Brother's Mfg

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/06/25) */ When this appointment was scheduled, we explained to the customer that we have a base (starting) price for cleaning, but that rarely covers everything and we could not give a firm quote for the cleaning because we have no way to accurately estimate how long cleaning will take without seeing itOne persons "horribly filthy" is another persons "not to bad." We explained that if cleaning to longer than the base charge covered, it was billed at $per hourWe also told the customer that after our crew arrived, we would call before doing the work to provide them with a firm priceThis is long standing company policy The exact job description relayed to the cleaning crew is attached We followed this process exactly as stated and when the customer did not answer, we left a voicemail messageThe customer acknowledges having received a phone call, but says that the voicemail left was to inform them that we had arrivedWe have explained to the customer that as a matter of practicality and policy, we do not call to inform customers that we have arrived unless we are requested to do so, which according to the schedule, we were not Nonetheless, the customer said he had the voicemail as proof and we agreed that if the customer could provide us with an opportunity to hear the voicemail and if it did not give the firm price to clean the apartment, we would refund $The customer then said that according to AT&T there was no way to send the voicemailWe told him he could just call and play it over the phone and we would accept thatAt that point, he said the voicemail had been deletedThe email exchange of this discussion is also attached The nature of our business means that we can't commit to a price before seeing the jobBy the time our crew arrives, we have already invested time and moneyWe make a good faith effort to reach the customer and inform them of the costsIf the customer wanted to pre-approve the bill, they could have met our crew on site, or instructed us not to clean beyond the base charge, or simply called back when we left a voicemail When the customer is unreachable, as was the case in this instance, our crew has options; do no work and charge the customer for the service call ($75), clean only to the degree in the base price and leave the rest, or clean the unit completely and properly and bill appropriatelyIt has been our experience that customers strongly prefer option We have made every effort to resolve the issue and have openly communicated our policies to the customer, but nothing short of a refund has satisfied him, and that is not something we are willing to do Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2015/06/26) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Please note brothers services online posted brochure attachedThe restorative cleaning sectionshours of cleaning plus a bathroom, and up to items included if a second bathroom isn't cleanedFor starting rate of $And we were charged for an extra hours of serviceWithout prior notice or consent of these chargesOnce again I will state the bathroom and garage were not to be touched in the pre service agreementThree upstairs rooms had recieved paint within days prior to service and new carpet for sq Ft of the home days priorAll cabinets emptied, vents removed and refrigerator emptyHard flooring tile and wood in first levelAll items should have been covered within the package we had agreed upon prior to serviceFrom brochure "All of five hour package plus an additional bathroom cleaning AND ..eight additional cleaning items if no second bathroom is cleaned." Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 9, 2015/07/07) */ The brochure attached by the complainant outlines our pricing structureThe website that it was downloaded from clearly states "please call for an estimate" under the heading "Professional cleaning pricing"http://www.broserv.com/our-services/cleaning-services This is because we do not give a firm price prior to seeing the projectThe nature of our service means that there is no average cleaning price that we can hold firm to that is fair to both the customer and our companyTake for example something as simple as cleaning a kitchen light fixtureThat may mean using a feather duster on an extension pole which would take less than a minuteBut if the fixture is coated with grease, which is not uncommon, it may take minutes to climb up on a ladder and and degrease the fixture, depending on how detailed the fixture isLast year we charged 1,additional hours of cleaning above our package rates, which further illustrates the variance we see in cleaning It is important to note that the complainant was not involved with the scheduling phone call and has stated that he did not hear the voicemail that was left on his wife's phone in which we gave the firm price quote prior to cleaningIt is also worth noting that we clean approximately individual units per year, and have been doing so since We have never had a Revdex.com complaint like this precisely because we are careful to notify the customer of the final cost prior to performing the service The crux of the complaint is that we didn't notify them prior to cleaningWe did, and the customer has acknowledged that a call was made and a message left, but misrepresents the information that was relayed We will not be making any changes to our policy based on this complaint because we are confident that we did everything that could reasonably be done to notify the customer of the final price, and the customer has stated that the cleaning results were good

