The Janitors' Closet

How CBN came into the possession of PO Box 17, Phoenix AZ, by Bill Black

We begin some 50 years ago, two years after I graduated from Saint Mary's High School; I was working for Sam Drey. To appreciate the full story, I must first explain the relationship I had with Sam, and what he taught me.

Working for Sam Drey was the first real job I had as an adult; as you'll recall, Sam was quite a character. Before he retired to Arizona, Sam was a 'ward healer' and 'fixer' in Chicago. His cousin was Jake Arvey, former Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee and the Democratic Party National Committeeman for the State of Illinois. He was a power in Chicago.

In addition to the political work that Sam took care of for Jake, Sam was a produce jobber. Sam had retired to Phoenix. I met him while volunteering on some political campaign. Sam took a liking to me, and offered me a job. I would be Sam's driver and "Go-for".

My duties for Sam included picking him up at his home in the morning, then driving him to Katz's Delicatessen on North Central Avenue where we ate breakfast with the gang. I would then drive him to his office.

The office was small, a one room cinder block building, only 20 by 30 feet, with one door and three windows. It sat on the edge of the sidewalk, on the parking lot of the Jewel Box Pawn Shop, across the street from the Hotel Westward Ho, caddy corner from the Old Post Office Building near the Northeast corner of Central Avenue and Fillmore in downtown Phoenix.

Sam shared the room with a CPA, an old guy named Bernie. A handful of old buddies were always stopping in. The place had the ambiance of a barber shop or shoeshine stand.

Sam was about 70 years old at that time. He was thin, short, and always wore Windowpane Check patterned sports coats, with gray or black dress slacks, penny loafers, a red tie, and thick black horn-rimmed eyeglasses. Think of Johnny Carson, without the eyeglasses, and you'll get the picture.

Although Sam was retired, he still kept a few business deals in his pocket. As I mentioned, Sam was a produce jobber, and he dealt in box cars of onions. Sam was called 'the king of onions'.

When somebody needed onions, Sam knew where to find them, and at the right price, for which he took a small commission. When you're dealing in box cars of anything, the pennies add up. That was one of the lessons Sam taught me.

Another lesson was about the importance of relationships. They also add up, especially all the little ones, and Sam had boxcars of little relationships.

In the morning Sam would sit with his friends at Katz's and kibitz; then I would drive him to the office, and he would be on the phone pretty much nonstop through the morning.

I would sit behind a small desk next to his, place his calls, run errands, file papers, and watch the master. It was a great opportunity for a young man to learn how to tend to relationships, and make a deal. it was very much... old school.

One of my duties in the morning was to scamper across Central Avenue to a smoke shop in the Hotel Westward Ho, and purchase a stack of assorted daily newspapers. In addition to The Phoenix Gazette, The Arizona Republic, The Tucson Daily Star, The Scottsdale Progress and The Mesa Tribune, Sam would read over The Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Kansas City Star, The Saint Louis Post Dispatch, and any other newspaper that he might think of that day.

As far as I know, Sam never read a book, but he would always glean eight to ten newspapers a day. I recall that he once called Rabbi Plotkin and asked him if it was permitted to read some small pamphlet on Jewish culture. He said, "If Rabbi says it's OK, then fine; if Rabbi says it isn't, it's in the trash."

The newspaper routine was always the same. Sam would see an article in a paper, circle it with a pen, and jot a name on top of the page; he would then hand the paper to me. I would cut the article out, put it in an envelope, address the envelope to whomever he wanted it sent to, and then hand the envelope back to Sam. He would jot a quick note, place it in the envelope with the article, and then hand it back to me again. Then I would put a stamp on the envelope, seal it, and walk across the street with it to the main post office, where Sam had a post office box. There, I would hand the letter off to a mailman at the counter, and then check Sam's post office box. If I recall correctly, his box number was somewhere in the 40s.

For lunch we would go over to the Arizona Club, which at that time was located in the Luhr's Building; later it moved to the top floor of the First National Bank Building. Or, we might go to the Adams Hotel, or the Hotel Westwood Ho, or the Phoenix Press Club, or to Durant's. Sometimes we might slum it for lunch, and go to The Busy Bee Coffee Shop, the Roadrunner Truck Stop, or The Nogales Café. Wherever we went, Sam was always kibitzing with someone.

