Things You Should Know Before Hiring a Cleaning Service
Hiring an independent cleaning service for your home is more complicated and even dangerous than people often think. There are numerous laws surrounding employment, worker's compensation, taxes, and payroll that you would have to research and follow if you didn't have Executive Cleaners as your home cleaning service.
Having a housekeeper isn't for everyone. But maid service is kind of like cell phone service: Once you've had it, it's hard to imagine life without it.
On the grand scale of extravagances, housekeeping is cheap, with a two-hour weekly session running $60 to $140, depending on where you live. Is $60 a week too much to never scrub a toilet again?
Paying someone else to do the chores you hate may not be as wasteful as it sounds.
If you're already sold on the idea, or if you've hired someone but wonder whether you're going about things the right way, read on.
Before you open the phone book
Your first big decision when hiring household help is: Do I hire an individual or a service?
There are pros and cons to each approach. With an individual, you:
-
Can get referrals from friends and neighbors who swear by the efficiency, work ethic and honesty of their housecleaners.
-
Can guarantee only one person will be in your home, rather than a team or a rotating series of cleaners, as may be the case with a cleaning service.
-
Can often pay less per hour than what a service commands.
On the downside, you:
If you're checking out an individual, you can use an online background search firm for a basic check for $35 to $50. If the cleaner has moved recently from another province, you may need to pay more to do a check on records in that area as well.
Discuss what you want the cleaner to do and how long that will take. You may be trying to keep down costs by hiring someone for two hours a week, but she may need four or more to accomplish everything you want done. Conversely, your cleaner or service may want to be paid by the session, which could start out at six hours and slip to less and less time as the cleaner rushes through the job.
It may take some negotiating or even a few sessions to figure out what's reasonable, but doing so can prevent later problems and dissatisfaction. If you're hiring a service, consider asking if you can try out different individuals or teams so you can pick the one you prefer.
Provide supervision and feedback. Hovering and interfering with your cleaner's routine is counterproductive. But a walk-through inspection at the end of the first few sessions, and periodically thereafter, can help you spot problems and make adjustments.
Don't hesitate to fire someone who isn't working out. If you're giving clear instructions and your expectations are reasonable, you should be satisfied with how your house looks and smells when your cleaner is done. If not, or if you have good reason to question your cleaner's honesty or reliability, cut your losses and start over.
How to Enjoy Having Your Home Professionally Cleaned
Your house is a mess. You have no free time. You hate to clean. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Over 100 million people in the Canada and U.S.A feel the same way. As you plan to hire house cleaning services, here are some tips that will make your experience even better.
Remember that you're hiring human beings
If you plan on every speck of dust being gone after your clean, you're most likely setting yourself up for disappointment. You'll enjoy your service more if you are realistic about what you're getting. While professional house cleaners are exceptional at what they do, they are not super human. They can't clean your master bathroom in 5 minutes. Humans also make mistakes. If something isn't done well, relax, call the house cleaning service at the office, and let them know. Depending on the type of issue, most professional house cleaning companies will send someone out to re-clean the area and make sure to correct the situation.
Leave your home while it's being cleaned
Do you like when someone looks over your shoulder while you work? Neither do housecleaners. Relax. Professional house cleaning services screen their employees, conduct background checks, and are bonded and insured. Get the most out of your cleaning service by getting out of your house during the cleaning process. Not only will you enjoy the great feeling of walking into a clean home, but the cleaning staff will be better able to focus on their job. While leaving isn't a requirement, you just might find out how great it feels to abandon all thoughts of cleaning!
Leave a tip
Tipping service professionals is nothing new. Everyone tips their server at a restaurant, the bellboy, the valet. Tipping your cleaning professional is a good thing. Think about this; a professional cleaner is in your home, touching virtually all of your possessions. Cleaning is a physically demanding job. House cleaners are constantly bending down, scrubbing, walking up and down stairs, reaching up high, and moving heavy things around. And if hard work isn't enough, remember that they're dealing with all your dirty stuff! It's well worth a few extra dollars to say thank you. And who doesn't love a tip? Remember, a happy cleaner is a great cleaner.