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/25) */
When this appointment was scheduled, we explained to the customer that we have a base (starting) price for cleaning, but that rarely covers everything and we could not give a firm quote for the cleaning because we have no way to
accurately estimate how long cleaning will take without seeing itOne persons "horribly filthy" is another persons "not to bad." We explained that if cleaning to longer than the base charge covered, it was billed at $per hourWe also told the customer that after our crew arrived, we would call before doing the work to provide them with a firm priceThis is long standing company policy
The exact job description relayed to the cleaning crew is attached
We followed this process exactly as stated and when the customer did not answer, we left a voicemail messageThe customer acknowledges having received a phone call, but says that the voicemail left was to inform them that we had arrivedWe have explained to the customer that as a matter of practicality and policy, we do not call to inform customers that we have arrived unless we are requested to do so, which according to the schedule, we were not
Nonetheless, the customer said he had the voicemail as proof and we agreed that if the customer could provide us with an opportunity to hear the voicemail and if it did not give the firm price to clean the apartment, we would refund $The customer then said that according to AT&T there was no way to send the voicemailWe told him he could just call and play it over the phone and we would accept thatAt that point, he said the voicemail had been deletedThe email exchange of this discussion is also attached
The nature of our business means that we can't commit to a price before seeing the jobBy the time our crew arrives, we have already invested time and moneyWe make a good faith effort to reach the customer and inform them of the costsIf the customer wanted to pre-approve the bill, they could have met our crew on site, or instructed us not to clean beyond the base charge, or simply called back when we left a voicemail
When the customer is unreachable, as was the case in this instance, our crew has options; do no work and charge the customer for the service call ($75), clean only to the degree in the base price and leave the rest, or clean the unit completely and properly and bill appropriatelyIt has been our experience that customers strongly prefer option
We have made every effort to resolve the issue and have openly communicated our policies to the customer, but nothing short of a refund has satisfied him, and that is not something we are willing to do
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/26) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Please note brothers services online posted brochure attachedThe restorative cleaning sectionshours of cleaning plus a bathroom, and up to items included if a second bathroom isn't cleanedFor starting rate of $And we were charged for an extra hours of serviceWithout prior notice or consent of these chargesOnce again I will state the bathroom and garage were not to be touched in the pre service agreementThree upstairs rooms had recieved paint within days prior to service and new carpet for sq Ft of the home days priorAll cabinets emptied, vents removed and refrigerator emptyHard flooring tile and wood in first levelAll items should have been covered within the package we had agreed upon prior to serviceFrom brochure "All of five hour package plus an additional bathroom cleaning AND ..eight additional cleaning items if no second bathroom is cleaned."
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/07/07) */
The brochure attached by the complainant outlines our pricing structureThe website that it was downloaded from clearly states "please call for an estimate" under the heading "Professional cleaning pricing"http://www.broserv.com/our-services/cleaning-services
This is because we do not give a firm price prior to seeing the projectThe nature of our service means that there is no average cleaning price that we can hold firm to that is fair to both the customer and our companyTake for example something as simple as cleaning a kitchen light fixtureThat may mean using a feather duster on an extension pole which would take less than a minuteBut if the fixture is coated with grease, which is not uncommon, it may take minutes to climb up on a ladder and and degrease the fixture, depending on how detailed the fixture isLast year we charged 1,additional hours of cleaning above our package rates, which further illustrates the variance we see in cleaning
It is important to note that the complainant was not involved with the scheduling phone call and has stated that he did not hear the voicemail that was left on his wife's phone in which we gave the firm price quote prior to cleaningIt is also worth noting that we clean approximately individual units per year, and have been doing so since We have never had a Revdex.com complaint like this precisely because we are careful to notify the customer of the final cost prior to performing the service
The crux of the complaint is that we didn't notify them prior to cleaningWe did, and the customer has acknowledged that a call was made and a message left, but misrepresents the information that was relayed
We will not be making any changes to our policy based on this complaint because we are confident that we did everything that could reasonably be done to notify the customer of the final price, and the customer has stated that the cleaning results were good

