Jay McMillan of Royal Services is a long-standing member of the Ferndale community. Having been a Ferndale resident for twenty years, as well as serving on many community boards, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Ferndale DDA, his identity as business owner stems from his long-standing connection to the community. His company, Royal Services, specializes in cleaning, professional floor care, and supports the green clean movement. Their detail-oriented, hands-on approach provides customers with a clean work environment of the highest professional standards and levels of dedication.
"Our company tagline is, ‘We make great first impressions,’ and we’ve been striving for that goal for sixteen years now. Originally, I came from corporate America, where I was for over twenty years. After that experience, I decided I wanted to open my own company.
Royal Services started from the ground up. I chose Ferndale because that’s where I live; it was my home base for many years. I initially started running the company out of my home. However, I had a moment, about five years ago, where I felt that I needed to completely change my quality of life. Given that I was working from home, it was challenging to have that distinction between work and home life. So, I ended up leasing a small local office, which helped alleviate some pressure by allowing me to delegate more specific operating procedures and hire more staff.
When you’re a small business just starting off, you’re responsible for almost everything. That inspired the idea behind our business tagline, ‘We make great first impressions.’ I would always look at the space I was cleaning – an office, for instance – and I would make sure the quality of the space was great upon completion. If I was impressed, I knew the client would be the next day. So, that’s where that idea came from – giving great first impressions."
"There have been many shifts and adjustments we’ve had to make regarding COVID-19. For instance, our staff always wears gloves and masks, and goes through every surface to ensure it is as clean and disinfected as possible. Weirdly, it’s almost created a larger opportunity for us, but down a different path. A lot of companies are reaching out to us to help disinfect their office spaces. However, some other services we offer, such as floor care, have declined significantly. Given the restrictions on budgets, particularly for companies who are temporarily suspending services, floor care is not a top priority. However, I would like to emphasize that this is a perfect time to have your floors done, as there is significantly less traffic among usually populated areas.
Essentially, what we’re trying to emphasize is that Royal Services is here to help your business. Regardless of whether your business is open and operating, or temporarily closed, we are still here to help clean, no matter what your course of action is."
"The isolation part of this whole experience is very weird. I’m making more of an effort to reach out and check on how others are doing. I’ve had other people do the same for me. When I heard my gym was closing due to COVID-19, I immediately grabbed my bike and took it to a repair shop. I was able to get out and ride about five miles yesterday. Last summer, for instance, I rode about 800 miles. I’m excited for the weather to get nicer so I can continue. It’s something I’ve discovered that I really enjoy."
Royal Services also partners with Easterseals, an American 5013 nonprofit providing disability services, with additional support areas serving veterans and military families, seniors, and caregivers. Their communities serve individuals through high-quality programs, including autism services, early intervention, workforce development, adult daycare, and more.
“I can credit my involvement with Easterseals to a local event I attended from the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce. It was at the event that I met a representative of the company, and am still working closely with them three years later. It has been a great opportunity for me to find more employees, and I’m always looking for more. One of the individuals that were brought to us asked if we were ‘felon friendly.’ This allowed me to take a step back and think, ‘Everyone deserves a chance.’ We’ve been working with him for a while now, and he is an incredible person. We’ve since reached out to Easterseals for more opportunities with potential employees, and they’ve proven to be very dependable. We feel that it’s a very valuable resource, not only as an employer, but for those who are unfortunately overlooked for employment opportunities. We all deserve a chance to earn a living and be productive in our lives, and Easterseals has allowed us that opportunity to provide that to our employees.”
"Our green cleaning is an ‘a la carte’ item. If someone requests a green cleaning, we can do this for almost every service, with the exception of floor care. Unfortunately, the chemicals that are required to strip and finish the floor do not fall into the ‘green’ requirements. However, as far as access to green cleaning chemicals, there is a different methodology to that approach. For instance, we now use almost exclusively microfibers in our cleaning. This includes microfiber mop heads, as opposed to cotton, because we can reuse them. We can wash them, launder them, and put them back into service. We also only use backpack vacuums. They are a much more efficient way to clean and provide higher quality.
I typically push the concept of green cleaning more if we’re cleaning a fitness center or yoga studio, for example. This is not only beneficial to that particular setting, but is also useful for their marketing. Though it is not always the most cost-effective option for every client, we still like to make it known that the option is always there if they need it. It improves our quality of work overall.”
To learn more about Royal Services, visit their website.
If you’d like to open in Ferndale, check out our “Who to Call” page to learn just what to do next!
City of Ferndale, Michigan
300 East Nine Mile Road
Ferndale, Michigan 48220
