Merry Maids

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/29) */
The customer scheduled a move out/make ready for January 13, 2016. Our team arrived at the home at 12:20 and was let in by the customer's daughter (the customer out of town). Since part of our move out services include wiping down the insides of...

the cabinets, the daughter stayed to finish cleaning out the cabinets before leaving the home. The teams started the service in the back of the house completing all the high dusting, dusting the bedrooms, and completing one of the bathrooms. During the course of service there was a power outage. Our team contacted the customer's daughter via text to explain the situation and she told the team where the breaker boxes could be located. The team members found the breaker boxes but were unsuccessful in restoring the power. The team then contacted the Merry Maids Quality Control Supervisor to report the situation and see what they should do next. Our Quality Control Supervisor contacted the customer to explain the situation with the power outage. At that point in time with no electricity, we had no option but reschedule the remaining areas to be cleaned, which included all the floors, kitchen and part of one bathroom. The service was expected to take approximately 3 hours to clean with a total estimated bill of $300. We rescheduled the completion of services for January 20, 2016. After spending valuable time trying to resolve the problem, our team departed the home at 2:05 p.m. In the meantime, we charged the credit card for the time the team members spent cleaning the home and trying to resolve the issue with the electrical outage. However, prior to the second cleaning the customer called back to complain and was transferred to the QC Supervisor. What happened next was really uncalled for. The customer screamed and cursed at our QC Supervisor. After several unsuccessful attempts to calm the customer she then transferred the customer to the Office Manager. The customer continued screaming and cursing at our office manager. She also tried to calm the customer and offered a $25 refund for the time the team spent trying to restore power. The Office Manager terminated the call after several attempts to dissuade the use of profanity.
I am very proud of our team, who did everything in their power to help resolve the situation. They did not just pack up and leave. They texted the daughter, they attempted to get the electricity back on, the contacted the office to ask for a solution. The office contacted the out of town customer to explain the problem and a follow up cleaning was scheduled. I am sure the customer was upset that we were unable to clean everything on that day and when a house is not totally cleaned, it is easy to find fault. I am sure the customer is anxious to get the house sold and I'm sure the real estate agents wanted to get their pictures taken. But most of all, we wanted to finish the job which we were unable to do so because of the power outage. And, of course, we then only charged for the time spent on that day, not the total $300. As, a good will gesture, we did refund $25. And this was time that our team spent trying to resolve the situation, trying to get the electricity back on so we could complete the job that day.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I tried to resolve the problem by contacting your company. You ignored me and when I called back I was told Noone in management was available and she didn't know when she was available. When I asked for corporate phone number she gave me the number and said it won't do me any good since they are individually owned and operated. I asked for the name of the owner or manager and she said it was none of my business. Not only you do lousy work your people are rude also. I did disputed the charge with my credit card company and this is not a way to get free lousy service from you. I don't  need your money. I also don't like to be scammed. I will gladly go to court and let a judge decide if I should pay you. I am in service business and I treat people the way I like to be treated. I don't promise what I can't deliver. I will make every effort to let people know what you did and they can decide who they believe. You keep insisting I say your crew didn't do anything, I believe they did a lousy job. You also lied about the. Calling my wife half hour before they where done. They called her and told her they were done and leaving. They may have changed you for their travel time to the parking lot they parked. Once again I am not making these up to avoid paying the charge. You know  what type of scam you are running. Maybe that is why you don't have a supervisor on call. I told I was moving in right away and insisted for assurance that the job would get done that Saturday. 
Regards,
[redacted]

I hired Merry Maids because I had severely damaged my back and company was coming to my house. They promised me to dust in places I could not reach and clean floors and the shower. They wanted around $300.00.

One cleaner did clean the shower fairly well but the other cleaner mostly stood around and looked at the dirt, would not dust nor clean under any chair, I asked her to move the chairs to clean under them and she refused, she also refused to dust an alcove and clean the blinds.

Get every promise in writing, otherwise agents of the company will renege.
Teresa M[redacted], as an agent of MerryMaids promised a reduction in cleaning fees when/if I reduced the number of rooms the maids clean that resulted in a significant reduction in cleaning time. On August 17, the maids completed cleaning a 3100 square foot home in less than two hours. However, no reduction of fees were credited to my account. Instead, in a recent email about the reduction in work required, I was told that to reintroduce those rooms for cleaning in the future would be at an additional cost to me. My request for the fulfillment of a promised reduction was never addressed.
Furthermore, Teresa M[redacted], as an agent of MerryMaids submitted a schedule that consisted Monday cleanings, twice a month. The Monday schedule constituted a switch from my original request of Tuesdays (to avoid Monday holidays). However, I acquiesced when Teresa as well as one of the staff promised that cleaning still took place on Monday holidays, such as Labor Day. Out of respect for the schedule, my husband and I cut short our holiday plans out-of-town so that we would be home for the Labor Day cleaning. However, we were recently notified that there would be no Labor Day service.This change is egregious enough, given the personal expense we quietly endured by shortening our holiday. But this added offense smacks of misrepresentation of what we were led to believe would take place on Labor Day.

