Maids: The Knowledge You Need Before Hiring

Hiring maids can be an effective way to reduce your housecleaning burden, get your home into tip top shape, and allow you to spend your free time doing something other than running a vacuum cleaner. Of course, not all cleaning services are equal. How do you tell the good ones from the not-so-good? First, you would be wise to hire based on recommendation. These recommendations can come from friends, co-workers, or even from online reviews. Second, you'll want to know what's included in your services. You can discover this by perusing the company's website or calling them directly. Here's what you need to know.

Satisfaction

A good company will always put customer satisfaction first. But there is a difference between merely saying that their maids will impress and putting their money on the line. Check with the company to see if they offer any money back guarantees on their service. You might also check if they offer a trial period during which you can evaluate their services without signing a lengthy contract. In fact, you might want to avoid lengthy contracts altogether. You don't want to move or change companies and still be on the hook for a monthly payment.

Equipment

Some companies will provide their maids with their own equipment, meaning you don't need to worry about furnishing a thing. Others rely on the homeowner's existing equipment to clean the house. In other words, if you don't have Windex and paper towels on hand, your glass tables aren't getting cleaned this week. Obviously, it is preferable to find a company that provides its own equipment. The only reason you might want your own equipment used is to avoid cross contamination from other homes or if you own a particularly powerful vacuum. Even then, companies that typically use their own equipment will usually be glad to make an exception.

Screening

One of the biggest benefits to going through a professional service (as opposed to hiring maids out of the classifieds, for instance) is that the employee screening should have been done for you. If a company is doing an appropriate background check, you shouldn't have to worry about druggies and convicts coming into your home and having access to your belongings. If there any way to be 100% safe? Of course not. We don't live in that kind of world. Knowing the company does thorough background checks, however, can reduce your risk considerably. Ask them exactly how they screen their employees and what they consider acceptable in an employee's background and what they do not.