A Full-Circle Moment With BMO: Why Three Generations of Our Family Bank With the Bank of Montreal

By Jared Sarbit

The year was 1954. My grandfather, Sydney “Zaida Syd” Sarbit, was a successful entrepreneur in Selkirk, Manitoba. His parents had started a small grocery store, and when he eventually took it over, he expanded it through sheer dedication, warmth, and a deep commitment to serving people.

Sydney Sarbit as a child, with his parents (my great grandparents), in their original grocery store.

He was the kind of man who remembered every customer’s name, who made people feel valued, and who believed that business should be personal. Those values didn’t just help him build a livelihood, they built a legacy.

But everything changed when a devastating fire broke out in the store.
With no fire insurance, he lost his business overnight.

It was the kind of moment that would have ended most entrepreneurial journeys.
But not his.

Syd Sarbit Grocery Store Fire in Selkirk Manitoba

How BMO — and a Man Named Tommy Gallant — Changed Everything

At the time, Syd was deeply involved in the Selkirk community. He was President of the Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Rotary Club, and widely respected for his character, leadership, and generosity.

Through his Rotary network, he was introduced to Tommy Gallant, a manager at the Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Tommy knew of Syd’s reputation; A hardworking businessman who cared about people, supported the community, and always lived with integrity. And in a moment when Syd had no collateral, no store, and no insurance, Tommy and BMO chose to stand by him.

BMO didn’t just help him rebuild the grocery store.
They also helped him pay off his wholesalers, ensuring he could restart with dignity, trust, and the ability to honor his commitments.

This wasn’t just banking.
This was belief.
This was community.
This was customer service at its highest expression.

With that support, Syd went on to build Sarbit’s IGA, which became the largest independent grocery store in Western Canada. It was, unsurprisingly, a massive success, a testament to what happens when character meets opportunity and a bank is willing to back the right person.

Announcing Sydney Sarbit’s new Super-Market, supported by BMO.
Not Toronto, Not Montreal…This Is Selkirk

1996: Loyalty Passed Down Through Generations

Fast forward to 1996.
I was 15 years old, working at Burger King, holding my very first paycheque. Because of my grandfather’s experience, and because of how BMO supported him during the hardest moment of his life, my father didn’t hesitate. He brought me to BMO to open my first account.

From that day forward, like my father and grandfather, I became a loyal BMO customer.
And I have never chosen another bank.

Me and my Zaida Syd, when I was 13 years old

Naturally, when we started Picture Perfect Cleaning 15 years ago, now one of the leading commercial cleaning companies in Calgary and Edmonton, we opened our business banking accounts with BMO. It wasn’t even a question.

15 Years of Partnership, Trust, and Unmatched Service

Our relationship with BMO has only strengthened over time.

Even though I don’t visit the branch as often anymore (thanks to DepositEdge), the tellers at the Seton location still greet me by name. They ask about our team, our growth, and our projects. Their warmth and personal service feel like an extension of the same authenticity my grandfather valued decades ago.

Our Senior Relationship Manager, Ashley Mentz, has been exceptional.
She is responsive, proactive, thoughtful, and consistently goes above and beyond. The kind of banking partner every business owner hopes to have, especially in a company as fast-growing as Picture Perfect Cleaning.

November 18, 2025: A Moment That Brought Everything Full Circle

On November 18, 2025, BMO featured Picture Perfect Cleaning on their national social media pages. Remarkably, it occurred exactly 71 years and one day before Syd would reopen his grocery store (as shown in the dated newspaper article above).

Even though I knew it was coming, waking up to see it posted was overwhelming in the best way. It was a full-circle moment, not just for me, but for our entire family story.

I immediately thought of my grandfather.
Of the fire.
Of how he nearly lost everything.
Of how Tommy Gallant and BMO helped him get back on his feet.
And how proud he would be to see his grandson’s company recognized by the very bank that helped rebuild his life.

See the BMO post about Picture Perfect Cleaning here.

Shared Values — Then and Now

When I was in high school, we were asked to choose a Canadian hero for a project. Most chose athletes or celebrities. I chose John Molson, a business icon and one of the major founders of BMO.

He once said:

“We are all members of a larger community, which depends on everyone playing their part.”

That philosophy guided BMO in 1954.
It guides them today.
And it guides us at Picture Perfect Cleaning.

We believe that business is about people.
About service.
About community.
About showing up consistently. Not because it’s profitable, but because it’s right.

These values are at the core of Picture Perfect Cleaning’s mission: supporting newcomers, giving back to the community, sponsoring local sports, and ensuring our custodians, who are the heart of our company, feel valued and supported.

Thank You, BMO

Thank you, BMO, for:

Believing in my grandfather when he needed it most
Supporting our family for more than 70 years
Recognizing Picture Perfect Cleaning for its values-driven approach
Celebrating our focus on disciplined operations, scalable systems, and proactive communication
Showing that a janitorial company can be a force for good in Calgary and Edmonton

Most importantly, thank you for proving, generation after generation, that customer service, community values, and relationship-driven banking never go out of style.