Merry Maids cleaning service in New Bern, NC sent 2 cleaners to my home on March 3, 2016. They lied about what was cleaned & only did 4 things on list2 cleaners were hired on March 3 for 2 hours, or a total of 4 man hours. They were given a list of basic cleaning jobs - change 2 beds, dust, vacuum, clean 2-1/2 bathrooms, wipe kitchen counters and appliances, empty waste baskets, mop downstairs floors, vacuum couch, and pick up some decorative pine cones in the fireplace. After coming home several hours later, they were gone, there was my list with a note that they didn't have time to do everything, but they did most of it and they checked off what they did do. The list was on the dirty kitchen counter that they had not even wiped off, but checked off that they did. After seeing the remains of the last night's dinner still on the stovetop I called their office and said I was upset and wanted to talk to the manager. They said he'd call back. Then I took the list and walked around. They had checked off, but not done any dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the downstairs bathroom, mopping. I called back, saying now I was very upset and wanted them to send someone over to look at it right away. A woman did come quickly. she was very apologetic, saying this is not how they do business and she understood why I was upset. She took pictures to show the owner/manager and went outside to talk to him. He said he would tear up my check as soon as the cleaners gave it to him and she asked if I'd like someone to come back. I decided to stop payment on the check instead and told her this and said I would like someone to come back, but not the same two who had come. She took the list with her. I didn't hear anything back for a week, when the same woman called saying they had been too busy to call, but since the cleaners had changed the beds, emptied the trash, shook the throw rugs and picked up the pine cones the owner/manager decided I should pay half, $80.00. I said it couldn't possibly have taken 2 man hours to complete those tasks, but I would pay for 1/2 an hour, or one man hour, which I still feel is more than fair. I then hired another cleaning company to do the same job. It was done with no problem and I paid them with no problem and have had them come back again. I am not trying to get something for nothing, but I won't be ripped off. I haven't heard from them since March 10, until yesterday, April 4, when I received an invoice for the entire amount of $160.00. Unfortunately, the woman who came to look at the shoddy job took my list and I didn't take any pictures myself. She seemed so contrite and helpful I didn't dream they would continue their scam by going back on their word. Live and learn. I did write a review after the second cleaners came outlining my experience with Merry Maids, but they have all my proof, which I'm sure they will never admit to. I work hard to maintain a good credit rating and pay my bills. I can't remember ever stopping payment on a check. They are a bad business, both in the service they provide and the lack of morality they show in dealing with that lack of service.Desired SettlementI want to have no further contact from Merry Maids and no further pursuit of payment.Business Response Merry Maids has been servicing New Bern for 19 years, we have always stood by our service guarantee which states we will reclean any area our client is not happy with. In this case client was not satisfied we did tear up the check because we thought there was some miscommunication in areas to be cleaned. The bill was an error and we were not even requesting the half hour be paid. If the customer had called when she got the bill it could have been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience just a miscommunication not a scam.Thank YouGod Bless! Consumer Response Thank you Revdex.com for your assistance in this matter. My only comment to their reply is that I told the woman who came to my house that I would like it re-cleaned and it was never done. However, I am pleased with the result and am happy to let the matter end here and now.Final Consumer Response

VERY HAPPY WITH THE SERVICE AND THE STAFF- I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BUSINESS TO EVERYONE NEEDING CLEANING SERVICES OF ANY KIND!","pos-1

I hired merry maids from fredericksburg. They quoted me one price then did extra work that I did not ask to be done then charged me for it. After I called corporate the local superviser offered to refund me a small fraction of what they overcharged me. I had to go behind them and reclean my shower floors and oven drawer. My house is not that large and it was empty so it couldnt have taken over 4 hours to clean. Especially when it took 30 min to clean the main floor when I was there. Once they get your check they will be less than customer friendly. I am very disappointed in merry maids of fresericksburg. I was willing to split the difference out of good faith but when they offered me less than half I am shaking my head.

Review: I contracted with merry maids to have my windows professionally cleaned. At the completion of the job, they looked only slightly better then they did before they started. The issue was their inability to remove hard water stains present on some of the windows.Their leadworker told me that they could not remove them and that I should have been informed of that during the initial consultation. She also stated the stains could be removed but not with the cleaners they were provided. Had I known that they were not going to remove the stains, I would not have contracted with them. I immediately called their office to express my concerns but only received an apology.Desired Settlement: Since the agreement has a "satifaction guarantee" clause,I would like half of the 270.00 dollar fee refunded.

