Member Article

Technology key to unlocking sustainable future for franchising

Fantastic Services, one of the UK’s largest property maintenance franchises, says technology is key to unlocking a new technology-led sustainable era of franchising.

Fantastic Services is a technology-backed property maintenance franchise specialising in cleaning, gardening, pest control and tradesman industries. It prides itself on its forward-thinking and is at the forefront of a new generation of franchises, where technology and sustainability are key. It also places a high emphasis on community and giving back.What’s more, the company has recently been giving free cleaning, plus other free services, to NHS staff and front-line workers during last year’s pandemic.

Anton Skarlatov, co-founder and CEO of Fantastic Services, explains: “We see ourselves at the forefront of the evolution of franchising, where new technology is key for both franchisees and customers alike. We have invested more than £20 million in building a bespoke CRM system that automates every aspect of the business for franchisees, with integrated customer and technician apps. Everything is about speed and simplicity. Nowadays, people have very little patience and want everything at their fingertips and we introduced an online booking system allowing customers to book any of the 100+ services offered by our franchisees in a matter of minutes.’’

“Sustainability is also at the centre of our business, and has to be as we need to look after our long-term future. We use electric-based equipment instead of petrol-based, we only use eco-friendly detergents and sometimes we don’t use detergents at all; we do external window cleaning with purified water so no chemicals are required at all. Our franchisees travel fewer miles thanks to our custom-built travel optimisation software, this allows us to save about 18% of travel time and significantly reduce CO2 emissions. We also started a tree-planting initiative in 2019, where property owners who have yards can have a tree planted for free.’’

Skarlatov adds: “This is only the start of our investment, and we will continue to evolve and adapt to ensure we lead the way in technology-backed ethical franchising. We will also continue to give back to society.”

Fantastic Services launched in 2009 and now has over 530 franchisees, stretching over three continents, with thousands of professionals delivering 100-plus services to over 50,000 clients each month. Unlike many franchises, Fantastic Services has a team of 500 experts at HQ who constantly generate sales leads for the franchisees so they can focus on delivering great customer service rather than worrying about sales. All franchisees follow a proven business model that grew Fantastic Services from a small cleaning company into a global franchisor.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Michael Donaldson .