An important message regarding our services during COVID-19 Home About Us About Poppies Domestic Cleaning Services Who Are Poppies? Poppies is a cleaning service with a difference – a lot of differences actually! At Poppies, we are truly passionate about what we do, and are proud to be able to offer our bespoke services across the UK. With a team of hard-working, dedicated and experienced cleaners, we are one of the premier providers of domestic and commercial cleaning services. We work closely with every single one of our clients to give real value and a service that actually makes a difference. We pride ourselves on our dedicated approach to every single project, and offer a bespoke service that is completely tailored to you and your needs. Our staff are all consistent and permanent, so you can feel confident that when you use our service, your home will be cleaned to the same high standard every time. Our high-quality service and passionate mentality mean we’re well loved by our clients across the country, and it’s the reason we’ve been helping make life easier for them since 1980. Search for your local Poppies Search Early Success As the business grew Sue opened a major new branch in Newcastle. She attended evening classes at Durham University Business School where one of the lecturers told her about Franchising. This inspired Sue to develop her business into a Franchise operation so that others could buy into and benefit from her successful business format. As a Female Northern Entrepreneur Sue became quite a local celebrity and was one of a handful of business people invited to meet Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street. The very next day one national newspapers printed the story of “Mrs T meeting Mrs Mopps” Find your local Poppies outlet & book in your clean Our Locations Change of Business Name & Franchising The publicity caused someone to see the opportunity to make a legal claim for using a similar business name. Sue decided to change the name of her company to Poppies. By calling staff Poppies (because they pop in and out) Sue hoped that people would soon prefer to ask for a Poppie rather than just a “cleaner”. After 4 years of successful trading Sue sold her first Franchise in 1984. The owner of that business is still our Franchisee. Sue believed that a Franchise was the best method for Poppies. To be successful each outlet needs someone to take responsibility for the staff and the service. Standards have to be set and maintained, problems solved, mistakes and misunderstandings professionally dealt with. A local person, committed to their own business but with support and back up from a growing network of experienced colleagues seemed then and now to give clients and staff the best of all worlds. Poppies creates businesses as well as jobs and provides a valuable and in increasingly necessary service. In 198? Sue was recommended for an MBE by then prime minister John Major for “Services to Domiciliary Care”. Always a Northerner at heart Sue arranged for the award ceremony to take place in County Durham. The honour was presented to Sue by the Lord Lieutenant acting on behalf of her Majesty the Queen. Find your local poppies branch today: Search The Poppies Approach Ever since the first idea in founder Sue Rorstad’s kitchen, Poppies has been a cleaning company with a difference. Our reputation for high-quality cleaning and a willingness to go the extra mile for our customers every single day has been an integral part of our business since the very beginning, and we’re proud to say we’ve kept our values and commitment the same for the last 40 years. As one of the country’s premier cleaning services, quality of care, attention to detail and consistently great results are what we strive to deliver for each and everyone one of our clients, and it’s why they’re so happy with our services. We’re flexible to the needs of our clients and do our best to ensure they always get the same “Poppie”, allowing our staff and clients to build strong, trusting relationships. This also ensures that our team can deliver an efficient, seamless and consistent cleaning session that you don’t need to spend any of your valuable time worrying about. We’re incredibly proud of the work we do and the team we have and are committed to always providing an exemplary service that genuinely makes a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of our clients. Poppies Cleaning for You At Poppies, we offer our clients a wide range of cleaning and domestic services to allow them to spend their time on the things that matter most, leaving cleaning, laundry, ironing and more to the experienced Poppies team. Our most popular service is our regular housework offering, which gives you the opportunity to have a completely customised, bespoke cleaning plan that makes sense for you, your family and your lifestyle. With this service, you’ll receive a bespoke cleaning plan based on discussions with you and an in-person visit to your home, so we can truly get to know you and your home before creating the best possible plan to keep your time free for the important things. Some of our locations also offer quick and simple laundry services as a part of our regular housework service, to help minimise the amount of time you spend looking after your clothes, and maximise the time you can spend looking after your family, your friends, your hobbies or simply relaxing after a busy day. These services are also available to help regularly maintain your second home and keep it clean, fresh and prepared for whenever you need it. We also offer one-off/spring cleaning services and moving home services to get that sparkling Poppies clean without a long-term commitment — perfect for preparing for that big event, moving into a new home or simply having an annual clearout! As well as our cleaning services, we can offer temporary or ongoing help and independent living assistance to clients who need an extra helping hand. We work with elderly clients who want an extra pair of hands to help them stay in their own home, clients with disabilities who want to live their life independently and those recovering from illness or injury to help ease the load in more difficult times. No matter what kind of help, support or