About Jane and Her Team
Back in 2000, Jane Richardson was in a busy corporate position that took her away from home for most of the week.
Jane says, “I wanted a number of home services provided at my home. I would not be there, so I needed a reliable business with honest staff that would do a good job. I also wanted to change things if needed and pay my account online.”
When she could not find the one-stop-shop home service she was looking for, she decided to start this business herself.
Jane soon found there was high demand from busy people who wanted to have their weekend free to spend their time how they wanted, rather than catching up on tasks around the house.
The business has grown over time and our services are now available in Palmerston North and Feilding, Kapiti Coast, Hutt Valley, Wellington, and Christchurch.
Jane says the most important part of this business is the people they employ. “All our cleaners and gardeners are thoroughly screened before joining the team. They then complete a training programme so that we can be sure you will receive the service you expect. We encourage our customers to provide feedback about us, so we can continuously improve our services.”
Awards along the way
- In 2008 An Extra Pair Of Hands was a finalist in the Manawatu Business Awards. Jane was awarded by Hon. Steve Maharey in recognition for being one of 10 businesses selected for the Vision Manawatu business acceleration programme.
- In May 2009 An Extra Pair Of Hands won the gong for best small to medium business at the regional business awards.
About our cleaners and gardeners
We are very particular about who we employ. All our team members go through a stringent selection and training process. Plus they are fully security checked, insured, uniformed, and friendly.
Our teams are honest and proud of a job well done. They work to checklists so they don’t miss anything. We’re flexible, offering a comprehensive range of services for the home without locking you into contracts or hidden fees.
Our guarantee
Your satisfaction is guaranteed every time. If you are not satisfied, contact our office. We will return and complete the service to your satisfaction.
Quality monitoring
We regularly ask for your feedback on the service cards we send out regularly. Our managers make regular visits during the designated service time to monitor the quality of the work you have requested.
Security and privacy
Your privacy is respected and all your details are kept confidential. We have procedures in place to ensure your home is secure when using any of our services.
Working for us – employment
The right people are hard to find. If you’re honest, hard-working and enjoy making a difference at someone’s home we would like to meet you.
All our positions involve working on weekdays, usually between 9am and 4pm, so there’s no work on weekends or public holidays.
We are currently hiring. Find out about joining our team.
Our sustainable journey
Our sustainable journey started when we were selected by Palmerston North City Council to complete a sustainability programme in 2008.
As a result, we took a good look at the products we were using and our tasks, and began shifting to cleaning and gardening products that are safe for our clients, our team, the business, and the environment.
Cleaning products
Our cleaning products have all-natural ingredients. These products are made exclusively for us so we know exactly what the ingredients are. All ingredients are chosen with our goal to be sustainable. In addition to this we have found that they are much healthier for our team to use, and leave a lovely smell in your home.
Waste reduction
At An Extra Pair of Hands, all packaging, incoming mail and outgoing mail has been reduced. Our administration team is working towards receiving all incoming mail electronically. This has reduced our waste paper considerably.
Ideas from our team
Our team members are always coming up with new ideas. One of our senior gardeners thought it would be great to offer a service where we set up a composting system in our client’s garden to recycle the green waste from our gardening work, and maintain that for them. We would love to hear your sustainable ideas and other feedback.
