Meet the team.  Our people are at the heart of what we do, so we are continuing our ‘meet the team’ series with Abby May, our New Business Director, telling us about how she once served Madonna a half pint of Guinness and has now come to be a key part of the ServiceMaster Clean By Deeland team.

Abby started her career as a health and fitness instructor in Bath.  Although she enjoyed it, her natural ‘people skills’ meant she wanted less lone working so, having always also done part time pub waitressing jobs as well, she decided to go into the hospitality industry.  She leased and ran a series of gastro pubs, taking businesses that weren’t performing so well and turning them around to make them successful dining destinations.  After several years, and lots of weekend working, she decided it was time for a change and so did a fast track admin course in order to find a more office based position.  She moved to Newbury and joined ServiceMaster Clean By Deeland after Nick Dee Shapland, our founder, met her and created a job for her knowing her personality was a perfect fit for the company.  Eleven years later and Abby is now our New Business Development Director.  Her natural sales skills should have been obvious from an early age as she recalls waitressing shifts where the chef would challenge the front of house staff to sell the last 3 Seabass – and Abby was usually the recipient of the chocolate fudge cake reward! Working in hospitality meant she met several celebrities over the years, including the Pet Shop Boys, Simply Red and, her best claim to fame, serving Madonna her Guinness.

Although fitness is no longer her career it certainly remains a passion and she loves swimming in the new Newbury Lido and walks everywhere she can, including to work.  She and her partner Paul often go coastal walking at the weekends but, as season ticket holders at Reading Football Club, only when there’s not a match on!