Business

Response:

I, [redacted] have worked for Merry Maids for 3 years now as a sales rep. I met with Mr [redacted] on 3/27/14 at 10:45 am for a consultation. I gave him prices for a cleaning of his home as well as additional services we offer such as window washing. I noticed there was hard water stains in the master shower and stated that we "do not guarantee hard water spots or stains on surfaces". He did not commit at the time said he would speak with his wife and call us back. [redacted] received a phone call from [redacted] on 4/8/14 stated he wanted to have his windows washed only. His total for the job was $270.00 inside, out, with tracks and screens washed. I sent out 3 professional trained maids to his home 4/9/14 around 9:30am. The maids washed about half of the windows when I received a call from Mr.[redacted]he was not very satisfied with the hard water spots. I then explained to him again that we do not guarantee hard water that has been baked on for many years and the windows have not been maintained. I then explained we do have a product that we can use that might help with the water spots but still can not guarantee the hard water spots can be removed. I gave him the option of using the additional product or we can stop the job and we will just charge for the services that we have already completed. He agreed to have us continue the job. When any job is complete and it is a first time visit we have our staff walk thru a home with the client and sign a quality assurance form stating we performed our duty and they are satisfied. I do have a signed disclaimer from Mr.[redacted] on 4/9/14. Mr.[redacted] then called the office after our maids left the home and spoke with our office manager [redacted]. She then expressed that we are sorry that we could not guarantee to get the hard water spots off and said if we knew this was his main focus was to remove the hard water spots we would have not accepted the job. We did not want to upset the client and offered a discount of $50.00 off of the price of the windows for any misunderstanding and he accepted the offer. The client paid a total of $220.00 by credit card. [redacted] then again apologized and went over our policy again with Mr.[redacted] and notified him that 3 of our staff members were there for 2 hours. That means he received a total of 6 hours worth of work. He understood. Our position is that we will not refund any additional refund because we feel it is unreasonable due to the fact we gave him many options of stopping the job, finishing the job, and gave him a $50.00 credit off the initial fee. If he would like a copy of his signed quality assurance form that he was satisfied we would be glad to submit the form.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because:

I read [redacted] response in disbelief. Let me begin by stating that the words "hard water stains" was never written or spoken until after the completion of the job. Her comment stating that I called the office after the maids completed half the job to complain about hard water stains is totally fabricated. She states that she offered to use other products that might remove water stains or that they could just stop the job and only charge for the services completed. Again, total fabrication. The only discussion of "other products" took place with one of the maids, who apologized for not being able to use a product like [redacted] Stain Remover, which my wife and I have since used, and found it to work quite well.

The only call to the office came after the completion of the job, at which time the team leader contacted the office to voice my concerns. [redacted] stated to me during that call that during her initial consultation the blinds were closed and she couldn't see the windows. Another fabrication. The blinds were all open. How could she bid a window cleaning job if she could not see the windows. I responded by saying that I would not have used their service if I thought they would be unable to prpoerly clean the windows. Her response was "lesson learned" and that in the future they would convey their hard water stain policy to other customers. Shortly after my conversation with [redacted], I received a call from Breanna. She apologized for not being able to remove the hard water stains but because of their policy there is nothing that could be done. I then asked her about their written "satisfaction guarnteed" policy. She aknowledged they have one but that she had sent a three person crew to the house. I'm still not sure what that means. As far as the $50.00 credit for the job, I stated to Breanna that I would accept it as a start, but I wanted half of the $270 refunded.

Also, in their respose to my complaint, [redacted] claims that I signed a quality assurance form stating that I was satified with the job. Again, total fabrication. With the approval of the team leader, I handwrote the word "not" before the word satisfied on the sheet that I was asked to sign. If Merry Maids can produce a document that I signed stating that I was satified with the job, I will withdraw this complaint.

It seems to me that if a professional cleaning organization has a policy such as the one they mention regarding hard water stains, it should be written on the work contract, and not verbally stated at the end of the job. Merry Maids was a complete disappointment and I would not recommend them to anyone.

Business

Response:

As verbally stated in our consultation, Merry Maids can not guarantee hard water spots or stains off of any surface. We did give you an option to stop the job before the job was completed or try to use an additional product that still has no guarantee and you gave us the approval to continue washing the windows. Upon us issuing you a $50 credit, at this time we will not be able to honor your request.

Review: I hired this service to clean my house gave them $200 payment by credit card and $100 when service was done. When they came they could not clean the oven because they did not have cleaner with them and auto clean was not working. did not clean or wipe down top of oven or side of oven or refriderator. walls by stove not cleaned. House reaked from cigarette smoke from them. Originally I was told that 4 people would come to clean (that is why it was so expensive the first time) only 2 people came and when I asked about the other 2 they acted like they did not know about it, but slowed their efforts down. Their supervisor brought boxes for them to put thing is, like conainers,ect. They ner touched the boxes left them untouched where he left them in the living room. When they returned from lunch they started packing up their things.I went in the hall and noticed a bedroom door was closed, they forgot that room. When I mentioned it , they acted offended and went in the room. four minutes later they came back and said it was done. They left, I checked room all was don is vacumn a small area. Trash left in house and by door, never took it out. When I called to speak with someone they kept telling me to arrange to have them back to reclean. Called last week and told them I was off two days, They said they never got message, But evidently they scheduled for this week and I was not off. Correct days wrong week. I spoke with someone yesterday (Patsey) she called to arrange a monthly clean. When I reminded her that the past issue was never solved she acted flustered and said she would call me back. I have not heard from anyone as of yet. They did 50% of the job they were suspose to do, I would like a 50% refund.Desired Settlement: would like a refund for 50% of the cost because they only did half of the work. $150

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates that the business has not responded to you directly. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

At this time, I have not been contacted by Merry Maids regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Regards,

[redacted] I have not been contacted by merry maids.

