Yodle Authors

Merry Maids is a popular choice for consumer magazine editors looking for tips on everything from how long to keep a sponge to how to eliminate mold. Merry Maids is happy to answer these questions with the help of Training Manager Debra Johnson. This year Debra has offered cleaning tips in more than a dozen articles that appeared in Real Simple, Woman's Day, the Wall Street Journal and will soon be featured in Family Circle. In addition, she serves as the in-house expert for tough questions posted on Merry Maids social media website, Cleanaphoria.com. Most recently, Debra was featured in the June issue of Prevention magazine, "Cleaning Mistakes Even Smart Women Make." In the article, Debra discussed safe cleaning practices along with experts from the Mayo Clinic, St. Louis University and the Environmental Protection Agency. When Debra's not sharing her expertise with magazines, she shares her decade-plus knowledge with training branch managers, sales associates and new franchisees who travel to Memphis periodically. She also works with Merry Maids' Continuous Improvement and Training Department to enhance cleaning processes through research and development of training materials. When Debra joined ServiceMaster, she was raising two young - now college-aged - children. After earning her degree at the University of Georgia, Debra began working in the finance and real estate industries, but she wanted a job that offered a better work/life balance and she joined Merry Maids as a team member in 1997. "Most jobs wanted more from me than I was willing to give," Debra says. "I wanted a job that I could leave behind when I walked in my front door so I could focus on my family. The work was physically challenging but when you go home from cleaning, you're able to clear your mind." Within three years, Debra had moved up within the office, working as a team captain, sales associate and in 1999 was hired as a branch manager in Georgia. In 2003, she moved to Memphis to work in her current role at the home office. Whether it is designing and providing training to our front-line associates or going on-site to lead a new branch as they start operations, Debra is a shining example of living The ServiceMaster Commitment of "Valuing Teamwork."