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You’ve already met Lexi Grant. We interviewed her in March about her role at Well-Paid Maids.

She raved about her job — the fair pay, the work-life balance and the benefits.

“Working at Well-Paid Maids has felt like a breath of fresh air,” she said.

Lexi was recently promoted to an operations manager. She starts this week and will soon be responding to your emails and answering your calls. (If you chat with her, tell her you saw her on PoPville!)

We wanted to catch up with Lexi to learn more about her time at Well-Paid Maids.

Question: You joined Well-Paid Maids last June and have since been promoted twice — from cleaner to trainer to manager. Tell us more about your growth at the company.

Lexi: I started with Well-Paid Maids as a junior cleaner. This is just an entry-level role anyone can do! It’s all about learning more about yourself as a cleaner and what clients like.

After gaining a good reputation as a cleaner, I was able to move into the role of training our new employees to make the same good impressions. I really enjoy the training process. I worked hard to ensure new employees felt comfortable cleaning on their own. 

I am also blessed to be with a company that hires within. When the new manager position opened up, I was able to get an interview thanks to my prior management experience at Chipotle.

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If you’re like most people, you’d rather not waste hours of time getting your car maintained or repaired. That’s why so many people are responding to CarCare To Go with reviews like the one below.

CarCare To Go delivers celebrity-level service with surprisingly competitive prices. They combine the quality and trust of a full-service shop with a uniquely transparent process, plus free valet pick-up and delivery from your home or work.

This is the second time I have used CarCare To Go, once for brake replacement and maintenance work, and just recently for interior detailing. I could not be more pleased with the quality of work and the service on both occasions. The pricing is transparent and very highly competitive. The car was picked up from my home and delivered back with no hassle. Everything was on time and with reminders and updates all along the way. I was able to go about my day working at home as normal without any disruption or inconvenience. Getting my car repaired, serviced and cleaned has never been easier. I highly recommend this group and plan to keep CarCare To Go as my “go to” auto service center… — Cynthia S.

CarCare To Go is offering first-time clients an oil change for just $20.22. No catch. Synthetic or blend for any make or model car. Just enter coupon code FIRST20 when you book. And the valet and a light hand clean are completely free.

Of course, CarCare To Go does much more than oil changes and new tires. They are a full-service shop that does everything from brake pad replacements to the most complicated engine replacements.

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DC start-up for women’s shoes sizes 7-14 kicks off. 

The launch of D.C.’s newest private-label footwear and handbag brand has a twist you didn’t see coming — filling a longtime gap in the women’s footwear market.  Etta Grove Footwear seeks to be size inclusive and is making stylish and comfortable footwear for women in extended sizes.

“We want to be the signature shoeprint for sizes 7 to 14,” says Alexis Howard, who is launching the business with her daughters Kayla and Haley. “And we want to be a go-to brand for ‘swoon-worthy’, mid-level luxury handbags.”

The finished results are made in Spain by artisans who work in full leathers from a low-waste tannery, and the shoes fill a void many women know all-too-well: The footwear industry does not traditionally cater to consumers in extended sizes. Etta Grove is answering that need by providing fashionable, feel-good shoes and under a brand name that honors Alexis’ grandmother, Etta, herself an entrepreneur who wore size 11. 

As for handbags, the designs and colors are distinctive and boast the same high-level of Spanish craftsmanship as the shoes.

To launch its initial collection of casuals and flats, Etta Grove is offering an online pre-order campaign that offers substantial discounts — see the Say Yes to Etta Grove Footwear page. They even made a video to help explain the business.

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Before Jasmine Cooke joined Well-Paid Maids in October 2021, she worked as a cleaner at a hospital for 10 years.

“It was a different experience,” she says, when asked to compare it to Well-Paid Maids.

At the hospital, she worked in a team environment, and she often felt micro-managed. She had little flexibility, and it was also difficult to get the supplies she needed to do her job. And speaking of the cleaning supplies, they were awful.

“You would cough, or you would feel like you were about to pass out,” she explains.

A face mask didn’t help. It got bad enough that she asked if they could change the chemicals, but the hospital didn’t care. They said it was just something she had to get used to.

Her time at Well-Paid Maids has been a different story. To start, she received the proper training she needed to excel at her job and leave customers happy. 

She also gets awesome benefits, like health insurance and 22 paid days off per year. And she has no issue getting plant-based, non-toxic cleaning supplies (paid for by the company, of course), and she has a lot more flexibility.

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This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.

By John V. Berry, Esq.

We represent federal employees nationwide before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) in federal employee appeals. It is not uncommon for federal employees to be unaware of how the MPSB works and what kinds of cases they hear. The answer is that they handle numerous types of federal employees appeals. The overwhelming majority of appeals that they hear involve appeals serious disciplinary actions. Their jurisdiction includes many other types of cases, including retirement, whistleblower and military discrimination cases (in addition to other types of case).

MSPB Appeals should be considered similar to being in court and federal employees should be represented by counsel. The government will be represented by an attorney and it is very difficult for an individual to represent themselves through this process.

Filing the MSPB Appeal

The first step in the MSPB appeals process is for a federal employee to file a MSPB appeal within the deadline. For many appeals that the MSPB hears (those involving serious discipline for federal employees), the deadline is typically 30 days from the effective date of the adverse action to file the appeal. The MSPB appeals process has mostly transitioned to electronic filing so the process is pretty efficient to start a case. It is very important to timely file the appeal and to even file it early given that an untimely appeal will likely be dismissed. Here is a link to an article about the filing of an MSPB appeal.

Receipt of the Acknowledgment Order

Usually, within a week of filing an MSPB Appeal, a judge will be assigned to the case and issue an order which basically sets the ground rules and timelines in each case. This is known as the Acknowledgement Order. This order is about 10-15 pages and provides a lot of information about the processing of the individual MSPB appeal and should be reviewed carefully so the deadlines and conferences are not missed.

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2370 Champlain Street NW

This is an entertainer’s dream right in the heart of Adams Morgan!

Totally renovated, this 1,100 square foot unit runs along the entire south side of The Champlain, allowing for loads of light in every room. Double pane windows mean you can enjoy the sights of this vibrant city neighborhood without being disturbed by the sounds.

Whether you create elaborate meals yourself or delight in delivery, the kitchen’s oversized quartz peninsula and wide open floor plan provide plenty of space for all the entertaining. And whether a trained sommelier or more casual oenophile, the built-in 200 bottle EuroCave wine fridge will store all your favorites at the perfect temperature. The split floor plan, two fresh and bright en suite baths, and dual unit entrances make it possible to cohabitate or host overnight guests and still enjoy a level of separation.

In-unit laundry, an extra storage unit, and a separately deeded garage parking space in the building will make your urban life easy. Come take a look!

Open this Saturday, June 18 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and  Sunday, June 19 from 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

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