Sam taught me that with a good joke, and a story, you could move mountains, or boxcars anyway. And it was important to stay connected to people.

Anyway, at some point I said to Sam that I wanted to start a business for myself, and I wanted to get a post office box at the Main Post Office, and I wanted a post office box with a low number.

Why the low number, you might ask

Well, I wanted to go into business as a political and promotions consultant. I was going to call myself a 'press agent'. The only two problems with that plan were, one, I didn't know anything about what I wanted to do, and two, I didn't have any money.

I bought my suits at the Disabled American Veterans thrift store, and if I was really lucky, I might find a nice suit that fit me from Goldwater's Department Store, or Hanny's Men's Store. That would be a good week.

Sam would say to me, "always get quality, and always get it for a bargain."

I couldn't afford the tuition to attend an Ivy League College, to say nothing that I didn't have the grades to get in to an Ivy League or Stanford, so I went to Phoenix Junior College.

And, I figured that since if I didn't actually have the blue blood bonafides and credentials, at least I could snag a prestigious address for a business card. The only problem was I didn't have money to rent a prestigious location, or any location at all.

So, the way I figured it, a P.O. Box with a low number would convey some panache.

I had a plan, my card would read:

William J. Black

Press Agent

Post Office Box "#"

Phoenix, Arizona 85001

Phone: ALpine 8-7611

Of course, I would spell out 'Post Office Box', to further highlight the single, or two digit, number, and I would use the older 'alpha prefix' for the phone number. "Yah, that's class", I told myself.

When I went to get a post office box, I was told by someone working the front counter of the Post Office that the PO Boxes with low numbers where reserved for large companies, law firms, and banks; and it would not be possible for an individual, much less a college kid, to get a post office box with low number.

I mentioned this to Sam. Well, Sam knew most everyone at the main post office, and he said to me, "Blackie" (that's what Sam called me) "go talk to so-and-so in the back, his desk is by the loading dock, and tell him 'Sam sent you'". So, I went and talked to so-and-so, and I said "Sam sent me", and I told that guy that I wanted a post office box with a low number.

Well, that guy said "that might be hard to do… but give me a couple of weeks, and I'll let you know". About a week later, when I was picking up the mail for Sam, that same postal employee motioned me over to the counter, and he said, "I've got a box for you".

I said, "Great, what is it?" He said, "Box 17".

I was flabbergasted that I could get such a good number. He smiled and said "Just tell Sam that I took care of you". "Of course and thank you" I replied.

That's how I got Post Office Box 17.

A few years after that, when I joined CBN, you'll recall that as part of our agreement, I transferred my ownership of Post Office Box 17 to CBN, with the understanding that I could always use it for my personal or business needs, and if CBN where to ever give up the box, I would have first dibs on it.

Relationships. You never know where they might lead.

Sam was a great story teller, he never forgot a name, and he could remember the smallest detail about a person he met yesterday or thirty years ago. He was a networker, a dealmaker, and a natural mentor.

Bobby, every time I see Post Office Box 17 on our letterhead, I remember Sam.

The CBN Way: "If it's not bright, it's not right."

A note from a team member of 40-plus years standing:

Robert, we have been talking lately about CBN’s culture, and how the company's culture sustains the values and virtues that shape our work, and how our work shapes who we are.

As an illustration of what this means to me, let me tell you a story that a mutual friend of ours, Arthur Brodsky, told me about ten years ago.

When Arthur told me this story, he said it occurred about ten years before he told it to me, so that would be about 20 years ago. Arthur said that he, and a friend of his, James, had been working together on a community volunteer service project, and in the process, they were asked to clean a bathroom, and the bathroom was rather grody. Arthur said the bathroom smelled awful, and it looked worse than you could possibly imagine. None of the other volunteers wanted to do that job, however James and Arthur agreed to clean it up, and so they rolled up their sleeves and dove into it.

