It helps to look back at how a word came into being.
The term "janitor" has its roots in — you guessed it — Ancient Rome. The
Romans had a god for everything.
They had a God of the Sea, a God of Wine, a God of the Sun — and a God of
Doors, which is where our "janitor" came from.
Janus was a Roman deity and was considered responsible for "keeping the
doors" and watching over the keys to the house. He was in a trusted position
and made sure the house was safe for all inhabitants.
He had two faces so that he could watch in two directions. He was
responsible for seeing who came in and who left. Of course, he’s the one who
"opens the year" for us, and gives us "January".
OK, let’s bring this back to the cleaning industry.
If the origin of the word "janitor" has such high standards, what’s wrong
with using it?
Think about what a janitor does in the cleaning industry.
He (or she) ensures the building is clean and healthy for occupants. When
there is a problem with a building, it’s normally the janitor who discovers
it and makes sure the problem is solved.
How often do we read in the news that a janitor found a pipe bomb or some
other device of destruction and called the proper authorities?
How often do we recognize that it’s the janitor who keeps a building clean
and thus healthy to occupy?
True, janitorial costs are considered overhead. The janitorial staff doesn’t
generate revenue or grants. But without cleaning and maintenance, the entire
building’s productivity would plummet.
Cleaning touches everyone in the world.
So, here’s a thought for you to mull over: We see a
huge increase in security budgets but a huge decrease in cleaning budgets,
especially since 9/11. Yet the janitor (or custodian, or cleaning pro) is in
a great position to be trained to have an influence not only in the cleaning
and maintenance of a building, but in that building’s security.
At Spotless, we looked at cleaning as being more then just cleaning. We researched, studied and educated ourselves on the latest technologies and products.