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/25) */
When this appointment was scheduled, we explained to the customer that we have a base (starting) price for cleaning, but that rarely covers everything and we could not give a firm quote for the cleaning because we have no way to accurately
estimate how long cleaning will take without seeing itOne persons "horribly filthy" is another persons "not to bad." We explained that if cleaning to longer than the base charge covered, it was billed at $per hourWe also told the customer that after our crew arrived, we would call before doing the work to provide them with a firm priceThis is long standing company policy
The exact job description relayed to the cleaning crew is attached
We followed this process exactly as stated and when the customer did not answer, we left a voicemail messageThe customer acknowledges having received a phone call, but says that the voicemail left was to inform them that we had arrivedWe have explained to the customer that as a matter of practicality and policy, we do not call to inform customers that we have arrived unless we are requested to do so, which according to the schedule, we were not
Nonetheless, the customer said he had the voicemail as proof and we agreed that if the customer could provide us with an opportunity to hear the voicemail and if it did not give the firm price to clean the apartment, we would refund $The customer then said that according to AT&T there was no way to send the voicemailWe told him he could just call and play it over the phone and we would accept thatAt that point, he said the voicemail had been deletedThe email exchange of this discussion is also attached
The nature of our business means that we can't commit to a price before seeing the jobBy the time our crew arrives, we have already invested time and moneyWe make a good faith effort to reach the customer and inform them of the costsIf the customer wanted to pre-approve the bill, they could have met our crew on site, or instructed us not to clean beyond the base charge, or simply called back when we left a voicemail
When the customer is unreachable, as was the case in this instance, our crew has options; do no work and charge the customer for the service call ($75), clean only to the degree in the base price and leave the rest, or clean the unit completely and properly and bill appropriatelyIt has been our experience that customers strongly prefer option
We have made every effort to resolve the issue and have openly communicated our policies to the customer, but nothing short of a refund has satisfied him, and that is not something we are willing to do
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/26) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Please note brothers services online posted brochure attachedThe restorative cleaning sectionshours of cleaning plus a bathroom, and up to items included if a second bathroom isn't cleanedFor starting rate of $And we were charged for an extra hours of serviceWithout prior notice or consent of these chargesOnce again I will state the bathroom and garage were not to be touched in the pre service agreementThree upstairs rooms had recieved paint within days prior to service and new carpet for sq Ft of the home days priorAll cabinets emptied, vents removed and refrigerator emptyHard flooring tile and wood in first levelAll items should have been covered within the package we had agreed upon prior to serviceFrom brochure "All of five hour package plus an additional bathroom cleaning AND ..eight additional cleaning items if no second bathroom is cleaned."
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/07/07) */
The brochure attached by the complainant outlines our pricing structureThe website that it was downloaded from clearly states "please call for an estimate" under the heading "Professional cleaning pricing"http://www.broserv.com/our-services/cleaning-services
This is because we do not give a firm price prior to seeing the projectThe nature of our service means that there is no average cleaning price that we can hold firm to that is fair to both the customer and our companyTake for example something as simple as cleaning a kitchen light fixtureThat may mean using a feather duster on an extension pole which would take less than a minuteBut if the fixture is coated with grease, which is not uncommon, it may take minutes to climb up on a ladder and and degrease the fixture, depending on how detailed the fixture isLast year we charged 1,additional hours of cleaning above our package rates, which further illustrates the variance we see in cleaning
It is important to note that the complainant was not involved with the scheduling phone call and has stated that he did not hear the voicemail that was left on his wife's phone in which we gave the firm price quote prior to cleaningIt is also worth noting that we clean approximately individual units per year, and have been doing so since We have never had a Revdex.com complaint like this precisely because we are careful to notify the customer of the final cost prior to performing the service
The crux of the complaint is that we didn't notify them prior to cleaningWe did, and the customer has acknowledged that a call was made and a message left, but misrepresents the information that was relayed
We will not be making any changes to our policy based on this complaint because we are confident that we did everything that could reasonably be done to notify the customer of the final price, and the customer has stated that the cleaning results were good