Are you one of those people that just love to clean? Maybe your house is the one where you could literally eat off the floor and you truly enjoy running the vacuum cleaner constantly and dusting all your knickknacks. Maybe your friends have even commented on the cleanliness of your home! But for most people, cleaning is a boring chore that we would probably do anything to be able to give up. As a matter of fact, some would rather sacrifice other luxuries in exchange for having a cleaning service come into their home. When you reach the point where you're ready to take off the rubber gloves and put away the mop, you can of course hire a professional maid service to do this work for you. To make sure you make the right decision for yourself and your family, here are some questions you need to ask any potential service provider:
- Are there licenses that are required to work in California and are they bonded?
- Do they have full insurance, including worker's compensation insurance for their workers?
- Are their workers paid above minimum wage?
- Do they send teams of workers, pairs, or just a single person for the job? How do they decide the ones they send?
- Exactly how do they figure their rates, if they have a formula at all?
- Do they work on holidays and if so, which ones?
There are some reasons why you may want to consider a professional company over an individual. Typically you won't need to deal with someone calling sick. You won't need to get rid of an individual if they're not doing a good job but can take it up with a manager or supervisor of the company. These types of things are handled by the company so you don't need to do this on your own.
Typically there are common considerations for how rates are figured; they may include:
- It might sound strange, but you pay more for a visit the fewer visits you have. Those who have a visit once a month will pay more for that single visit than those who have the service come in every week or every two weeks.
- It might cost more for crews to come in rather than an individual but this means less time to clean.
- If you use the service "on call" meaning they just come in sporadically, this will be the most expensive.
When you do have a cleaning company come in, be sure to leave them alone to do their job. Don't hover or try to converse with them. They are typically very trustworthy, so clear out and let them alone to clean. If you are not pleased with something, take it up with the service. Your expectations should be reasonably met.
