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Marching Maids Blog

What’s better an agency or an individual cleaner?

June 13, 2022 No Comments

Personally, I’m always interested in a good deal. Who isn’t right? Do you want to spend $2000 on a brand-new mountain bike or find someone who just didn’t connect with the sport and will see you their lightly used bike for $1500?  I think I would go with the latter.   But sometime this principle isn’t so cut and dry.  Sometimes a good deal is too good to be true, as my mother has always said.  “C’mon Mom. He said the trip to Hawaii will only cost me $20?”  When searching for a house cleaner, you might be tempted to find the cheapest one possible, I mean after all, how much skill does it take to clean out the inside of a microwave. Choosing a cleaner off Craigslist for only $12 an hour might sound like a steal but maybe you’re not looking into the issue deeply enough.  I usually ask new clients if they had a previous house cleaner and if the answer is “yes,” I ask them why they’re switching. The most common reason I hear is that the cleaner is not very dependable.  Don’t get me wrong. Some individual cleaners are absolutely amazing but too often individual cleaners hand-pick the most lucrative jobs and disregard any customer that may be paying them too little or doesn’t tip quite enough to make the job sweet enough to continue.  These individuals will also bring new people with them to help out with the job and often pay these helpers very little.  This results in them needing to find new helpers all the time and that leaves the customer wondering, “who will be in my house this week?!?”  These are all very troubling questions to have to reckon with every week and you might find it much easier picking a company that vets, background check and assures you’ll have a great cleaner every time.  Marching Maids takes all the extra work off your hands and vets the cleaners, background checks them and keeps track of their cleaning feedback.  We make sure we are sending you the best cleaners every time and keep it consistent.  That way you know exactly what to expect with your home every time.  

How do I pick the right housekeeper for me?

June 8, 2022 No Comments

How do I pick the right housekeeper for me?

This is a question that I hear all the time.  My family and friends ask me how they can find a “good” house cleaner all the time.  Some of their frustrations revolve around issues that I’m sure a lot of people face when trying to find good help.  A common one that arises is that their house cleaner is flakey.  They show up when it’s convenient for them but they’re not especially dependable.  Marching Maids has received so many calls from desperate people practically begging for a last-minute cleaning because their regular cleaner has disappeared or couldn’t make it and they are throwing a party the next day.  Another common complaint I hear is that the cleanings started off great, but the quality has begun to fade, and the consistency is just not there anymore.  The old revolving door of maids is another issues that we hear about often.  Customers say, “we keep getting a different maid every week.  Then we have to tell a new person about our preferences and sort of retrain someone all over again.”  Some other common questions are:

1)      Is my cleaner trustworthy?

2)      Will they show up on time?

3)      Do they use their own products or do they use mine?

4)      Are they background checked at all?

5)      Is there any vetting that happens?

 

After running a cleaning business for the past 7 years I’ve heard all these questions and concerns plus more. So when I look for new cleaners I make sure that they’re skilled, trustworthy and dependable.  First I have them provide some personal information so I can run a thorough background check.  Then I have them take a picture of their cleaning supplies to ensure they have everything they need to  complete any job they take.  Whether that’s a standard routine clean or a big move-out clean, they must have all of the supplies to carry out the task.  Then I check their level of cleaning experience and call their references to make sure that they’re able to perform the job.  They must have the knowledge to clean different surfaces: quartz countertops, Granite, etc.  They must know how to clean various floor types: wood, laminate, parquet, etc.  Lastly but not least importantly, they need to be dependable.  Once a housekeeper cleans for a client, I will schedule a follow-up call to ensure client satisfaction.  If the customer has any feedback for the cleaner or on certain aspects of the house cleaning, I will take that feedback and update the customer’s profile.  Having an updated customer’s profile ensure that cleaning are carried out to their preferences every time and that they’re satisfied.   If the customer enjoyed the cleaners work, then I will send the same cleaner back to that house every time.  If the cleaner wants someone else for any reason whatsoever: then I will send another cleaner.  Generally the first cleaner that goes to any house does such a good job and leaves such a positive lasting impression that they continue to go clean for that person for a very long time.

 

 

How to schedule a move-out cleaning

June 7, 2022 No Comments
Moving out is never easy. Call Marching Maids to schedule your move-out cleaning.

Scheduling a Move-Out Cleaning

If you ever had to move before, you know just how dreadful it is.  First you need to find a place to live; and in this housing market that is no easy feat.  Then you have to call a moving company or rent a U-Haul truck to move your items. Next you have need to box up all your life’s belongings from your couch to your collectible X-Men figurines and load them into the Uhaul.  Drive your Uhaul to your new dwelling and unpack all of them items one by one.  Now if that didn’t give you anxiety, let me help.  NOW YOU HAVE TO CLEAN YOUR ENTIRE HOME!!!  That’s right! Everything in the house inside and outside, top to bottom.  That’s not what most people want to think of doing after breaking your back trying to move all their things from one place to another.   If you’re renting, then most likely you’re trying to clean your home to perfection to receive your deposit back. And if you own the home and just want to do the next owner a solid by cleaning up after yourself, you still need to put forth significant effort to make it look half-way presentable.  And you’re supposed to do this after being dog-tired from moving your whole life?  If you’re like most people, you will want to hire a professional that will do the deep cleaning for you and there are some good reasons for that. 

1)       Studies have shown that renters receive more of their deposit back from hiring a professional cleaning service than doing it themselves. 

2)      You’re absolutely exhausted from the moving experience that you don’t want to do it.

3)      Your landlord/property manager wants a receipt from a cleaning company to prove that the cleaning has been professionally completed.

Now that we’ve established why one might want to hire a professional house cleaning company to complete their move-out cleaning let’s talk about scheduling the service.  Often when a customer calls to schedule a move-out cleaning I ask some very important questions to make sure everything goes smoothly.  Firstly, I ask when all of the items will be out of the home. And when I say all, I mean 100% empty: not a fork, a old tennis racket, a bag of clothes to be donated to the goodwill, 100% EMPTY.  Then I ask if any other services are planned in the home that we need to be aware of such as: Tenting for pest control, carpet cleaners, window cleaners, grout cleaners, wood refinishers, etc.  It is best to schedule your move-out cleaning when the home will no longer be entered by anyone for any particular reason.  That way you can ensure that when you hand the keys over, you know the house will be completely cleaned.  Next, and this one is important, is you need to know who is responsible for giving you your deposit back if you’re a renter.  Is it the landlord, property manager, friend of the owner, etc.   This is the person that decides if they give you all your deposit back, partial refund or nothing at all.  This is the person that needs to be at the property when the move-out cleaning is completed to do a thorough walk-through with the cleaners to ensure it’s to their satisfaction.  Often the renter will do a walk through with the cleaners and according to the renter’s standards, the property looks great and they’re confident they will get their full refund. But when the property manager sees the property, they interpret it differently. 

Last but not least, the cleaners cannot clean if they cannot see and then cannot clean effectively if there’s no water.  Please ensure that all utilities will be turned on when the cleaners come to do the move-out cleaning.  

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