Fish Stands Strong With Boca After The Storm
By Shawn Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
Hurricane Irma had long-lasting effects on much of South Florida, yet Fish Window Cleaning of Boca Raton has done their best to help the community find a spotless normalcy once more.
Founded in 1978, Fish Window Cleaning’s mission is to help those whose windows, whether for their homes, businesses or any other venture, need extra shine or cleanliness. But as many prepared for the projected Category-4 storm, the company saw an expected downturn in available cleaning opportunities.
Likewise, very little window restoration could occur immediately following Hurricane Irma, due to power and phone line outages. Still, owner Kim Canavan knew her duty amidst the whirling chaos outside.
For Canavan, her core team is of the utmost importance to her success as an operator. Because without the team, no business would be accomplished. When the office was closed for the Friday prior to the historic storm and the Monday following, she still saw the need to pay her entire staff, as if it had been a typical business day.
“We [do not] want them to take a big hit, or for them to feel the hurricane will be any worse than it is on their paycheck,” said Canavan.
Beyond the rough, two-day stretch of weather for South Florida, Canavan knew what was on the horizon. Due to the torrential weather, numerous houses in their system would need their cleaning to be redone. As such, their office quickly became swamped with homes and businesses needing immediate restoration.
Nonetheless, Canavan knew her responsibility to her team, allowing one of her most experienced cleaners to return home to Haiti in the Irma aftermath. Certainly, this left a massive gap in her staffing amidst the seemingly endless jobs piling up in the Boca Raton Blvd. office. Continuing her warm-hearted impulses, though, she used this opportunity to help other window cleaners in the area.
“We pulled in other window cleaners, especially those unable to work due to power outages across local counties,” said Canavan. “I saw it as an opportunity to help our little community in whatever way possible.”
As for Post-Irma cleaning, Fish has done a sound job ensuring their customers felt an unmatched level of support. For example, if they could not get to a certain job, due to any variety of storm-related factors, they gave free cleans to customers. Canavan has also pulled in other local Fish branches to help restore the community.
Many of the hurricane cleanup jobs have taken place at Lynn, including their recently opened Mary and Harold Perper Residence Hall. In essence, cleaning at Lynn has truly shown what Fish cares about the most.
“While we absolutely take pride in our cleaning, we take pride in our community above all else,” said Beverly Johnson, Fish administrative assistant. “We are not satisfied until the community shines bright.”
Moving forward, Fish is on the horizon of their busiest season, further emphasizing their staffing needs in the coming months. As they give back to the community following Irma, Canavan is also actively reaching out to the college community for job opportunities. As an employer, she has seen the value in young adult workers, insisting on aiding their growth while working with their hectic schedules.
For employment opportunities with Fish, visit wantagreatjob.com and select the Boca Raton location.