Review: Merry Maids promised me a clean home after each visit but what I got was a half cleaned not sanitized home. The lead person [redacted], was assigned to my house lied to me repeatedly when asked did she clean the master bathroom toilet and floor. She told me yes at each visit. The build up was so bad that I took a wet paper towel and wiped the floor just to see if I was seeing things. What came off was shocking! I took the toilet brush and swished it and the build-up just melted away. I was in total shock! The guest bath up straits was about the same. The toilet seat was filthy! My guest would go to the gym and all of the sweat from their bodies transferred onto the toilet seat. The bathroom appeared to be cleaned but it wasn't. The absolute worst is when one of the girls from Merry Maids starting cleaning the kitchen with a towel had used in the bathroom. I asked her not to forget to clean the lamps that hang over the counter. She said okay, picked up a wet towel from a bucket and started wiping. I asked her why was it wet when she didn't go to the sink. After asking her (and kindly I might add) a couple of times she told me it was from the bathroom. Another time I called the company and the manager said she will come out and bring a couple girls with her. The very items that was left not dusted the manager was suppose to be dusting them but she left without doing so. There was only one time my house had a pretty good cleaning. It was [redacted], the lead person; that was before I knew she was lying to me, and another young lady that was quitting. She told me she was quitting because the company told them to take shortcuts when cleaning. She felt it was not fair to the customers. [redacted] agreed and promised me that would never happen to me. Which they both got a hefty tip that day. However, after a couple days I saw things in [redacted] area that didn't get done. I talked to the manager and told her I had to let them go, I couldn't trust them.She told me if I did I had to pay them some ridiculous figure.Desired Settlement: They said they were going to put me into collections if I didn't pay them $1,700 plus. They said that price was for the initial cleaning. Merry Maids never throughly cleaned my house, and every visit was a problem. Surly they don't expect me to pay them for services not rendered. I'm not sure if they have done what they said they would do or not. I suggested to them that we go to small claims court. I have no problems with my new cleaning service; They get the job done.

Business

Response:

[redacted] was a customer of ours. When she signed up for our service on 2-21-14 She signed up for a bi-weekly service which is once every two weeks. Her first initial clean was priced at $628 then an ongoing $196. She also signed up that day for our 24 Merry Maids Advantage package which is a contract that customers can sign up for. When they sign this contract they are agreeing to 24 home cleanings and get a $400 discount on their first time cleaning and a 10% discount off their regular service. How the contract works is the customer has 365 days to get all 24 cleanings in. Only if for some reason the cleanings were not completed in that time or if the service was canceled before the 24 cleanings were completed do we charge the customer their $400 waived fee that took off their first time cleaning. This cancelation fee is just a reuinbursement for the deep clean that we did already provide for the customer. [redacted] signed and understood this contract. She canceled the cleaning after only 8 cleanings. As stated in her letter she talked about an employee named [redacted]. We have not had an emplyee by that name during the time she was an active customer. [redacted] also mentioned that one of our employees was using a towel that in the kithcen that she had used in the bathroom. I spoke to the girls and know this to be a false statment because here at Merry maids we use diffeerent color towels. A pink towel is for Bathroom, yellow is for kitchens and wet washing floors, green is for dry dusting and blue is for glass and mirrors. This was there is not cross contamination and our employees would never use a pink towel in any place other than a bathroom. That is how they all are trained. Also we do not wet our towel with water from the sink. We use our own Merry Maid products that are in spray bottles. I myself was out to the customers home and did a walk through with her of all the things that were missed and they were taken care of. She mentioned that we tell our employees to cut corners that also is a false statement. Our employees go through an extensive 2 to 3 weeks of training when starting on with Merry Maids because we offer such a detailed cleaning for our customers. I did speak with [redacted] multiple times and sent out girls on mulpiple occaions for redos to try and fix the things that were missed. That is our plocily so I was trying to work with her on that. Her statement saying we are charing her $1,700 for a cancelation fee is 100% false as well. I told her that it was a charge of $400 since she was cancelting her 24 MMA contract before the 24 cleanings were met. She did not want to pay that. Since she did have multiple complaints I told her that we would only charge her $200 because of that. She still refused to pay that. All in all we did try to rectify the situation with the customer but she ultimatley terminated her contract with our company and refused to pay the $200 cancelation fee in the end.Sent on: [redacted]Sent by: [redacted]