When Arthur and James were done cleaning the bathroom, Arthur looked at the porcelain sink that James had just cleaned and he said, "Wow, James, that sink is really, really, clean". Arthur said the sink had looked so bad when they first saw it, that you couldn’t see any of the porcelain, and now the sink looked immaculate. The walls, the floor, the fixtures, everything in the restroom were immaculate. After Arthur expressed his admiration for the effort James had put into cleaning the sink, he hinted that perhaps it was not really necessary to clean it that well, and James replied, "If it's not bright, it's not right".

Arthur was puzzled by that comment, and he asked James what he meant by that. James then told Arthur that about ten years earlier he worked for a cleaning company where his brother was the operations manager. James said the cleaning company's name was CBN, and that CBN taught him to do things "the CBN way". Arthur had heard of the name CBN before because he knew Bob Croft, CBN’s owner, from the Salt River Brass Band.

Arthur asked James to say more about "the CBN way". James said it's not enough to clean a sink and leave any spots, stains, smudges, or any residue whatsoever, and further, the fixtures had to shine, and the porcelain had to be whatever color it was when the sink was new. James went on to say that when he worked at CBN, the company operated a service school to train janitors how to clean a building properly.

One of the key principles CBN taught James was that a job is not done until it's done right, and it's not done right until it's done completely, that's the CBN way.

Arthur said he appreciated the integrity that James showed that day. In the early years of CBN, we ran a janitor's training school once a week, classes met for six to eight hours every Saturday. We taught

• the proper use, maintenance, and repair of cleaning equipment and tools;
• the proper use and storage of chemicals;
• the best cleaning methods for various hard floors and carpeting;
• dusting and dust control;
• trash collection and recycling;
• windows cleaning;
• workplace cleaning strategies and workflow for individual, and team cleaning;
• estimating and business math;
• inventory control;
• vehicle organization routing and planning;
• company forms, record keeping and communication;
• work safety;
• building security;
• quality control;
• customer service.

The curriculum was rather comprehensive.

The training program was a significant investment of CBN's time and resources to develop janitors and staff, it was not just about techniques and knowledge, it was also about fostering good character, and that was management's commitment to the CBN way.

Like to help with a vaccine test?

One of our janitorial clients, CCT Research, is currently enrolling volunteers for a COVID-19 vaccine test.  I understand it's the Oxford University developed vaccine, so I tend to trust it a bit more than I might if it were from, say, Russia. I volunteered a few days ago; they are looking to start interviewing folks shortly.

From our client:

Please head to our website and have each person fill out their contact info and one of our recruiters will reach out! https://www.cctresearch.com/active-trials/arizona-clinical-trials#!/study/95

They're good folks, and could use the help.  I figure it's something one ought to do - and, it's a chance to get a possibly useful vaccine months before the rest of the world.

Don't jump to conclusions

We're doing COVID-19 disinfections, and also focusing on ongoing disinfection to protect our regular janitorial clients from the novel coronavirus, so I try to keep on top of the whole field.

An article on the subject in Cleaning and Maintenance Management well illustrates the dangers of drawing conclusions without considering all possibilities.

The lead paragraph notes an increase in hospital acquired infections (HAI) and the suggestion that the cause might be the CDC's decision to suspend, for several months, its mandatory inspection and infection reporting program. Make sense, and should you read just the first paragraph, that might be the conclusion you'd draw.

But the article also immediately mentions that hospitals are quite stressed (both staff and facility) by the flood of viral patients, which could well account for the increase (even in janitorial, when we're overworked and under stress, we make mistakes).  Further, folks with minor ailments are tending to avoid hospitals these days; thus, only the "sickest of the sick" check in, and are likely more prone to complications - such as HAIs. And, finally, the study was based on only two hospitals.

Make a habit of reading, not just the headline or the lead paragraph, but the whole article.

A COVID-19 question

Given our decades old focus on cleaning for health, we've lately developed something of a focus on COVID and coronavirus decontamination - both in our ongoing commercial cleaning, and in providing quick response to both clients and the general public in event of a virus exposure in a given facility.  Thus, I try to keep abreast of developments of knowledge of the virus, and of its implications.  And I think a bit about it.

