Cleaning your house has no season. Whether you want to hire a cleaning service to help you with a one-off task, an annual spring clean, or something on a more regular basis, there are a few things you need to inquire about before you make a decision. You would always want your home sparkling clean and fresh. I am pretty sure you do not want a dirty home, right? When it comes to cleaning the house, it is a very daunting task and it takes a lot of time as well. Those people who have big houses or apartments, will find cleaning very difficult. Working professionals would not have time squeeze in cleaning their houses into their schedule that is why sometimes they seek help from cleaning companies. Some people would look for cleaning services because of an upcoming event at home or sometimes relatives would come over the house.
The question here is how do we hire the right cleaning service company? We do not want to settle for just anyone. Some would say, “it is cheaper to hire an under-the-table cleaning lady for cash!”, you have to know that you are putting a potential risk on your property and your belongings. We would want to hire a cleaning company with a good reputation. If your main concern is if it is worth your money, then you have to consider choosing professional cleaners. You have to make sure that you choose wisely, and according to your needs and requirements.
Of Course as a cleaning company ourselves we strongly recommend Divine Maids Seattle 😉
Here is a list of tips that may help you in order to hire the right kind of home cleaning service. Let’s get started!
Get Referral From Family and Friends
You can start with asking your family members or friends if they have tried hiring cleaning professionals to take care of their home. It would be easy for you to choose a cleaning company if your family members or friends have a good experience first hand. Referrals also give you an inside look about what a cleaning service company is about and not just with what they say on their website. Companies can make themselves sound amazing, credible, and experienced, but a referral from a friend or family can paint a different picture and carries more weight.
Take Online Reviews With a Grain of Salt
Satisfied customers would not tend to write as many reviews as unsatisfied customers who feel compelled to shower the world with their terrible experiences. Remember, oftentimes, those reviews are people using it as an opportunity to vent out, blow a story out of proportion, or try to damage the reputation of the company. If a company has all terrible reviews, that is definitely a red flag, but if they have mostly good reviews and a few bad ones, that is pretty average. No one is perfect.
The other thing that you also have to watch out for is a cleaning company with a perfect score. I know companies who pay clients to write good reviews for them, so of course, they would really get 100% perfect score. Regardless, a good rule of thumb is to avoid a company with all perfect scores, avoid a company with all terrible scores, and find the ones with really consistent high scores.
Bonding, Insurance and Worker’s Compensation
As mentioned earlier, some customers are concerned if the price of the service is worth their money. You also have to take into consideration the company’s ability to cover costs of any damage done to your home, any theft, or if an accident occurs on your property. If they do not have this coverage, you could be on the hook for money, items stolen, property damaged, or an injured worker. A company must be willing to tell you if they have this coverage and provide copies of their policies upon your request.
Take note! Be aware that this adds to the cost of operating a service company, which is why the rates are higher per hour or per job. However, this level of assurance is valuable, especially when you are letting someone into your home, and could ultimately be on the hook for something that goes wrong. Remember, we live in a litigious world.
Affiliations, Accreditations and Experience
You would have to do your assignment in knowing how long have they been in business for? Does this company have any recognitions, accreditations, or affiliations with professional organizations? You have to look out for this as this will make you feel assured that a company is trustworthy and concerned with their reputation. These acknowledgements, recognitions, and certifications are something that that company must have worked hard for to obtain a good reputation. With this, it would also show the staff, clients, and potential clients, that the company has done everything they can to offer an exceptional service. So, checking in to these affiliations lends to credibility to a company’s desire to remain in good standing with their customers.
Service Offerings
Does the company take requests or offer a fixed service? How detailed will they get? It is also important to choose a company who can accept requests depending on what you want to be done. You have to inquire as to what level of service is offered. If you can customize it, and hire someone to come and tick a bunch of things off your to-do list, or if you just get the same service each visit irrespective of what you want to be done, or if you can do a combination. Companies offer a variety of options; none are right and wrong, you just need to find out what suits your needs and your lifestyle.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Make sure to ask about breakage, damage, and satisfaction guarantees. A good company should stand behind its work and its workers. If you are not happy as a client, what are they prepared to do for you? How will they make it right? It is a fact that sometimes, things will break. The way that a company should always handle this is to be highly responsive, sincerely apologetic, and fix anything at any cost. I know this might sound crazy, but other companies do not really do this. They tell the client to claim it under their own homeowner’s insurance policy, or chalk it up to an unavoidable mistake.
If you are not satisfied with the cleaning, a company should have something to offer you. A touch-up? A free cleaning? Companies have different policies about this so find out what recourse you have if you are not happy with the level of service you received.
