9 Things You Should: Never Forget Number 3
Most people live very busy lives. Between work, family, and social engagements, there is not much time left for anyone else. This is one of the major reasons that people hire companies who provide home cleaning services. Whether you need house cleaning, condo cleaning, or any other type of residential cleaning, hiring someone to do it for you can save you a great deal of time. If you are going to hire a cleaning service, there are a few things that you should consider and a few things that you should ask.
#1 How Long Have You Been in Business?
This is a question that you should ask the cleaning company before you hire them. It takes more than a mop and a broom to properly clean a house. Therefore, you should find out how much experience the company has. If it is a new company who is just starting out, you should not count them out right away. While the business itself may be new, the owner and the people working for the business could have several years of experience.
#2 How Do You Prescreen Your Employees?
Because the people who are going to be cleaning your home will likely be there when you are not, you want to make sure that you can trust them. You should work with a cleaning company who performs criminal background checks and someone who checks references. If the cleaning company that you are considering hiring says that they have done thorough screenings on their employees, you should request the proof. It is easy to say that the proper screenings have been done, it is another thing to show proof.
#3 Do You Have Insurance?
This is one of the most important questions that you should ask a cleaning company. Accidents happen all the time. Because of this, you want to be sure that the company is insured. If the cleaning company breaks a vase, uses a product that eats the finish or your floor, or scratch your stainless-steel appliances, you should not be responsible for the cost to repair or replace the damaged item. You want to hire a cleaning company who has at least one million dollars in insurance coverage in case something should happen. You should also ask for something in writing stating that you would not be responsible if one of the cleaning service’s employees’ damages anything in your home.
#4 Do You Carry Workman’s Compensation for Your Employees?
You should only hire a company who carries workman’s compensation insurance on their employees. If one of the employees is injured while cleaning your home, and there is no workman’s comp insurance, you could be held liable for their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. This is a risk that you never want to take.
#5 How Are Your Employees Trained?
It is important to find out what type of training the employees of the cleaning service have received. You don’t want to hire a company who does not train their employees and just sends them out to do the job. The most reputable companies will have formal, documented training. They will also have periodic training programs.
#6 Will You Give Me a List of the Tasks That You Will Perform?
Since you are going to be giving your hard-earned money to a cleaning service, you should know what type of duties will be performed. Most cleaning services will ask you what services you need performed and how often. You should hire a cleaning service who will abide by the daily checklist and mark off the duties as they have been completed. When you get home, you will have a checklist on your counter to prove that all the duties were performed.
#7 Do You Have Quality Assurance Programs in Place?
You want to hire a cleaning company who is concerned about how you feel about their work. Companies that do regular quality checks over the phone, through email or by leaving behind comment cards are the ones who are truly concerned about customer satisfaction.
#8 What Happens if I am Unsatisfied with the Results?
You want to hire a company who is willing to listen if you are dissatisfied with the job that was done in your home. The more reputable companies will come back to your home and fix the problem. Some will offer to give you your money back. If the cleaning service does not have a policy when it comes to unsatisfactory results, you should consider hiring someone else.
Who Provides the Cleaning Supplies?
It is best to hire a cleaning company who provides their own cleaning products. If the company is providing the products, they will be less likely to overuse and waste the products. Also, if you are buying your own cleaning supplies, you are adding hundreds of dollars each year to your total cleaning bill for the year.
You need to completely trust the people that you let into your home to do the cleaning. If you ask the service the above questions and get all the right answers, you should feel comfortable about your choice.
