Tri County Quarterly

Tri-County Janitorial enjoys serving the niche of routine janitorial services nightly for offices and organizations of all types in the greater Fresno and Visalia areas.  Recently, we continue to have great success cleaning religious organizations.  Although we don’t want to narrow our niche to only one type of organization, we find that we have succeeded in serving religious institutions of various types and desire any help we can be to organizations of almost all of the world’s religions.

We’d love to highlight a trip that one of our customers took to the city of my birth and where I graduated from high school, Jos, Nigeria.  Aminata Dieye from the Mennonite Central Committee recently took a trip to my beloved Nigeria.

Many of you may not know that Christians and Muslims have been embattled in a struggle and violence since before September 2001 in Jos, Nigeria.  There are so many Muslims and Christians who deserve peace there, but we mostly hear only about the violence.  It is a challenge in any organization, political or religious, to find harmony.  How much more difficult would it be in a country that is 50% Muslim and 50% Christian to live freely and in prosperity?

–This article is written in honor of my friend Stan Anderson, who was a Christian and loved Muslims.  He loved to highlight the similarities instead of the differences between Muslims and Christians.  He died recently, but was a true peacemaker and bridge builder.  He will be sorely missed.

In addition to providing quality janitorial services, Tri-County Janitorial would like to do its part to encourage Reedley College students and graduates entering the workforce.

Take a look at our LinkedIn group: Reedley College Alumni and join to support and engage Reedley College students!  Also, take a look here for more information about the group: Reedley College Alumni Group Info.

Tri-County Janitorial has launched a new safety campaign to show our dedication to safety on the job.

Please take a look at our new safety brochure here : TCJ Safety Brochure

Tri-County Janitorial’s territory is continuing to expand.  We serve the areas of Fresno, Clovis, Visalia, Tulare, Hanford, Kingsburg, Selma, Reedley, Dinuba, Sanger and more!

Thank you to all of you!  We have recently seen 4 people and in the last 6 months, 5 of you reach great anniversaries with Tri-County Janitorial.  For a small and very new company to have so many of you with tenure of 1 to 5 years is just fantastic.

We want to congratulate Katie for 5 years, Billy for 3 years, Edward for 2 ½ years, Amos for 2 years and Angie for 1 year!

We appreciate all of your hard work and understand that it is this hard work and dedication that makes Tri-County Janitorial what it is.  You have made us successful.  Keep up the great attitudes and the hard work.  You have all been helping keep our time budgets down and our efficiency and quality at a very consistent place.  Congratulations!

Mark L. Jones

Owner, Tri-County Janitorial

Today, I had a wonderful lunch with Jason Doak.  He is a former employee of Tri-County Janitorial.  It reminded me of why we do what we do here.

Jason came on board several years ago and helped us start our biggest and most challenging account.  He did a wonderful job for us.  One day he let me know that in about a month he would be giving two week notice because a dream was coming true for him to teach in South Korea.  When I heard the news, I was of course initially disappointed. I wished there was something I could offer him to stay but, this was a long time dream coming true for him so I was also quite happy for him.  I was reminded today as we ate a meal together at Deli Casa in Kingsburg that that was the last place we had sat and eaten together two years ago.  It was his last day of work and I was introducing a new company manager to him.  That was his last Mexican meal until today which was his first Mexican meal since he arrived back in the good ole USA a few days ago.

I thought I would take the opportunity, even though we had been in communication a few times over his years in South Korea, to evaluate his experience with our company.  It was quite positive.  As Jason is transitioning into another career, he may be doing some work and consulting with us on a part time basis.

How wonderful it is to hear about such continued success in the career of a Tri-County Janitorial alumni.

Sincerely,

Mark L. Jones

Owner, Tri-County Janitorial

Tri-County Janitorial will be attending a social media workshop hosted by the Kingsburg Chamber of Commerce, on March 30, 2011.  Below are details of this event for anyone who would be interested in attending.