Here's something I've not seen addressed.

In Arizona, as in most jurisdictions, we approximate numbers of infected individuals, over time, by looking at the most recent percentages of infected in our daily "virus present" test results.  Now, those tests - the nasal swabs and so on - report whether the subject has "live" viruses currently in his system, and thus is currently "sick" and able to infect.  This has nothing to do with any antibodies he might have in his system.  If we see, as we have lately, a 15% infection rate, we conclude that 15% of the population has been infected and will shortly be immune (or dead).  We need something like a 60 or 70% percent immune rate for "herd immunity", so we've a long way to go.

But: If I tested negative today, there is no way of knowing (from that test) if I'd had the virus, perhaps with no symptoms, some time ago, and am, while now not sick, immune.  There are some unknown number of immune folks out there that we're not counting. 

For example, if we assume that an average infection lasts 30 days (likely over-generous), and we've been seeing similar positive results for 4 months (120 days), then, all else being equal, our immune rate, when the current crop recovers, is more like 60%.  And thus we're closer to herd immunity than we might think.

The only way to know is to test, randomly, for antibodies.  And we're not doing that.

 

Social costs of COVID-19

In between providing commercial janitorial, with an emphasis on pathogen, including COVID-19, control, and doing a good bit of specifically Coronavirus disinfection service, I'm noticing much less opportunity for any social and creative endeavor.

There is much social interaction that we've lost in this time of lockdowns.  The old 4th of July photo is of the Scottsdale Trombone Choir, which I've played in for 30-some years, and managed for a few.  I've also played for years in the Salt River Brass Band, and in an amateur concert band.  All the groups are on hold for the foreseeable future.  Our audiences - free admission  for two of the  groups and ticketed, generally through a season subscription, with Salt River, are no longer enjoying live music, and are doubtless getting a bit stir crazy, with few places to go.  Our musicians lack the comradery, and the challenge, of preparing and performing rigorous music for a discerning audience, and of honing, and enjoying, their skills. 

None of these losses, both to people and to society, figure prominently in economic stats, or in much of anything else.  But they are nonetheless real, and hurtful.

Further, it looks like the virus is not going away anytime soon.  Current thinking is that immunity after recovery is both fleeting and fragile, so the "herd immunity" we've been awaiting is unlikely.  And, since a vaccine depends on the same bodily reactions as does one's post recovery immunity, the benefit from a vaccine, should we get one, is similarly likely to be both fleeting and fragile.

This all might be the "new normal".  Should we give up much of what makes life worth living to, sometimes, avoid the disease?

 

The importance of fast response to COVID-19 decontamination requests

As you might expect, a business experiencing a COVID-19 coronavirus exposure most often needs to address the situation by disinfecting or decontaminating the facility at once (some refer to this as a "COVID deep clean"); one might send employees home today, but likely wants to open for business tomorrow.

We've trained and equipped three service techs, and three supervisory personnel (yours truly included) for COVID-19 decontamination jobs; we can generally respond same day, after office hours.  Disinfection is usually best done after hours because the client's staff, or customers, ought not inhale a large volume of the disinfectant; we setup our technicians with full protective gear, including goggles (not just safety glasses) and face mask, but we can't count on our client's folks being protected.  Our disinfectant requires a bit of dwell time (10 minutes wet), but won't be an issue for the client's employees next morning.

In passing, best practice on learning of a recent exposure in your facility would be to air the place out (tiny droplets containing the COVID virus can remain airborne for hours, and you want to dilute that air as much as possible) and spray or wipe down any possible contaminated surfaces with a good disinfectant, with a viral kill claim, observing the proper dwell time.

Here's a bit on our decontamination protocols, both how we're cleaning and disinfecting ongoing as part of our usual janitorial service (Level 1) and how we address an exposure incident (Level 3).

 

Our ongoing, every night, response to COVID-19

Quite early on in the pandemic, to better disinfect our client facilities, we transitioned from dry dusting most office surfaces to fully damp wiping with an effective viricide.  The move was facilitated by our acquisition of Sphergo wiping tools (we moved early, before major shortages hit).  In our crew's hands, the tool allows an even application of sanitizer, "wall to wall".  It also requires a more clutter and paper free office environment than is traditional; our clients were universally helpful in "de-cluttering". This step is quite effective against viruses, and will catch most anything accessible via damp wiping.

