Employee Spotlight
Meet Darren Downes
"I will always tackle something head on. There may be some obstacles along the way, but if you're passionate about what you're doing, then you will succeed."
Regional Customer Service Manager, Slough And Camberley
Darren Downes joined CLEAN as a Senior Customer Service Advisor in June 2016. Six roles later, he leads the customer service function for two sites, back in the part of the business he cares most about, and he puts every step of that down to a company that keeps opening doors.
Roles held at CLEAN, from advisor to regional manager
Years with CLEAN, since June 2016
In His Own Words
Progression Through Opportunity
Darren talks through his career at CLEAN, what the customer service function is really there to do, and why he would tell anyone to come and work here.
Darren was Customer Service Manager at Slough when the film was made, so the roles he describes on camera stop short of the regional job he holds now.
Career Journey
Six Roles, One Company
Darren joined CLEAN as a Senior Customer Service Advisor in June 2016. As the team grew he became Customer Service Team Leader, then took an opportunity to move into asset management. The next step came as an approach rather than an application: would he head a team of 10 Asset Managers? He said yes, and ran that department.
Then he went back to where his passion is. Darren took the Customer Service Manager role at Slough and spent two years building customer relationships and processes in the department, showing the team how much the customer service function matters to the business. With that behind him he was asked to do the same at Camberley and look after both sites, which is the regional job he holds today. Six roles in ten years, and every one of them came from inside the business. That is the part of the story Darren keeps returning to.
"My passion is Customer Service, so full circle. The company has always supported me with my progression."
🏆 2026 RECOGNITION
Long Service Award (10 Years)
Darren reached ten years with CLEAN in June 2026 and received the company's Long Service Award, which thanks colleagues for ten years of hard work, loyalty and teamwork. Six roles fit into that ten year run, every one of them a move made inside the business.
Where He Started
Senior Customer Service Advisor
Joined in June 2016. Front-line customer service, looking after accounts day to day.
Step 02
Customer Service Team Leader
Took on the leadership of the team as it grew in size.
Step 03
Asset Manager
Moved into asset management when the opportunity came up.
Step 04
Head of Asset Management
Approached to head a team of 10 Asset Managers and ran the department.
Step 05
Customer Service Manager, Slough
Back to customer service. Two years building relationships and processes, and taking the department forward.
Today
Regional Customer Service Manager
Asked to do the same at Camberley, and now looks after customer service for both sites.
The Role
Looking After The Customer
Darren is clear about what his function is. The Customer Service team is there to look after the customer, and what matters to CLEAN is keeping that customer. Everything else follows from those two sentences. He leads that function across CLEAN's Slough and Camberley sites, so the job is as much about how a department works as it is about any single account.
He is realistic about how service works in practice. There are good weeks and difficult ones, and the difference lies in what happens when something goes wrong. Darren's answer is to tell the customer what has happened and how it will be put right, quickly and without dressing it up. His main focus, in his own words, is encouraging customer confidence.
"We want to build personal relationships with our customers, to let them know that CLEAN is the business to be with."
What Drives Him
Room To Put It On The Table
Ask Darren what has kept him here and the answer is about the managers he has worked for. They have let him be creative. He has never been told he cannot put an idea forward, and that style of management suits the way he works.
It helps that the job refuses to stand still. No two weeks are the same, so there is always something exciting and challenging around the corner. Darren takes those things head on. He accepts that there will be obstacles, and he believes that anyone who is passionate about the work will get past them.
"I think CLEAN allows employees to contribute to the success of the business."
People And Culture
A Close-Knit Kind Of Place
Darren would encourage anyone to come and work at CLEAN. He describes it as a close-knit place with a family type of atmosphere, where colleagues get behind you and whatever you are trying to do. There are areas to progress into, and his own career is the evidence. As he puts it, it is what you make it.
WHAT Darren BRINGS
