It’s unfortunate but it’s true; there are a lot of house cleaning services out there looking to make a fast buck at your expense. In fact, it’s one of the primary reasons why homeowners end up missing out on the many benefits that come with hiring a trusted house cleaning service.
Not knowing how to find a trustworthy cleaning service often leads to giving up on the idea altogether. If you find yourself in the same boat, we are here to help you change that. The key to steering clear of hiring a bad home cleaning service is to identify the warning signs. What are these red flags you need to be wary of?
Read on to find out.
1. Very Low Rates
We all know that quality comes at a price. This isn’t to say that affordable house cleaning services cannot be trusted, however, if a company is offering you an extremely low price for their services, chances are that they have ulterior motives. It’s scary to think that these ridiculously low rates could be their way to gain access into your home only to steal things of value, or worse, harm you.
On the other hand, startup cleaning companies tend to offer their services at hugely discounted rates in order to generate business and subsequently, the trust of their clients. Therefore, it’s not fair to classify all low-priced house cleaning services to be untrustworthy but rather, consider it a warning sign, do your research, and then make your final decision.
Without running a thorough background check on the maid service in question, one cannot jump to conclusions regarding the authenticity and integrity of the business.
2. They are Not Registered
Legitimate cleaning companies are registered to run their business under state laws and must pay taxes. Unregistered home cleaning services, on the other hand, can do as they please, and maximize profits by evading taxes. Such unlawful acts are your first warning that you are dealing with individuals who lack integrity.
Furthermore, it is hard to hold the company or house cleaner accountable in the event of theft or damage because they are not running a registered business. In this case, blame can easily be shifted to the client who chose to deal with an unregistered maid service at their own risk.
In order to ensure that the cleaning company is legitimate and practising under the laws of the state, ask for proof of registration before going any further with regards to hiring them.
3. No Permanent Address
Most cleaning services can be hired via an online booking process through their website, or over a phone call. While this is incredibly convenient, it often makes you forget that a business that is solely online-based cannot be trusted. This is generally how scammers operate because they cannot be traced if things suddenly go awry. With that said, even if a permanent address is provided on their website, it must be verified before they can be trusted.
It’s often the case wherein the home cleaning service disappears or is unresponsive when the homeowners have been cheated or had to bear loss due to theft or damage. In situations like this, clients need to know where the company’s headquarters are in order to take up the matter face to face.
4. Their House Cleaners are Not Insured and Bonded
Unforeseen circumstances must be taken into consideration at the time of hiring a professional house cleaning service. These may come in the form of injury to the homeowners directly or indirectly caused by the house cleaner, and vice versa. Therefore, both parties need to be protected in case of mishaps or, where the homeowner is concerned, theft, robbery, or damage to their property.
For these reasons, among others, house cleaners must be insured and bonded. It is also important to note that these policies must be renewed annually and therefore, homeowners should ask to see proof that the house cleaners have a valid insurance cover. If we were to put it simply, house cleaners that are not insured or bonded by the cleaning company should be avoided at all costs!
This is a major red flag that must not be taken lightly when looking to hire a trusted and reliable home cleaning service.
5. They are Not Equipped with Cleaning Tools/Products
A good cleaning service comes prepared; a great one is equipped with high-end cleaning equipment and a wide range of quality cleaning products. Of course, there are some clients who ask that the house cleaner use their tools and products which may be selected in accordance with their personal preference. For example, some homeowners like to stick to products with specific fragrances and/or non-toxic cleaning agents only.
However, most professional cleaning services invest in different types of cleaning equipment and products to ensure that they are fully-equipped to take on any house cleaning task.
Without professional tools and high-quality products, achieving those spotless cleaning results are rarely possible. Unfortunately, companies that are looking to cut costs will not purchase their own equipment/cleaners, and end up blaming the homeowner’s lack of quality tools and cleaning products for unsatisfactory cleaning results.
It’s a classic way for bad house cleaning services to get away with subpar cleaning results while still getting paid for their ‘efforts’. Pay heed to this warning sign when comparing different home cleaning companies in your area.
6. Cleaners are Not Vetted
You need to know that the professional cleaner sent to your home is someone you can trust wholeheartedly. After all, this person will be entering every room in your home with or without you being present at the time. Reputable home cleaning services prioritize the safety and security of their clients, as well as their homes, and therefore, ensure that the house cleaners they hire are honest and trustworthy.
In order to do this, each cleaner is fully background checked and often comes with high recommendations.
If the company you are looking to hire chooses any Tom, Dick, and Harry to be a part of their cleaning team, this immediately compromises your family’s and home’s safety and security. Apart from this, unvetted cleaners are usually inexperienced or not professionally trained and therefore, do not provide quality service.
So, make sure to only hire house cleaners who have gone through a rigorous screening process, and are also skilled and experienced in the cleaning field.
7. The Company Uses Subcontractors
To understand why some cleaning companies subcontract work to independent house cleaners or other companies, you need to first understand the amount of time and money that goes into running a full-fledged cleaning business. Overhead costs include investing in quality equipment and cleaning products, training house cleaners, acquiring insurance and bonding, paying tax, and so on.
On the other hand, when a cleaning business uses subcontractors, they cannot be held accountable for bad service, or liable in the event of injury and/or theft. In fact, the 10company merely acts as an advertiser while the subcontractor does all the work.
Unfortunately, clients who are unaware of the fact that a third party is being appointed to clean their home run the risk of dealing with unprofessional and unregistered house cleaners. With that said, if the company can prove that the subcontractors are legal, insured, reputable, etc, then one can feel confident in going forward with hiring them.
Don’t let the ‘bad’ guys out there keep you from finding yourself the perfect house cleaning service. All you need to do is steer clear of a cleaning service with major red flags, and give those reputable and trusted cleaning companies the green light!
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