Customer Spotlight: Broadway Station

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We would like to feature one of our long-time customers each month. Today, we’re spotlighting Broadway Station, an apartment complex in Grove City. Located in the heart of Grove City’s historic Town Center, there are many restaurants, cafes, theaters, and boutiques right outside your door! Amenities include Fitness Center, Club & Billiards Room, Outdoor Bocce Court & Fire Pit, & Free On-Site Parking. If you’re interested in living in this community, please reach out to Janna at broadwaystation@haddoncommunities.com or 614-412-4211.

I had the pleasure of visiting our team and chatting with Janna Hoffman, Property Manager at Broadway Station in Grove City. It’s always fun to speak with customers, especially those who have been with us since 2018!

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Brittany: You’ve been here since 2018, were you the one who hired CleanTurn initially?

Janna: I was.

Brittany: Do you remember how you found us? Why you chose us?

Janna: We were just searching for a cleaning company. We interviewed three different companies, there was just something about the first lady from CleanTurn that I met, I’m not sure who that was, but meeting her made us reach out. We went back and forth quite a bit going over specifics, we weren’t interested in a full top to bottom clean every time. CleanTurn was very accommodating and was willing to give us what we needed. The price was right.

Brittany: Being a customer for over 5 years, almost half of our existence as a company, you’ve witnessed a lot of change. Like all service-based companies, we know we don’t always get everything right. What made you stick with us through the ups and downs?

Janna: Yes, there were ups and downs. At the beginning, it felt like I never saw the same faces and I was constantly repeating myself, “you can find this here”, “look for this over here”, etc. Every time I called, there were changes made immediately. If I had a complaint, the manager was like okay, I’m on it. I think that’s why, knowing I had someone I can reach out to and say hey, I need this done and it would get done. Having a dedicated person to be the in-between.

Brittany: We love to hear that. Quality assurance is one of our main focuses. You said earlier that you really enjoy the team here today.

Janna: Yes, Andreas, the current team lead at our site, is the best. When he first started here, he wasn’t a team lead. Now that he’s promoted, he works circles around a lot of his team! It speaks volumes of a team lead too and to their crew and training. He is always asking if everything’s okay, I did this today, I did that today, etc. He’s a people pleaser and he is amazing. I think it’s imperative that the communication is there. Direct contact has been the saving grace.

Brittany: I know you’re aware of our mission. How does it come into play? Was it a reason you chose us or stick with us? Or is it just an added bonus?

Janna: I didn’t know your mission at first. One of the girls who was here when we first brought you guys on board told me her story. I don’t know how we got into it but little by little I learned her story and found out that CleanTurn gives that opportunity to people.

Brittany: We’re aware of the perception of those with a past and we work really hard to “shatter the myth” as we like to say. When you learned of our mission, was there any hesitation?

Janna: It can be a little unnerving in a property such as Broadway, but I’ve never had any issues. I’ve never had anyone say they’re out of line or they aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing. I love that about people, the idea of turning their lives around. I know people who have had struggles or are gone that never turned their lives around and I think to have a company that is willing to give them a chance when so many companies look down on them is great. Even trying to get housing, it’s horrible. Everybody deserves a second chance and I love that you guys are about that. There are so many great people who have come from the bottom. You’re going to make me emotional!

Brittany: It’s definitely emotional to think of the opportunities kept from those with a past. But it’s not just us that are changing lives. We wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for businesses like yours willing to take a chance and partner with us.

Janna: We’re happy to help. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn the stories of the teams.

 

Understanding “Second” Chances

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There she was. Knees to chest. Curled up like a ball. Crying. Sitting in the darkness of the closet. She knew something was drastically not right, but what was it? She was five years old or so. Her mother was addicted to crack. Her body was used to helping her mother with money, but what this meant at that time in her mind was a mystery. As she grew, she developed her own addictions to help cope with the multitude of conflicting emotions and the impact of unspeakable trauma. She became homeless. She eventually ended up in prison. She entered into a recovery program and received counseling. She eventually found her way to an interview for a job looking for a career.

Would we call this a “second chance?” Perhaps what she was really looking for and needing was a legitimate first chance? Perhaps, a “Fair Chance?”

The language has evolved over the years, but what was commonly referred to as “second chance employment” was a quick and easy way to talk about giving folks who have been in jail or prison an opportunity to be employed post release. Once a person has “done their time” they should be granted an opportunity to earn a living. A simple search for “Second Chance Employment” or “Fair Chance Employment” will reveal a lively discussion of which is best.

I recently read a post by an individual who had spent time incarcerated regarding the discussion. He was straight to the point. I committed a crime. I knew what I did was wrong. I did time. I now want a “second chance.” What is fair or not fair was really irrelevant to him. What he was asking for was grace to receive what he felt he was not entitled but longed for: a second chance!

Over the years, I have seen situations where what one is asking for is neither a first or a second chance – but a third, fourth or fifth!

In a sense, if we were to be genuinely authentic in our self- assessment, it is this latter category that we fall into. We are complicated. At our core, something is drastically wrong, and for this reason we are not able to be as consistent, hopeful, joyful, loving, patient, kind, forgiving, caring, as (forget the standard of others) we ourselves want to be. We are left with the question of “what is it that we truly desire?”, when what we desire is manifested in two different responses, behaviors, habits of the mind, etc. so often. One area where this inconsistency is most noticeable is the desire to receive both justice and mercy, while remaining hellbent with respect to our desire to withhold mercy toward others. Why?

Is it fear? Pride? Some combination of the two? Or perhaps it is too complicated. It takes too long. Why would I take the time to hear your story? To hear how things took place according to your experience? Far easier to categorize, label and dispense accordingly. This makes life so simple. Or does it?

The challenge and opportunity inherent in “second chance” or “fair chance” employment is not about ignoring or deleting the past but embracing it with the recognition that it enforms who I am but it doesn’t dictate who I am. Ironically, within the “social justice” space where “love” is the most overused word, mercy can be hard to find.

For these reasons, and many others, at CleanTurn, we want to pursue social justice, we want safe communities, we invite accountability and structure. We also believe these pursuits will find their greatest realization within a framework that is full of grace, mercy, and a firm conviction that our past informs who we are, but it doesn’t dictate who we are. By creating space for community within the broader geographic “community” of Columbus, where justice’s weight and glory is its intrinsic mercy, empathy and hope, we can be open to “fair chances,” second, third and fourth… chances or whatever language we might choose.