Picture Perfect Cleaning at the BMO 30X Calgary Stampede Party

Our story with BMO began with Tommy Gallant.
It continues today with Ashley, the Seton branch, and the entire BMO team.
And it will continue for generations to come.

Cost Calculator

What Is In-House Cleaning Really Costing You?

Adjust the four numbers below to see your true annual in-house cleaning cost, an estimated cost range with Picture Perfect Cleaning, and what you'd save by making the switch.

Current in-house staff cost

Annual wages plus benefits for your cleaning staff

Supply and equipment costs

Annual spend on products, tools, and machine upkeep

Management oversight time

Hours per week spent scheduling and supervising cleaning

hrs/wk

Sick days or missed shifts

Average per cleaning staff member, per year

days/yr

Your Cost Comparison

True In-House Cost

Est. PPC Cost Range

$0 – $0

Estimated Annual Savings by Outsourcing

Based on the average of your PPC estimated range

Get a Custom Quote and See Your Savings →

Estimates are based on average commercial cleaning rates across Alberta and typical management and coverage costs. Your actual quote depends on square footage, service frequency, facility type, and scope of work. Request a custom quote above for an exact number.

The Hidden Cost of In-House Cleaning

A wage comparison only tells part of the story. Here’s what usually gets left out:

Wages and Benefits

Payroll is usually the first number people look at when they think about cleaning costs, but it rarely tells the whole story. Supplies, equipment, manager oversight, scheduling headaches, and the inevitable sick days all add up over time. By the time you account for everything, the true cost of keeping cleaning in-house can look very different from what’s on the payroll report. That’s exactly what our cost comparison tool is designed to help you see, along with what outsourcing might save.

Supplies and Equipment

Cleaning products, paper goods, vacuums, floor machines, and the replacement parts that keep them running all add up over the course of a year. Businesses that clean in-house often buy retail-grade supplies at retail prices because they don’t have access to the commercial pricing that a cleaning company gets from its suppliers. Equipment also breaks down, and replacing a vacuum or floor buffer every few years is a cost that rarely gets planned for in advance.

Management Time

Somebody has to schedule shifts, check the quality of the work, order more supplies when they run low, and step in when something gets missed. That’s real time pulled from a manager’s actual job, and it rarely gets assigned a dollar value, even though it should. If a facilities manager or office lead spends even a few hours a week on cleaning oversight, that’s time not spent on the parts of their role that actually move the business forward.

Absenteeism and Coverage Gaps

Sick days and missed shifts are part of running any team. When they happen, the work still has to get done, which usually means paying someone else to cover the shift or accepting that some tasks will have to wait. Over the course of a year, those extra costs can become surprisingly significant. There’s another effect that’s harder to measure, too. When cleaning is inconsistent, people notice. Employees notice it, clients notice it, and visitors notice it, even if they couldn’t tell you exactly why the space feels different.

Cost Category	What It Covers
Wages & Benefits	Annual pay for in-house cleaning staff
Supplies & Equipment	Products, tools, and machine upkeep
Management Time	Hours spent scheduling and supervising
Absenteeism	Missed shifts and last-minute coverage

Why Outsourcing Often Comes Out Ahead

Once you’ve seen your own numbers, the reasons behind the gap start to make sense.

Predictable Pricing

A cleaning company quote covers labor, supplies, and equipment on a single line. You know what you’re paying before the work starts, and that number doesn’t shift because someone called in sick or a vacuum broke down. Budgeting gets easier when the cost of cleaning is a single line item rather than four separate ones scattered across payroll, supplies, and management time.

No Coverage Gaps

When a member of an in-house cleaning team calls in sick, someone on your staff has to figure out what happens next. With a professional cleaning service, that responsibility shifts to the provider. If a cleaner is unavailable, arranging a replacement is part of the service, so your team isn’t left scrambling to fill the gap.

Accountability Built In

Picture Perfect Cleaning holds COR certification and provides regular service reporting, so you can see what’s being done and when, without spending your own hours checking on it. That’s the management time most in-house teams never get back. Our team also uses EcoLogo- and Green Seal-certified products, so you’re not trading cost savings for a lower cleaning standard.

Get Your Custom Quote

Wages are only one line in what in-house cleaning actually costs. Once you add in supplies, the hours a manager spends overseeing the crew, and the gaps left by sick days, the real number is usually higher than what shows up on a payroll report and often higher than what a professional service would charge for the same work. That’s the gap the tool above is built to show you, along with what outsourcing could put back in your budget.

Our cost comparison tool gives you a reasonable estimate of what you could save by switching to a professional cleaning service, not a final number. Every building is different, and factors like your cleaning schedule, the size of your facility, and the services you need will affect the actual cost. If you’d like a more accurate quote based on your space, contact Picture Perfect Cleaning, and we’ll walk you through the options.