Interview with Bilyana: Home Care Professional of the Year 2018
Bilyana (left) accepting her award from TidyChoice co- founder Ana (right)
The Home Care Professional of the Year Award celebrates the most skilful, professional and reliable housekeepers and child carers. The 2018 winner, Bilyana, received the most votes from customers and outstanding reviews.
We spoke to Bilyana to find out why her customers love her so much.
Hi Bilyana, congratulations on winning our Home Care Professional of the Year award 2018!
How did you feel when you found out you had won the competition?
Absolutely thrilled and surprised! (laughs) When they called me and said I was a winner, I couldn’t believe it, because I am not a lucky person.
When I told my husband that somebody had called me and told me about this award, he said are you sure? (laughs) Nobody believed it because I never win anything!
You certainly deserved this award because all of your customers voted for you! What do you think makes you good at doing the job and how do you keep customers happy?
I like to be a nice person with every customer. Every house is different, and each customer is different, so I try to be good and understand everyone.
When I go to clean a house, I feel like it is my house that I am cleaning and so I take real pride in the work that I do.
When I go into a house, sometimes it is tidy and sometimes it is a bit more messy. If it is messy, I make sure it is clean and that absolutely everything is tidied up, even if I have to stay 10 or 15 minutes more, because that is what the customer pays for.
I want all of my customers to be happy. It means a lot to me, when they say thank you, because it means I did a good job for them.
What is your favourite aspect of being a home cleaner?
The different people. All the customers are different, and I like that because from every person you can learn something. I like to spend all of life learning.
I also like when customers choose me for new bookings over other professionals that might be available. That means a lot to me. I feel very happy at that fact.
What advice would you give to other housekeepers?
All customers are different, and every house is different, so a personal approach is important. They need to feel something and to work with their hearts. This is how I like to work.
Everybody has bad moments, maybe they are not feeling too well, or something is wrong at home, but always try to do your best. You need to always give something more!
About Bilyana
Originally from Bulgaria, Bilyana studied technology and management of catering establishments in secondary school, before studying Chemistry at university. Bilyana worked as a manager in a restaurant in Sofia before moving to the UK in 2010. She worked in a hotel as a housekeeper for a year and then became a private home cleaner. She joined the TidyChoice platform in March 2017.
Outside of work, Bilyana enjoys cooking, reading and listening to music. She would love to spend all of her time with her son, but, of course, it is tricky!