— Interview with Rose Lollino, Vice President, CLM Midwest —
R&R: Where are you based and how long has the company been in business?
Rose Lollino, VP, CLM Midwest
Rose Lollino: CLM Midwest’s corporate office is located in River Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago located 5 minutes from O’Hare Airport. We have been in the retail maintenance industry since 2002 and have been expanding into new territories consistently year over year.
R&R: How long have you been with the company?
Lollino: As the vice president, I have worn many hats since the inception of the company and have had a front row seat to see the company grow to the size we are today.
R&R: What trades/services do you offer retailers and restaurants?
Lollino: Our team of multi-skilled technicians can meet our customer’s carpentry, handyman, electrical, lighting, HVAC and plumbing needs.
R&R: Retailers and restaurants had to spin on a dime when COVID-19 hit in the spring. How did your company adapt/pivot?
Lollino: We owe our success during COVID to our talented, innovative and dedicated employees. We have an amazing team, in the office and the field, that rallied together to ensure our customer’s unique needs were met — all while working remotely.
R&R: In what regions of the country do you conduct most of your business, or are you nationwide?
Lollino: We currently are self-performing in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and our newest territory of Minnesota. We are proud to have a solid footprint in the Midwest, and our team is actively pursing new territory to continue to meet our customer’s growing needs.
R&R: What makes your company’s “signature service” stand out in the industry?
Lollino: CLM Midwest is a true self-performing provider. We pride ourselves on the ability of our team of over 70 technicians that are spread out throughout the Midwest. This allows us to quickly respond, troubleshoot and meet our customer’s requests.
R&R: What kind of feedback do you receive from clients?
Lollino: We constantly receive positive feedback on our team’s communication and their ability to keep the client updated throughout the process of a work request or project. We recognize the importance of updates and how they can affect the successful outcome.
R&R: Why should owner/operators choose your company to be their next vendor partner?
Lollino: CLM Midwest understands the urgency, importance and detail placed on every work request. We go into all relationships with our customers with a dedicated team assigned and trained to fulfill each of our client’s requirements.
R&R: How many retail/restaurants clients do you have, and is that sector growing for you? Would you like to name any of your clients?
Lollino: We are proud to have a relationship and the honor to be entrusted to service over 100 different retail and restaurant customers.
R&R: If we can survive 2020…. Where do you see 2021 taking the FM industry? Do you see any positives to come out of 2020 that we can learn from/apply to next year?
Lollino: The consistent trend that we have seen throughout 2020 is teamwork and that we are all in this together. 2020 has given us the opportunity to demonstrate to our customers what we do best: partnering together to meet their maintenance needs. We enter 2021 with these strengthened relationships and expectations.
— Rose Lollino is vice president of CLM Midwest. This Q&A originally was published in the December 2020/January 2021 issue of Retail & Restaurant Facility Business magazine. For more information in having your company profiled in a future Signature Vendor Spotlight, please contact Scott Royal at [email protected].