Using Social Media to Promote Your Small Business

Regards,

Mark L. Jones

Armed with the self-assurance that comes from being right you’re less receptive to opposing views and more prone to defend your position against friend and foe alike. Be advised that once an argument starts, all learning stops. Opportunities to factor in new information are shot off, thus increasing your chances of being wrong.

Benjamin Franklin — noted inventor and founding father — had this to say about being right: “Having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller considerations, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise.”

As a visonary Ben attracted innovators and idea-makers who eagerly shared their perspectives and discoveries without fear of being rebuked or made to feel stupid.

Whenever you admit you don’t know something you’re signaling your willingness to reconsider, begin anew, examine old habits, think in new ways and acquire new skills. Educators call this the conscious incompetence stage of learning.

It’s in this growth-producing period where your needs and interests are purposefully called into questions, opened up for examination and carefully measured to determine whether or not anything is out of alignment.

Think of it as a regular maintenance check-up like you might do for your car. You learn that some parts are wearing faster than normal and need to be replaced before their failure causes serious damage farther down the road.

Once you discover what you don’t know and have taken the time to learn how to do what you didn’t know how to do before, you feel a sense of accomplishment at having mastered what you set out to achieve.

Confident now that you can handle more challenges, you’re looking forward to what life has to offer. What happens next can be thought of as the conscious competence stage — a time to show off new skills and reset your goals. This is a great place to be, which is why people like to linger here to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

As you get comfortable with your progress you tend to put yourself on automatic pilot, so sure of your ability that you can perform in your sleep. At this unconscious competence stage it’s business as usual with no thought as to what could possibly go wrong. You’re in control. Finishing a job quickly takes precedent over learning how to do it better. Whoever said, “Pride goeth before a fall” knew what was coming next.

Before long you’re back to not knowing what you don’t know and you aren’t concerned about it either. The state of unawareness is the worst place for you to be because there’s no motivation to change any poor habits you’ve acquired along the way.

What makes this unconscious incompetence stage so dangerous is that you have little concern about how others feel or pay scant attention to what they may think because you know your right and that’s what matters.

Self-examination is healthy because it stimulates growth. Walking yourself through the learning cycle is a great way to discover what’s not working in your life. The process enables you to get back on the pathway to rebuilding your competence and regaining your confidence.

Ben could have been wrong about being right, but I doubt it.

V. O. Reason

Reflections from Tri-County Janitorial Owner, Mark Jones:

Can you imagine if we all lived our lives this way?  I fall far short.  Recently, I was at a standstill and was stuck because I felt I was right about something.  This article by Voice of Reason-Tom Jones broke me loose.  Isn’t it interesting that at the cost of untold dollars, very important relationships, and even so often human life, we are so often willing to sell our souls for being right.  Can you imagine if we could ingrain the ideas from this letter into our hearts, families, and work places, the untold pain that it would save us, save our families, and even save our companies’ human resources?

–To view more from the Voice of Reason or even grade yourself on the idiot index, which I found educational for myself, go to:

http://season4reason.blogspot.com/

- Kingsburg Recorder Prints Letter to the Editor -

Restore the Train Depot!Kingsburg has been my home for 4 years. My wife was raised here and her parents were born here. We have a unique opportunity to restore a piece of Kingsburg history. The railroad has been the back bone of the agricultural industry in the past and still plays a huge role as displayed by the locations of Del Monte and Sun-Maid Raisins. Kingsburg has been debating the fate of the train depot for too long. It is time to step up to the plate!Tri-County Janitorial has pledged a percentage of its profits as a donation to the Depot.Here is a challenge for other companies to give generously to the Depot.If I can do it, you can too!Don’t let this piece of history be lost forever. When I first drove through Kingsburg in 1979 I fell in love with the beauty in the trees and the bandstand in the park – the Swedish architecture was so beautiful. Businesses and residents of Kingsburg this is your chance to make a decision in Kingsburg that will last generations and enhance the appearance of Kingsburg from the road and rail.Sincerely,Mark L. Jones Tri-County Janitorial www.tcjanitorial.com