘eye test’ each new janitorial trainee and provide them with specific guidance on how to develop that Integrity vision. Therefore seeing these ads for a French paper towel manufacturer made us smile. They get us. The tagline translates “The Domestic Art”.
Photos borrowed from adsoftheworld.com
It Starts At Home: Go Local This Holiday Season
The Bay Area’s mild climate and rich culinary culture combine to produce some of the finest local foods in the world. In 2005, four San Francisco foodies founded the “Locavore” movement, pledging to maintain a 100-mile diet, eating only foods that grew within 100-miles of their homes. A TIME Magazine article on the movement stated: “Food sold in U.S. supermarkets averages some 1,500 miles from farm to plate.” Not only does this cause unnecessary pollution, the foods require preservatives and additives to survive the travel time. Committing to eating locally is committing to freshness, quality, and support of our incredible community.
Several members of the Integrity team are member of the Laguna Farm co-operative in Sebastopol, where we pick-up biweekly boxes of fresh, organic produce. Outside of Sonoma County, the Locavores website has a “food web links” section to help locate farmers’ markets (their favorite is at Ferry Market Plaza in San Francisco), farms, and grocery brands produced locally—such as Point Reyes’ Cowgirl Creamery, and Marshall’s Straus Organics, and of course, our area’s plentiful selection of local wines.
Looking for a holiday turkey?
Willie Bird of Santa Rosa has been raising poultry for 75 years, and their free-range offerings will make you quickly forget the usual Butterball (which doesn’t have a single production plant in the western United States).
What about baked goods?
Integrity favorite J.M Rosen’s of Petaluma makes cheesecakes and desserts (see above) so divine that Frank Sinatra had a standing weekly order of four cakes. Available at Whole Foods Market, their seasonal offerings include pumpkin, cranberry, and eggnog cheesecakes. We also recommend La Boulange Bakery, with locations in San Francisco, Marin, and the East Bay (Whole Foods also sells their cookie dough if you want to impress friends with “home-baked” goodies). They use only organic coffee and espresso and recyclable or compostable packaging.
Integrity is proud to support local vendors, local industry, and the satisfied taste-buds of your clients, guests, and families. We wish you a blessed and delicious holiday season!
World Toilet Day
Tomorrow, November 19th, is World Toilet Day. According to the World Toilet Organization, this day is “celebrated in over 19 countries with over 51 events being hosted by various water and sanitation advocates.”
“World Toilet Organization created WTD to raise global awareness of the struggle 2.6 billion face every day without access to proper, clean sanitation. WTD also brings to the forefront the health, emotional and psychological consequences the poor endure as a result of inadequate sanitation.”
Integrity is a proud sponsor of 17 children in under-privileged areas around the globe. Check out World Vision’s photo blog, linked to below, on the efforts they’ve made to provide children around the globe with a safe, sanitary place to “do their business”.
New York City Construction Worker Sings Frank Sinatra
A few weeks ago we shared a video of a singing janitor who was featured on Rachael Ray’s show. But Integrity Construction Maintenance, Inc. is much more than a janitorial company, and a singing laborer representing one of our other areas of expertise, construction, also caught Ms. Ray’s attention. Watch Gary Russo sing “The Summer Wind” on 2nd Avenue below… and visit our construction page to view our full range of services from that division!
Seasonal Service Suggestions: Autumn property management tips
As the leaves turn red and gold, and Indian Summer gives way to the cool of autumn, it is important to prepare your facility for the harsher elements of the coming months.
Doors and windows:
Re-caulking gaps around doors and windows prevents water damage and insulates your facility against drafts, resulting in lower heating costs. It is also wise to check the glazing putty which serves to seal a window into its frame.
Gutters & Downspouts:
Gutters and down spouts need to be cleared regularly through the autumn months. Gutter-cleaning neglect is linked to such facility issues as wood rot, pest infestation, and foundation damage.
HVAC Maintenance:
It may have been some time since you’ve turned on your furnace, which means ducts filters and filter have accumulated dust and particulates that can cause odor and respiratory issues. Be sure to schedule a full maintenance service to test accuracy, detect damage, and check for carbon monoxide leaks.
Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors:
California law requires a working carbon monoxide detector. Test batteries and function for these and your smoke detectors.
Landscape & Yard Work:
In autumn, grass slows its growth upward as the roots grow deeper to prepare for winter. This creates the ideal conditions for fertilizing and reseeding your lawn.
Finally, don’t forget to trim tree limbs that hang near power lines or your facility’s roof, before storms turn them to hazards.
If you require these tasks, please contact our Float Division. We look forward to serving your autumn season.
Green Business Solutions – Lighting
A U.S. Department of Energy Survey discovered that lighting accounts for 29% of energy usage in an office. Light is necessary to remain productive, but there are ways to minimize the energy it requires:
1. Light exit signs with lower energy bulbs such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), light emitting diodes (LEDs), neon lighting, etc. Replacing tungsten bulbs with CFLs makes an immediate cost savings of between 50-80%, and CFLs last up to 10 times longer.
2. Replace T-12 fluorescent lamps with T-8 lamps for improved color, less flickering and 20% lower energy use.
3. Consider occupancy sensors for areas of the office that aren’t used as much, such as the break or conference room—We will gladly install these.
Don’t forget to have Integrity recycle old bulbs for you!
High School Janitor Sees Jersey Retired
Greensboro, NC — There’s a man roaming the halls of a local high school and none of the students know who he is. They might know his name, but what they don’t know is the man they see every day pushing a broom and cleaning their toilets is a legend. Friday night, the janitor, the man who is Smith High School’s single greatest athlete, will stand in front of a football stadium full of people and receive an honor more than 30-years overdue. The humble custodian, Charles Wright, will have his football jersey retired.
Wright is hard to miss. He stands 6-feet-7-inches tall. He was an all-American in football and basketball at Smith High. No athlete there had ever done that before, and none has done it since. ”I’ve never been a bragger, but don’t get me wrong inside I’m proud,” said Wright. Wright is the school’s only two sport all-American.
His humble and powerful story that took him from a prized college athlete to his fateful decision to walk away from it all and pick up a broom is nothing short of amazing. Charles Wright graduated in ’75 – - with his eyes on making it big in football or basketball. But life and an immature decision robbed the rare two-sport all American of that choice. Two years into college he got a girl pregnant. With no money – - he had to come home. “I had to get a job. I had to get some money. And what better place they gave me a chance to do this at Smith High School.”
So in 1977, hands that once carried footballs across the goal line and dunked basketballs, started pushing a broom. ”I don’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that it happened, but I never regretted it after my son was born,” shared Wright.
“This is just like home,” Wright said looking around the entrance to the school. With students willing to listen, he shares the lessons life taught him. ”That’s why I try to talk to kids about different things now you know.” Although many barely know his name. Freshman getting ready for football practice had no clue their janitor once played football and basketball for their school. We told them he’s the school’s only student athlete to become an all American in two sports. ”You can do that too. Just go out and work hard,” Wright told them.
“What he shows them is no matter what you do in life, you do it your best,” said Rodney Brewington, Smith High’s Head Football Coach. ”That’s what he does around here.”
“I learned my destiny is mine. Anything I do in life I’ve got to deal with it. I’ve got to take responsibilities for it,” concluded Wright.
Friday night, destiny will finally find Charles Wright. Smith High School honored him by retiring his #87 football jersey. Wright also served as an honorary captain for the game. He said the ceremony was a thrill. ”I enjoy the opportunity to represent Smith High School. Always will,” said Wright. Charles Wright, the legend, finally known.
This article was taken from digtriad.com.