These are our "marching orders" for our nightly janitorial crews:

First, wipe the cleared surfaces of furniture, fixtures, touchpoints (doorknobs and push plates, doorframes, convex wall corners, controls – alarm, A/C, elevator) using Sphergo pad holders for plainer surfaces and microfiber cloth for non-plainer, each thoroughly saturated with Johnson/Diversey AlphaHP; Second, in restrooms, lunchrooms and exam/procedure rooms, after cleaning, mist Virex256 on all surfaces, fixtures, equipment and touchpoints. For both AlphaHP and Virex256, insure a minimum 10 minutes (wet) dwell time on all surfaces.

As always, wear surgical gloves; goggles when mixing chemicals; surgical masks not just in restrooms and health care facilities, but fully on any job.

Note: If bio or other hazardous fluids are present, report the condition to CBN supervisor; use authorized protective gear including surgical gloves, face shield, surgical mask and full protective clothing if necessary, and follow CBN Bio-hazard Protocol on cleaning and disposal.  Refer to and follow robing/disrobing procedures.

Finally, we equipped to do a thorough one-shot Coronavirus disinfection ("covid-19 deep clean", or remediation).

Civility

Received a  note from a janitorial client, and a long-time friend:

    "At the car wash, I entered the outside waiting area and slid a chair further from next to a waiting lady, giving her a courteous friendly smile. Seated - I realized and said “Oh, when I moved the chair I gave a smile. But you couldn’t see because I’m wearing a mask.”  She smiled “That's okay. I could see it in your eyes.” Gee!

Well, it's nice to know that friendliness still works during mask time."

 

Developing a Decontamination Protocol

Like most everyone, our folks at CBN are doing are our best to navigate the unique health and disinfection challenges posed by COVID-19.

We've had some useful "bottom up" contributions: for instance, quite early on, several of our commercial janitorial crews began misting our quat-based disinfectant onto their vehicle door handles, steering wheels and so on, on exiting each client facility, right after disposing of their gloves.  Hadn't yet thought of that; ofttimes it's the fellow on the pointy end of the spear who comes up with the real world application.  Our computer hardware tech, with a background in nuclear subs and then in nuclear power plant inspections, contributed a first-rate video on PPE disrobing.  An old friend, with a background in defense industry engineering, offered a stash of N-95 masks he just happened to have squirreled away.

Back during the Eboli scare, we'd stocked up on first rate gloves and bunny suits, serious disinfectant, goggles and surgical masks, so we started ahead of much of the industry.  We grabbed accouple hundred clear facemasks when a vendor offered them, and tracked down a substantial supply of our long acting hand barrier lotion, quite effective against bacteria and somewhat against viruses - a good second step after washing or using an alcohol gel.

We've developed our "COVID-19 Decontamination Protocol" while talking to clients to assess their needs, consulting out product suppliers and industry sources (while obtaining certification, with emphasis on SARS-CoV-2/COVID 19, from ISSA's Global Biorisk Advisory Council program), getting ongoing feedback from our disinfection technicians as they "felt their way" through our first decontamination jobs, and doing a whole lot of interesting, but late night, online sleuthing.  While rolling out our program over the last few weeks, we've further developed it, and doubtless will continue to do so.

Early on, I looked into the Clorox360 electrostatic system, the current go-to decontamination tool.  My mistake was in taking a week or so to research the science behind it; while I was researching, word got around about the device, and a wave of orders overwhelmed the factory.  I could have been at the front of the wave if I'd acted immediately.  It should have been here over two months ago; I'm still waiting.

You can find the latest edition of our decontamination protocols on our website; nothing is proprietary.  Use it in good health! (And holler at me with any suggestions!)

Hate to say it, given all the suffering abroad, but finding new and better ways to protect our folks and to help out customers has been quite interesting and, kind of fun.

UPDATE - just got the Clorox360 system in. Hooray!