Review: I was a weekly customer of Merry Maids for approximately 18 months which time I brought service issues to their attention several times. Each time, the matter was resolved fairly quickly but often by changing my day of service to allow for a less hurried experience for the teams cleaning. The week of January 5th, 2015, Merry Maids was unable to enter my home during the scheduled cleaning due to the cold weather freezing my garage code. Despite having a large party scheduled for the 10th of January, we were unable to reschedule. I took on the cleaning intending that it would be a light cleaning but instead discovered eight or nine areas of concern that I hadn't discovered earlier because I'm not cleaning on a regular basis. It was apparent that the cleaners were routinely missing the dusting or cleaning of baseboards, behind doors, the scrubbing or cleaning of shower stalls or bathtubs, behind toilets and on baseboards, etc. Additionally, I discovered damage to my belongings that I brought to their attention immediately on January 11, 2015. The management team at Merry Maids scheduled a visit to my home with [redacted], a staff person who was to evaluate the situation and make recommendations to fix them. She came to my house on Wednesday, January 21st and that particular meeting was contentious and largely unhelpful; [redacted] everything but ignored what I was sharing with her, raised additional concerns that I had not noticed, forwarded those particular concerns to incoming cleaning staff while not communicating the details of my own concerns. She took photographs of the damaged furniture and the damaged baseboards and told me that they'd be in touch about how they'd be fixed. I heard nothing from Merry Maids staff who repeatedly reported to me that the owner, [redacted], would be in touch. They repeatedly shared that [redacted] owns a tax business and that it was insanely busy which is why [redacted] wasn't getting back to me. It was't until I threatened to file a report with the Revdex.com two months later that [redacted] did call me - from Florida as she was on vacation. In the intervening time, I'd had a portion of the baseboards repainted professionally. When I spoke with [redacted], she asked that I forward that bill to her and she assured me that she'd arrange for someone to come out to repair the furniture. I did forward the bill. After several false starts with that, a furniture repair person did visit my home in mid-April and repaired the furniture to my full satisfaction at their cost. However, [redacted] has not responded - once again - to many emails or phone calls both to her business office and personal phone. We remain uncompensated for the repainting of the baseboards in my home which came to $645. While there are more baseboards needing repainting, I told [redacted] that we would settle for their paying for this work and call it done.Desired Settlement: I would like Merry Maids to reimburse me for the expenses we incurred to repaint the baseboards that were scuffed and stained by their cleaners over the course of my service contract with them. I had the baseboards repainted during a household redecorating project at the very outset of my service time with them - to prove that the damage was done by them - and they serviced my house weekly until I cancelled my service due to substandard service. Although the amount that I have requested to be reimbursed does not reflect the costs of repainting ALL of the damaged woodwork, it is the amount that I am seeking from them to resolve this matter. If they would prefer to settle this dispute after I have had the remaining baseboards repainted, I can do that and submit a request for reimbursement for ALL of the damage which I would guestimate to be an additional $600 - $700.00 for a grand total of $1245 - $1345.00.

Business

Response:

Business states consumer has been refunded and issue is resolved.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Service was not as advertised. One of the main reason I called Merry Maids was to clean my wood blinds as well as a general spring cleaning.

One request I made and was in their notes was to not use stainless steel cleaner on my large refrigerator. Only water on a damp cloth was to be used. Stainless steel cleaner was used.

Twice I needed to ask that the blinds be done again. The last time I was informed that they had done all they they were supposed to do even though they were not cleaned. Kitchen blinds were left with grease build up that neede to be removed. Furniture dusting was half complete. Wood floor wass scratched. I called the owner to inform her what had happened. Her response was that she had just spoken to one of the workers who stated they were finished. Owner replied to my call and she said she had just talked to the workr and she mentioned nothing that had happened. She came to the house to inspect and proceeded to help clean.

There was no resolution to cleaning the refrigerator with what I specifically said not to. Very bad experience and will not use again or recommend.

Review: I am a chronic pain patient & just can't take care of my home as I used to so I hired Merry Maids for weekly cleaning of my home. I was promised a deep cleaning on their 1st visit. It took them 2 tries to get out to my home to do this cleaning, causing me much inconvenience. When finished my home, on the surface, looked cleaner but as the days went by I noticed very little was done. I had my rep. come out the next week after my cleaning to show her what all wasn't done, again. I then was inconvenienced even further by having to have a team come out again the next day to get done what they should have done on the 1st cleaning. Took them 4 tries to do what should have been done the 1st time. Finally my house had it's deep cleaning done, then the next cleaning then took 6 1/2 hours! When I complained of the inconvenience of having her here for so long, the next time she rushed out in less than 2 hours & did a very poor job. It was about this time I noticed about 2 weeks of my pain meds were missing. I have no proof it was Merry Maids but I've never had a problem before & no other strangers were in my home. They certainly weren't cleaning the 1st 2 times she was here! Before all this happened I was commissioned by my rep., [redacted], to crochet a blanket like one I had made that is on display in my home. I agreed & now she won't pay me. Their incompetence is flabbergasting, employees do not speak English making communication impossible, customer service is poor & their reps make illegal deals on the side while on company time. They given me nothing but hassle, grief & inconvenience. I've lost pain meds, money & most importantly, my time.Desired Settlement: I would like to be paid for the blanket I was commissioned to make by [redacted] while in my home as a representative of Merry Maids. I am owed $205.

Business

Response:

To Who may concern,

The concern from [redacted] has been resolved. Her main concern was that at the time our sales rep did the free in home consultation for home services, there was a conversation about a blanket. After the client suspended services with our company that when we found out about the blanket. The sales rep met with the client to pick up the blanket and paid her. I follow up with the client and she was satisfied with the outcome.

Sincerely;

Branch Manager

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me as the sales rep did, finally, pay me for the blanket I made for her. The manager who sent the response did not ever follow up with me personally though, as they stated.

