Our Man About Town
Where once stood the internationally renowned vinegar works of Hill, Evans Co Ltd. now stands a more modern landmark, the Cushman & Wakefield managed St Martins Quarter, a £75 million shopping complex unveiled in 2012 that sees some 35,000 people pass through it each week, with further development to the site planned in the near future.
This historic part of Worcester has a very interesting past as Hill, Evans Co Ltd established themselves here back in the 1830’s and soon became the world’s largest producers of vinegar. They continued to expand the site over the following decades to the turn of the century, building numerous external buildings which can still be seen today, as well as underground ‘Vaults’ used for storage, which span over 14,500 sq ft and make for breath-taking viewing.
A man who knows this site like the back of his hand is Rob Carling the full time Cleaning Supervisor for the estate. Originally from Birmingham, Rob moved to Worcester over 20 years ago to work as a Chef before applying for his cleaning role at St Martins Quarter 5 years ago after hearing of the vacancy from a friend. Rob’s bubbly personality and work ethic shone through and once hired by his previous employers immersed himself in every aspect of his cleaning duties, as well as the unique history of the site!
Following on from our successful tender with Cushman & Wakefield where St Martins Quarter was part of a 16 contract portfolio win in April 2019, we were absolutely delighted to welcome Rob into our team. Contract Manager, Jane Shields first met Rob during the critical TUPE consultation process period and was immediately taken by firstly his immense enthusiasm for St Martins Quarter and its decorated past, and secondly his knowledge of the cleaning duties that are carried out on-site each day.
As an organisation we are totally employee orientated, ‘our people are our business’ and we understand that it is our frontline cleaning staff that play the most important role in our long term success and we fully appreciate the need to incorporate new staff joining our organisation whether that be via TUPE or not, into our unique company ethos. Rob was able to see this operate at first hand, commenting:
“I did some research before meeting Jane and other key members of the we clean management team, as I wanted to know what kind of organisation I was potentially joining. By checking out their website plus social media activity and speaking to friends and family back in Birmingham I learnt that they had a very good reputation and weren’t the same as many other cleaning companies. They put the Operative first which I really liked.”
As Location Manager for this mixed retail shopping outlet Rob together with his team of 4 week day / weekend operatives play a pivotal role in the daily maintenance and upkeep of this popular, public venue. For Contract Manager Jane Shields it was critical that Rob and the team were provided with the right tools for the job from the very outset which included the supply of an Industrial Pedestrianised ‘Green Machine’ Sweeper specifically designed for the upkeep of outdoor shopping malls. In addition Rob was provided with a fully portable Industrial Jet washer for the wash down of paved areas particularly important when dealing with the aftermath of a busy Worcester nightlife weekend, whilst the Glasdon Spaceliner TM assists with the ongoing collection of waste and other debris.
All the team were provided with brand new corporate uniform together with specific Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to ensure the maximum protection for the staff in line with our comprehensive site Risk Assessment of the complex and the cleaning methodologies involved in maintaining cleaning standards across all areas.
Rob was incredibly impressed and delighted with the extent of materials and equipment provided by we clean at the start of the contract and genuinely appreciated that such support would allow him and the team to consistently meet the diverse cleaning specification at St Martins Quarter commenting:
“My shift here starts at 6 in the morning where I’ll generally be out with the Pedestrianised Sweeper or jet washing the pavements or shop fronts down whilst it is nice and quiet! However, later in the day I’ll be out litter picking, and it gives me a real sense of pride to know that I’m contributing positively to a part of the town that I love so much. I really enjoy my job, not only from a cleaning perspective but also the constant interaction with the public and the other various stakeholders across the complex, I genuinely want to represent the company in the best possible manner.”
So if you’re ever passing through St Martins Quarter, be sure to keep an eye out for, Our Man about Town!