service you need from us, your Poppies team will work tirelessly to create a bespoke plan that works perfectly for you, and give you back time to spend on the things you care about the most. Working With Poppies We know that experienced domestic operatives are rare gems, which is why we are so passionate about giving our staff a working environment that is safe, secure, flexible and rewarding. Maintaining great relationships with our staff means a more positive, co-operative and rewarding work environment for both our management teams and their employees. All Poppies staff in every one of our 22 locations are employed directly by us, a rarity in the industry where many highly experienced workers with passion and dedication for their work are forced to work on a gig basis or become self-employed. This means that when it comes to holidays, sickness, work issues and more, Poppies are in a position to make arrangements that make sense for our employees as well as our clients. Everyone who works for Poppies, gets all the same benefits as an employee in any other industry, including paid holidays, sick days, opportunities for career advancement, conflict resolution, experience working with a close-knit team and support in all aspects of their work. Our hiring strategy is based on finding talented, experienced and passionate domestic workers who have a background in the industry and are interested in long-term employment. We know the value of brilliant staff is absolutely unrivalled, which is why we are so strong in our commitment to treat every single employee fairly and with great respect for the work that they do. Our staff regularly build genuine relationships with our clients, meaning a commitment to long-term, regular employment is incredibly important to our teams. Fortunately, many of our Poppies stay with us for many years due to the flexible packages and excellent employment standards we offer to all of our employees. Sue Rorstad knew the value of hard work and dedication, and it’s something that has stayed with us for the past 40 years, through all manner of changes in the market, the economy, industry and the world as a whole. To find out more about our story, or how Poppies can help you and your family, find your local branch or contact us for more information. Contact Us The Present and The Future Sadly Sue Rorstad is no longer with us. After a long fight against Cancer, Sue passed away on New Year’s Day 2015. A woman of many achievements, Sue was most pleased that through Franchising Poppies has been able to create so many jobs. In particular, it has created hundreds of permanent, part-time and flexible jobs. These jobs give mums with school-age children the chance to earn money and still meet their family commitments. This is a practical form of Work – Life balance. Above all Sue wanted her business to recognise, respect and value its employees. She thought of Poppies as much more than “just cleaners” and believed in the need to reward people properly for their commitment as well as the jobs they do. All our staff are expected to care about the client as well as their property giving practical support to each individual wherever and whenever they need it the most. Demand for help at home is growing as busy working people and families juggle with competing pressures on their time and others strive to stay independent in their own homes for as long as possible despite illness, accident or old age. If it is to provide a consistent and reliable service, no professional organisation can expect employees to subsidise the service they provide. For example, Poppies staff have to travel between properties – often in their own vehicles. Staff have to be reimbursed for the cost of such travel and pay needs to take account of the time it takes for them to travel to and from a client’s house not just for the hours they spend working in compliance with NMW regulations. Poppies’ clients share our belief in a fair deal for employees seeing this as important and valid as fair trade is for farmers at home as well as abroad. If we truly aim to provide our clients with a high quality, professional and consistent service then we have to start by treating our employees in the same way. This was the philosophy of our founder and remains so today. IN MEMORY SUE RORSTAD MBE 1953 -2015 " Just wanted to say a big thank you 4 saving me the hassle and stress. You’ve done a fantastic job and I’ve been telling everyone what a god send you lot are! " - MN (Lathom) FAQs FAQS – REGULAR CLIENTS What if I need to change my cleaning Service? What happens when ‘My Poppie’ is away? Who will clean my house? When can I have my home cleaned? Do I need to be home when you call? Do I have to sign a contract? What if something is broken or damaged? How much does it cost? Cancellations What if I don’t get on with a member of staff? What if I have items of special value? Accident or Injury I am at home but need to leave sooner than I expected? How Do I pay for my Regular Service? Do Poppies Supply cleaning products and Equipment? Find your local Poppies Search Client Testimonials " Just wanted to say a big thank you 4 saving me the hassle and stress. You’ve done a fantastic job and I’ve been telling everyone what a god send you lot are! " - MN (Lathom) Find the closest Poppies branch to you: Search Our Locations Bay & Lakes Chester Chichester Cumbria Doncaster Durham Exeter Guildford Leeds NW Liverpool Chesterfield & Mansfield Mercia Newcastle Peak District Sheffield Stockport South Tyne & Wear Wilmslow, Alderley Edge & Macclesfield Wirral West Lancs, Southport & Formby Site Links Our Services Our Locations About Us Jobs Blog Contact Us Our Services Regular Housework One-Off / Spring Cleaning Services Laundry & Ironing Light Commercial Cleaning Independent Living Assistance Temporary Help Moving Home Second Home Services Privacy & Data Cookies policy Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Contact Us EMAIL US admin@poppies.co.uk CALL US 01297 560460 FIND US 71 Burscough Street Ormskirk Lancashire L39 2EL 2021 Poppies (UK) Limited (Company No: 02044886). Website Design & Marketing by: Embryo Digital. “Poppies” is a registered trade mark. Each outlet is owned and operated under license from Poppies (UK) Ltd.