However, Merry Maids still provided horrible service & stole from me but since I have already fired them & found a better service, all I wanted was to be paid for the blanket so I accept the resolution & will close this complaint.

Regards,

This company has consistently underperformed in service for 1 1/2 years. They do not do the jobs stated clearly on the website that they will perform each visit. Furniture is "dusted" if at all by swiping a rag across the front. Baseboards are never dusted. Trash is not emptied. Floors may or may not be cleaned. Charge $280/month and do about 50% of the job they claim. They are highly variable about the person sent to do the cleaning despite repeated requests to have the same person. They don't follow up on service complaints.

This office use deceptive practices and waste your time. They charge $500 flat fee for first time clean no matter if your home is 2 bedroom and almost spotless like mine. However they will not inform you when you call. They will come in, waste 2 hours of your time, try to sell you $500 first time cleaning with the straight face, because "it is their policy". If they told me about their $500 fee policy when I called I would end the call right the way. No respect whatsoever for consumers time. Company sounds like a scam. And aggressively they try to sell you their subcontracting window + carpet cleaning. Stay away!

We hired Merry Maids to clean our new home before we moved in — it had previous owners and needed a freshening. We paid for 8 hours of cleaning, but we didn't receive a cleaning. We received a wipe down. I understand that they use all natural products, which is great, but was disappointed when there were orange and black stains in the shower still after their "wipe down." The toilet was not clean. There was dust on doors, the stairs, sills. The floors, while hand wiped, still had spots on them that I could wipe off with a wet finger. We asked that they clean the windows — this was a priority, but they were so streaky after they did them, it would have been better if they didn't do them at all. I might go as far as to say my home was the same, if not worse off after Merry Maids came. I was very disappointed and called to discuss my complaints, but I was told it was "the best they could do" in the eight hours they had to clean my home. My home is only a few years old, so it's not like the house was in bad condition. If Merry Maids would like to contact me to discuss further or to offer me a refund, I am willing to listen. My home was cleaned on November 16 in North Appleton.

I was given a 3 hour quote to clean my 2,000sqft home (over the phone).The crew was an hour late and did not call before arriving .They just showed up. Since I never received a courtesy call saying they would be late, I put my younger 2 little ones down for a nap. The crew had to start on the downstairs first. 2 hours later I was told they couldn't finish in time but could stay an extra 30 minutes and then finish up in the morning. I said OK and went to run errands. When I got back home and inspected their work I was upset. There was still dust/dirt on the baseboards, the cabinets and walls were not wiped down, there were cobwebs and dust still in the corners, and the outside of one of the tubs was not wiped down. The TV screen was poorly dusted and all the wall hangings were not touched, as with the entire upstairs ,except for the small bathroom. I was upset but since it was after hours I did not make a call to report The next morning I pointed out all that was wrong, they said they would fix it. They were supposed to stay about an hour and a half to finish. When I got back home, the crew was still there and NOTHING I requested to get fixed was done, aside from the bathrooms. They worked for 6 total HOURS and did a very shotty job. Dust was still in the corners, the window sills were not dusted well, baseboards were still not done, and nothing upstairs was finished. Dust was still on the hardwood floors, and the only area they did clean of the floor had residue spots. Since we are putting our home on the market to sell I specifically requested a "deep cleaning". THIS WASN'T DONE.I was upset when I was expected to make extra payment because they stayed over. I made a call to the manager. I explained what happened. I refused to pay for the full 6 hours of cleaning. She said I could pay for 3 hours. I agreed but only if I got a different crew to come back and clean my still dirty house. The manger refused to do so without extra charge. So much for the guarantee of customer satisfaction, which is clearly stated on the Merry Maids website. Do not EVER use this service unless you want poor quality and bad business!!

Review: Dear Mr. [redacted]:

Recently, I was involved in an accident which kept me from living at my home without help from my family. I was living with my son and his family while recuperating and preparing to move back into my home, when I contacted the [redacted] location of Merry Maids and scheduled to meet with Office Manager, [redacted] at my home on July 14, 2014 to contract a thorough cleaning of my home. My cleaning was scheduled for July 17. When I returned to my residence on July 18,2014,I was extremely disappointed and dissatisfied with the service provided by Merry Maids. While cleaning the refrigerator, the tempered glass top to my crisper drawer had been broken. There were pieces of broken glass on the counters, on the kitchen floor, my pantry, and even my

living room. In the process of trying to dispose of the glass down the sink, the garbage disposal was jammed full of glass and completely inoperable. The floors in the kitchen and pantry, hall bath, and master bath/powder room appeared to not have been cleaned at all. There were several pieces of trash/dirt that were found throughout the house which clearly indicates no vacuuming occurred. My glass top end tables and coffee table in the living room still had dust upon them. As well, three (3) windows had been left unlocked during cleaning! My house could have been burglarized! Needless to say that for the amount of money charged for this cleaning, I was incredibly disappointed and dissatisfied.

