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The American way of life is a busy one. Sometimes you may feel like all you do is work, eat, sleep, and throw a load of laundry in the washer when you have time. Hiring a cleaning company to take care of the household tasks you don’t have time for can make a world of difference. It can take the overwhelmed feeling out of your schedule and give you some free time to relax.
When you make that decision to call a cleaning company, hiring a good one needs to be your top priority. You are inviting them to come into your home, and you want to make sure you won’t regret that decision.
First, let’s cover the warning signs you should be aware of when talking to a cleaning service you are considering hiring:
1. They encourage you or hint to pay “under the table”.
Some cleaning services offer this to avoid paying taxes. This is dishonest business.
2. They are not bonded or insured.
Being insured and bonded ensures that you are covered in the case of an accident while the cleaners are in your home, or in case of things being damaged or stolen.
3. They are new to the area, or they are new to the business.
New cleaning companies can be perfectly legitimate. Even so, you are inviting someone into your home, where they will be visiting every room. You want to have peace of mind by hiring someone who is already established and has a good reputation.
4. They offer you a very low price.
Sometimes companies will do this to secure a job, only to raise the price during or after the job. The low price can also indicate there may be other issues with the company, including sloppy work. Cheapest rarely goes hand in hand with being the best.
5. The company passes your job to an independent subcontractor.
Some companies that advertise as cleaning services are actually just the middleman between you and an independent subcontractor. The company doesn’t actually have its own employees that have been hired and trained by them. Often times, the subcontractor also lacks bonding and insurance. This is a dangerous combination when bringing them into your home for a service.
6. They have high turnover rates with their employees.
A company with poor training, poor management and a poor work environment will have a higher turnover rate than the companies who invests in those who are working for them. This is concerning beyond the company’s place of business because it frequently brings new people into your home that you are unfamiliar with.
7. Poorly maintained equipment and lack of training.
Cleaning equipment should be properly maintained when a company’s services and livelihood revolve around it. This also applies to training, ensuring the workers are prepared to do quality work.
8. Lack of communication.
If a company is difficult to get ahold of, or doesn’t return your phone calls, their customers may not be a high enough priority.
Now that we’ve covered the negative side with warnings to watch for, let’s look at the practices of good cleaning companies:
1. They are licensed, bonded and insured.
The company you choose needs to have the bonding and insurance to cover any damage, injury or theft that may happen. Hiring someone without these things opens the possibility for a lot of frustration and possibly a lot of money too. In comparison to questionable companies who offer extremely low prices for their services, the higher price from a company that is bonded and insured is worth the extra investment for all around peace of mind.
2. They are dependable, consistent, and responsive.
A good company values you as their customer, taking every scheduled appointment seriously and giving consistent, quality service every visit. Your specifications and requests are honored, and phone calls are answered in a timely manner, assuring you that your business is important to them.
3. They invest in their employees.
Good companies know that long term employees are beneficial to have, keep and take care of. The employee that is taken care contributes to the stability of a company while being part of strong customer relations and having a solid knowledge of the company and its ethics, expectations and functions.
4. Their workers are employees, not subcontractors.
Employees are trained and are a consistent part of a working team. Subcontractors are individuals who have been hired by a company more as a referral, which offers less accountability from the hired company, and often times less security for the homeowner. Bonding and insurance are not always included with a subcontractor.
5. They know their employees.
When hiring new employees, good cleaning companies need dependable, honest people to add to their team. They take the time to do a thorough background check and also check the references of the hiring candidate. Knowing the team members that enter your home is as important to them as it is to you.
6. They offer guaranteed satisfaction.
Your desires are taken seriously, and if not done properly, the company guarantees their work. That means they stand behind their work and will correct the situation that has not been done to your satisfaction.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
The more you know about the company you are hiring, the better! Questions can clear up any foggy areas you have about what to expect when the cleaning team comes to your home. Hiring a cleaning company should bring you relief rather than anxiety.
Ask the following questions for peace of mind before hiring:
1. Do you charge per hour or per job?
This helps to avoid surprises of the cost being substantially different from what you expected.
2. Do you do a background check on employees?
You want to know what type of person you are allowing access into your home.
3. Do you offer worker’s compensation if an employee gets hurt?
An employer that has worker’s compensation takes the responsibility away from a homeowner being reliable for a worker who becomes injured in your home.
4. Are you bonded and insured?
This covers damage or theft in your home from the company you hire.
5. Do you guarantee your work?
A company that stands behind their work will correct a situation if not done properly.
6. What does my cleaning service include?
Find out what will be done during your cleaning visit.
7. What should I do with my pets?
If you can introduce your pets to the cleaning team before the initial visit, do so. You will be able to see the reaction of your pets to strangers, helping you to determine a plan for when the cleaning team returns. Be sure to let the team know if your pets are afraid of the vacuum.
8. Can you give me all of this in writing?
Having things in writing reminds the homeowner and the cleaning company what was agreed on in the initial meeting. This will help avoid conflict if any of the verbal agreement was forgotten.
Take the time to ask questions and learn as much as you can about the company you are bringing into your home. This will ensure that you are hiring a company you can trust, while also knowing what to expect. The few extra moments will bring you a positive experience that will benefit you for days, weeks, months, and even years to come.