To clean or not to clean
It's a question most people grapple with. Should I clean my house before the cleaning person comes? This is really up to you and there is no right answer. If you have hired a cleaning person for a set amount of time, the cleaner will be able to provide a deeper clean if your home is very tidy before their arrival. But, some people don't like even tidying up. If that's you, then letting the house cleaner do that might be well worth it. In the end, you have to decide how you want the house cleaner spending their time.
I clean my home in 1 hour…they should too
People always think a professional house cleaner should be able to clean their home faster than they clean it themselves. This is a misconception. When most homeowners clean their homes, they clean very differently than someone they hire. Homeowners know what areas they can skip and usually don't clean all the areas that professionals do. For example, many homeowners may skip the toilet when cleaning the bathrooms, only wiping down the counter and mirror. And even if they do tackle the toilet, they usually don't get the floor behind it. Professional home cleaners must clean everything, which, in the end, usually takes longer.
If you're realistic about your house cleaning service, you'll be much happier. And if there is something you're not happy with, simply call the office. You'll be much better off working through a few small issues than constantly jumping from one cleaning service to the next. Once you and the professional company get it right, having your home professionally cleaned is one of the best feelings around!
Professionally trained – We make sure our maids are professionally trained in the latest cleaning techniques so your home sparkles after we've closed the door behind us
How do I arrange payment for my cleaning service? The standard procedure for payment is to leave a check at the time of service. Consult with your cleaning service to see what payment options are available. Cash, check, and major credit cards are generally accepted. Payment is most always expected at the time of service. Some services require pre-payment for first time or one time service.
Should I leave notes? It is always a good idea to communicate whether you have concerns with the service or if you are very pleased with the service. Do not wait and write notes only when you are dissatisfied call us with even the smallest of concerns you may have. All communicated feelings are good ones!
What if I forget it is my cleaning day? If we have a key for your home, we will go ahead and clean the home, and let you pay later. This is another reason why giving a key is a good idea. Sooner or later everyone forgets and who wants to pay for a service they didn’t get? If you don’t give a key and you do forget it is your day, we charge our standard cancellation fee.
What if I have a security system? We are accustomed to dealing with alarms and various types of security systems. The idea is to provide a separate code that you can easily change if needed. Sometimes people choose not to give the alarm code and inevitably, the alarm is left on when the cleaning team comes. Not only is this ordeal nerve racking, it will end up costing you money. You may not get your home cleaned that day and still have to pay for it. In addition, most local police departments charge a fee for false alarms. With Executive Cleaners, you are dealing with a professional service you can feel confident in when providing alarm codes or keys to your home.
What about my pets? WE LOVE PETS! Please advise us of any animals such as cats that may try to escape quickly if a door is opened. Nothing is more frustrating to a cleaning crew than an escaped animal over which they have no control. It is also very dangerous for the animal. If you have a pet with special needs or that makes a mess, please make arrangements to control these occurrences. “we love em”, but we do not clean up pet messes
We have a ZERO tolerance for theft, whether it is .25 cents on a night stand or a 12 carat diamond ring; they are all the same in our eyes
Are they going to do my dishes? We will load dishes into the dishwasher if there is room for them to fit. We do not offer hand washing of dishes as part of our regular service, but can be offered as a Executive service. This should be discussed up front
Will the same crew clean my home each time? We work hard to make our schedules as efficient as possible, that includes sending the same team back to regular homes as much as possible. We will only make a crew change when it is absolutely necessary. This not only works best for you, it works best for the cleaning crew as well. A big plus of using a service like Executive Cleaners is that if in the event a crew change is needed, we can send a different, well trained professional crew to service your home
Do I have to hand over a key to a stranger? While it is YOUR house and YOUR key, it is more convenient and secure for us to keep a key to your home. It is usually not possible to be able to come home at the exact time the cleaning crew will need to gain access to your home. We do charge a service for the visit if the appointment is not canceled in advance, including lock outs. A key kept by Executive Cleaners is the best way for the cleaning crew to gain entry to your home. (Also, it can be a lifesaver if you ever get locked out.)home.
How can I be sure my keys are safe when I hand them over? While it can be very scary to hand over the keys to your home to a complete stranger, we take great strides in ensuring the security of your key. Each key is coded with only a number. The label does not have your name, address or any information about you on it. If the key is accidentally lost, there is no worry of it being identified and used to gain entry to your home. This is the most secure way to provide access into your home.