I contacted [redacted], Office Manager, on July 18,2014 to discuss my concerns and convey my complaints. She rnet me at my house on Saturday July 19,

2014. We walked through the house as I explained all discrepancies, she was in agreement with the services that had been contracted but not completed. She scrubbed the floors of the kitchen, pantry and the two baths herself, and vacuumed the entire house with my vacuum. She saw the broken glass that had been pulled out of the garbage disposal and agreed that it was from the tempered glass from the refrigerator and that the disposal was not in working order due to the glass that was put down in the sink drain. After a phone call made by [redacted], I was assured that a new piece of glass would

be ordered for my refrigerator and someone would be in contact with me to fix my disposal that week.

On July 24,2014, I called [redacted] to indicate that I was upset and frustrated that my disposal had not been fixed and the tempered glass for the refrigerator had still not been replaced. I informed her that I would be leaving for vacation on July 25,2014 and would return on August I,2014 and I was assured the issues would be resolved before my return.

When I returned from vacation on Saturday, August 2, no repairs had been made to my refrigerator or garbage disposal. On Monday, I called Merry Maids to find that the owner and the office manager were both on vacation. On Tuesday, I received a call from [redacted], the Office Manager. She offered to have her husband come over and deliver the glass for my refrigerator and fix my garbage disposal. I was told that it was full of glass. Although it is working now, I have no faith that it will continue to work. I feel permanent damage has been done.

I have never dealt with such an unresponsive, unprofessional company. I thought that by dealing with a local company, I would get good reliable service. I am retired, still recovering from my accident, and living on a fixed income. The $400.00 I paid your company was a complete waste. The service you provided me was not worth one quarter of that amount. To say the least I will never recommend Merry Maids to anyone. [redacted]Desired Settlement: Glass for refrigerator and garbage disposal repaired.

Business

Response:

Dear Ms. [redacted],

I am writing in response to your letter regarding your complaints with the spring cleaning we performed for you on July 17,2014. I was aware that a glass shelf from your refrigerator was broken while the cleaning team was attempting to clean it in your kitchen sink. I knew that we needed the model number from your refrigerator in order to replace it. When [redacted] went to your home on Saturday July 19th to get the refrigerator model number, you pointed out several areas that were unsatisfactorily cleaned, so she stayed and re-cleaned those areas to your satisfaction. While she was at your home, she discovered that pieces of glass from the broken shelf had fallen down inside your garbage disposal rendering it inoperable.

The following Monday we began the process of locating a replacement shelf, and also what we would need to do to repair your garbage disposal. None of the local appliance stores we contacted had the glass shelf in stock, so we needed to order it online. We also discovered that a special tool was required to remove the garbage disposal. [redacted] husband, [redacted], is a maintenance supervisor at [redacted] and he had access to this special tool. We ordered the replacement glass and notified you that we would make the repairs when the glass shelf arrived. We anticipated being able to make the repairs while you were away on vacation the week of July 28, 2014.

The replacement shelf did not arrive until Thursday July 31. I was on vacation Friday August 11 through Wednesday August 6th; therefore I was not available to perform the installation myself. [redacted] and her husband [redacted] agreed to repair it in my absence, but they too were out of town the weekend of August 2nd and 3rd. When you called our office Monday August 4th to complain about the repairs not being completed, [redacted] arranged to meet you Tuesday August 5th after work to install the new shelf and repair the garbage disposal. I had authorized [redacted] to purchase a new garbage disposal if necessary. After she and [redacted] spent 2 hours removing, disassembling, cleaning, reassembling, and re-installing your garbage disposal, they determined that the disposal was working properly and a replacement disposal was not necessary. You mention in your letter that the disposal is working properly, and I trust that it still is.

Ms. [redacted], I do apologize that these incidents occurred in the course of what should have been a routine cleaning of your home. We did make reasonable efforts to address and correct each issue, including re-cleaning your home on Saturday July 19th, and working Tuesday evening August 5th after normal work hours to install the new refrigerator shelf and repair your garbage disposal.

While we were able to address and correct all of these issues, I do understand there had to be a level of frustration on your part in dealing with these inconveniences. In recognition of such, I have enclosed two (2) 25.00 [redacted] gift cards for you. I hope you can make use of them, and again, I apologize for the inconveniences that we caused you.

