Some homeowners in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, would rather wait than switch. When a scheduling change sent a different team into one client’s home, he closed his review with a simple declaration: “I’m still not giving up Laura!”

That Laura is Laura Alvarez, a cleaning technician at Neat & Repeat Cleaning and the 2026 winner of the ISSA Residential Professional Cleaner of the Year Award. The annual award, part of ISSA Residential’s Professional Image Awards program, honors the go-to cleaner or trainer that owners, clients and coworkers trust above others.

Alvarez starts her third year with the company in January. In that short stretch she has become the technician customers ask for most, and Rachel Duffie, who runs the company’s Palm Beach branch, put a number on it.

“Laura is requested by name more than every other cleaning technician in our company combined,” Duffie wrote in her nomination.

Alvarez cares for about 20 recurring clients, several of whom have their homes cleaned multiple times each week. Many are willing to wait for an opening on her schedule rather than be assigned to another technician.

Balloons she never saw coming

Alvarez found out about the award during what she thought was a routine stop at the office.

“I was very surprised. I had no idea,” Alvarez said. “I honestly went in for a weekly checkup at the office and there were balloons everywhere. And then they told me why I had the congratulations balloons.”

The part of the job she enjoys most happens at the end of the day. “I just like meeting new people, just seeing that they’re happy with our work at the end of the day, them coming home to a clean home and telling us how much it means to them to come home to a nice smelling house,” she explained. “So it’s very motivating.”

Noticing what others miss

Customers get more than a clean house. Alvarez has spotted mold damage and insect infestations that even property managers overlooked, giving homeowners a chance to deal with problems before they turned into costly repairs.

When the company has a customer no one seems able to make happy, the assignment goes to Alvarez. According to Duffie, those customers regularly end up among the company’s most loyal advocates. One longtime client, Sue, wrote that Alvarez and her teammate Vanessa “went above and beyond today on my floors and carpet. I could not ask for better.”

Where new hires learn the job

Every new cleaning technician at Neat & Repeat spends the first two weeks training alongside Alvarez. The lessons go well past technique. New hires learn how to organize their vehicle, care for their equipment and talk with customers, and they pick up good habits from day one instead of spending months correcting poor ones. Duffie also credits Alvarez with helping retention, since new team members see right away how seriously she takes the work.

“Replacing Laura’s position would be possible. Replacing Laura’s impact on our field team would not,” Duffie wrote.

Showing up outside of work

Alvarez brings the same energy to the community. An avid runner, she takes part in the company’s annual Halloween 5K and encourages teammates to join her. She helped organize a local beach cleanup that is becoming a regular volunteer event for the team. Through the company’s partnership with Cleaning for a Reason, she volunteers to provide free cleanings for women undergoing cancer treatment.

She also introduced the company to Annie’s Choice, an organization in Jupiter, Florida, dedicated to childhood suicide prevention. Neat & Repeat has committed to becoming a sponsor next year, hosting a booth at the organization’s event and encouraging its whole team to participate.

An owner who started in the field

Duffie understands the work from the inside. Her mother started the business 35 years ago and owns the Stuart, Florida, branch, while Duffie launched the Palm Beach branch about 12 years ago.

“I started cleaning in the field. I know how hard it is. It’s a really tough, sometimes thankless job,” Duffie said. “So we don’t ever want them to feel like they’re by themselves or alone.”

Having someone like Alvarez on staff makes running the business easier, she added. “We know that we can send her out pretty much anywhere and she’s going to do a fantastic job.”

For technicians who get discouraged when a customer is unhappy, Alvarez offered a practical outlook. “Not everyone is going to be happy, but you just got to keep getting better and pay attention to what their wants and their needs are to get better for the next time,” she said.

For owners hoping to build a team of people like Alvarez, Duffie pointed to hiring as the starting point. “I think hiring is the most important part,” she said. “When people take pride in their work and go above and beyond, it just makes it so much easier.”

Her nomination put the rest plainly: “Finding another cleaning technician is possible. Finding another Laura is not.”