John and Melanie Michalik are one of our many great stories at Aire-Master. They’ve enjoyed a growing Aire-Master franchise for over 15 years. In fact, they’ve just reached a new level in Aire-Master’s Million Dollar Club for reaching $4,000,000 in sales!
It all began in the Spring of 1999, when John and Melanie relocated to Delaware. John was excited about a new job opportunity awaiting him, while Melanie was uncertain of what there was for her. She began looking for new employment but was quickly discouraged when nothing seemed to click.
It was then that a former coworker of John’s encouraged them to contact Terry Cole, an Aire-Master franchisee in New Jersey. Terry would be able to talk with them about Aire-Master and show them the franchise system and how it worked. John and Melanie would then be able to decide if operating their own Aire-Master franchise would be a good fit for them.
After making contact, Terry invited Melanie on a “ride-along” to allow her to experience what a typical service day with Aire-Master was like. Melanie really enjoyed the route, the service, and meeting the Aire-Master customers. She immediately knew this was something she could do and enjoy doing. So John and Melanie contacted Aire-Master and the recruitment process began. After meeting with the people at the corporate office, Melanie said, “I was very impressed!” And Aire-Master was impressed with John and Melanie, too! They were eventually approved and gladly welcomed into the Aire-Master system.
During the years of building their franchise, many highlights stand out for them. One that Melanie enjoys sharing was the time they were servicing the restrooms in a popular fast food restaurant. While there, they found a distraught elderly woman standing outside the restrooms. John and Melanie asked her what was wrong. The woman told them her husband, who suffered with Alzheimer’s, hadn’t come out of the men’s room. Reluctant to go into the men’s room herself, she was very concerned that he might have become confused and not know where he was.
John and Melanie told the woman not to worry — they would go in and check on him. Sure enough, they found the elderly man just as the woman said. He was indeed confused, lost, and in need of being cleaned up. They quietly reassured him, got him presentable, and carefully escorted him back to his very appreciative wife. After seeing the elderly couple on their way, John and Melanie didn’t give it another thought. That is, not until a few few weeks later when the manager of the restaurant requested a meeting with them.
John and Melanie didn’t know what to expect — thinking that maybe they had done something wrong and were about to lose a good customer. At the top of the meeting, the manger handed them a letter. They were surprised to see that it was written by the elderly woman they helped at the restaurant weeks earlier. In the letter, the woman explained to the manager how nice the Aire-Master people were to her and her husband and of how thankful she was for their help that day.
John and Melanie looked up from the letter. The manager smiled at both of them and said, “You two made us look good that day. You are now part of our family. From now on, you will always have our business.” Melanie says that they have been their best customers for 15 years!
Reflecting on all the accomplishments John and Melanie have enjoyed as Aire-Master franchisees, Melanie quickly tells those that ask, “After all these years, I still say that becoming an Aire-Master franchise is one of the best things John and I have ever done!”