Sincerely,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: On 9/3/2014 I met with [redacted] to get estimate for post construction clean up on a house remodel. [redacted] walked through the house and noted everything to be done. New tile had been installed which created a lot of dust which had settled everywhere in the house. [redacted] said that wouldn't pose a problem they would have to mop several times. I asked about the walls and the dust. [redacted] mentioned a shmop which works well. If I needed to have the walls washed that would be additional hourly charge. My estimate was for $503. On October 8, 2014 two individuals, [redacted] and [redacted], came to perform the post construction cleaning. While I give them credit for trying to do their best, they didn't have the correct tools with them. They had one shmop and one bucket for an entire house full of new ceramic tile. Needless to say the floors were left unacceptable. There were smaller things that I'm willing to overlook. However the floors are a major issue. I called at 4:45 pm that same day and notified [redacted] of the issue with the floor. It is smeared, has streaks, still shows tile dust, etc. [redacted] said she would send out individuals with regular mops and buckets to take care of the floors on 10/9/2014. I reminded her that this was a post construction cleaning that I had scheduled. [redacted] said she could have someone come out at 1 pm. I told [redacted] that's fine I could let them in the house but I did have an appointment at 2 pm I would have to leave for. On 10/9/2014 at 1 pm I met an individual who came with a regular mop and bucket. She immediately got started. However I noticed the same problem as before - streaking, smearing, etc. I then left for my appointment at 2 pm. While en route to my appointment [redacted] left me a voice mail message asking me to call her. I called [redacted] back at 2 pm. [redacted] informed me that it will be difficult to clean the floors while I have construction workers there walking all over it. I told [redacted] there was only ONE contractor working today. He was only working in the laundry room connecting appliances - nothing creating a mess nor was he walking through the house! I told [redacted] the cleaning was to be completed yesterday and I couldn't reschedule the contractor because of their mistake. I was the only other person who came and went. I then informed [redacted] of the same situation with the floor. [redacted] said she would send out a steam cleaner which should take care of it. I reminded [redacted] that I have a whole house of furniture being delivered on 10/10/2014 so it needed to be taken care of today. Upon returning to the house at 3:40 pm, I discovered the cleaning individual was already gone - no phone call from the office. Yet the floors looked the same unacceptable state. I then discover my credit card had been charged at 2:03 pm the remaining balance outstanding of $383! I am furious. I cannot believe that my credit card would be charged the remaining balance especially knowing full well just a few minutes before that it still is unacceptable. I called Merry Maids at 3:51 pm to inquire about when the steam cleaner was coming. I was informed that [redacted] was out of the office on an estimate. I asked the receptionist if she could have [redacted] return my call. The receptionist inquired if she could be any assistance. I explained the situation that I was waiting for the steam cleaner. The receptionist said she would call me back. The receptionist called me back at 4:06 pm to inform me that nothing could be done until the morning. She was unable to reach [redacted] (didn't have her cell number) nor were any other managers available to assist me. This made me even more frustrated. I was promised to have the floors corrected via a steam cleaner that now wasn't even going to come! I explained to the receptionist that it is no use to me tomorrow as I have a house full of furniture arriving. I explained she could pass onto [redacted] that I will be disputing my credit card charge. Additionally I will be calling another company out to fix what they failed twice to do.

This is my first time using Merry Maids. I am extremely disappointed to say the least. I was upfront about what services I needed. I specifically requested post construction cleaning. [redacted] came out and gave an estimate of $503 based on what was needed. While I felt the price was on the higher end, I figured it would be done correctly. I understand mistakes happen but I do expect them to be resolved quickly. This hasn't happened. They were certainly quick to run my credit card to get paid. Too bad I didn't get the same response to rectify the problem.

I am now left scrambling to find another company this evening to correct the mess Merry Maids left me in. I needed this resolved immediately and that didn't happen. I needed this resolved prior to a house full of furniture being delivered tomorrow and that didn't happen. I didn't expect to have to pay another company to fix what I hired your company to do. I do know that I will not be paying two companies to do the same job.Desired Settlement: The total estimate for my post construction clean up was $503.00. They billed my credit card $120.00 in order to schedule my service. They then billed the remaining $383.00 today on October 9, 2014 despite knowing the unacceptable service. I gave Merry Maids a second chance to make it right today. This didn't happen. They chose to not resolve the issue as promised utilizing the steam cleaner. They chose to run my credit card for the remaining balance despite the unacceptable service provided. I have hired another company to come out to fix what I hired Merry Maids to do. I will not be paying two companies to do the same job.

Review: I am a partially disabled single woman living alone. I am unable to safely get up on ladders and participate in heavy house cleaning tasks. I work full time for a downtown law firm as a word processor. I am honest and fair person. I paid Merry Maids $171 for what was supposed to be a full spring cleaning. The total price was $196 but I received a first time $25 discount. I have asmall one bedroom apartment. The first visit by [redacted] and [redacted] was on 4/20/13. I later discovered several items not finished that needed to be recleaned. [redacted] and [redacted] came back for a second visit on 4/27. On the second visit I had them use Pine Sol to thoroughly clean the dirt off items they merely dusted in the first visit. The bucket was full of filthy water when they were finished recleaning. We all witnessed that. After the second visit my floors were still not clean and there were cobwebs in my front window. [redacted], their sales rep agreed to send a different crew for a third visit on 5/4 at 1:30. On the third visit, [redacted] and her co-worker arrived an hour and a half late. I wrote if off as a no-show and took my laundry downstairs to get started on it. they arrived at 3:00 and I had to turn them them away because I had already started laundry downstairs. I understandably needed to be upstairs supervising to tie up loose ends. I asked for a refund of half of my the $171 dollars. The owner, [redacted], has refused to do so, and has also refused to send anyone else out again. I am reluctant to waste one more Saturday trying to get my apartment fully cleaned.Desired Settlement: In fairness to Merry Maids, I asked for a refund of only half of my $171. The owner, [redacted], through her assistant, told me today (5/7/13) that they will neither give any refund nor send anyone else out again. I have slowly begun to re-wash floors and re-clean the bathroom at my own pace when I have the energy and strength to do so.

Business

Response:

5/17/13