Re: [redacted] & [redacted], ME
I am writing in response to a recent complaint from [redacted] and [redacted]. On Thursday Sept. 25th, I had my cleaning crew clean a vacant home at the above address. This couple is from out of state and we spoke over the phone and...
set up the cleaning and talked about cost as well. I try to get a good idea of the condition any home is in before we go in to clean it. This was a one time move in cleaning. Client told me that this house was in very good shape and it wouldn't take long to clean. I hear this a lot from people so I still will ask a lot of questions about dust/dirt level of the home. She made it clear to me that it was low level dust/dirt, it was in good shape and it should be easy, therefore, she also wanted window cleaning done, inside and outside. I told her that our minimum charge for all one time cleanings “start” at $275.00 and that will give you up to 6 total labor hours. (Doesn't matter if we send in 1,2,3 or 4 girls in, its 6 labor hours total. Example: 2 girls=3 hrs. of cleaning. ) Anything over 6 labor hrs. we charge $35/hr. Per person, per hour. She insisted that we would find it was an easy cleaning and would not take longer than 6 hrs. so she wanted to make it clear that her total budget was $275.00, no more than that.
We track our time and the two girls did spend the 3 hrs. each to clean, Team Leader is always on the job with team members, she is the “Supervisor” They made a phone call to me to explain to me that this house was high dirt level, mildew all through bath/shower/fridge and freezer, very greasy stove top, etc...One girl spent 2 full hrs. just in the kitchen, and the bathroom was another 1 + hrs. they used damp rags and toothbrush on baseboards, lots of stains and dirt, and entire doors needed to be cleaned with bleach, lots of magic erasers were used. In other words the house was a high dust/dirt level plus window cleaning . All the windows had high dirt level all around them, each window would have taken a lot of time to detail, but we did vacuum them and damp wipe them.
We did as much as we could with the budget they wanted to work with. 6 hours was not enough, we clean homes like this all the time and a job like this easily can take 12-20 hours if they want it move in ready. We would have happily gone back to continue cleaning but we would have to charge extra for our labor. They said they did not want us to return. They only wanted a full refund, basically a free job. Their daughter showed up at the end of the cleaning and my girls even pointed out stains that would not remove and explained the mildew they cleaned, the inside cabinets and drawers were stained. They walked her through it to show her. Daughter had mentioned that they purchased this home online and didn't see it, and she added that she didn't think her parents were aware of how bad the condition of this home was. Not sure if this couple was misguided by someone about the condition it was in.
We tried to have a conversation with them on the phone, but he would not let us talk, he would talk over us and all he wanted was a full refund. He was hollering, swearing and cutting us off. Very very angry. They called us criminal and how did we know how long the girls were cleaning, he thought we were lying, he swore and said it would never take 12-20 hours, this was an easy job. We do this work all the time and take pride in our work, we would have gone back to detail it more if they would have let us. Bottom line is, they paid for only 6 labor hours and that is exactly what we gave them. We cleaned as much as possible in this short time frame and distributed the work out so we could clean the whole house, PLUS clean windows inside and out. It needed more details cleaned, I agree, but they didn't want to pay extra. Now they want it for free. I feel that my girls did a lot of cleaning in 6 hrs. The before and after were a big difference. They did not see this home before we cleaned it, otherwise they would have agreed it needed a lot of catching up.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
QCS
Re: [redacted] & [redacted], ME
I am writing in response to a recent complaint from [redacted] and [redacted]. On Thursday Sept. 25th, I had my cleaning crew clean a vacant home at the above address. This couple is from out of state and we spoke over the phone and...
set up the cleaning and talked about cost as well. I try to get a good idea of the condition any home is in before we go in to clean it. This was a one time move in cleaning. Client told me that this house was in very good shape and it wouldn't take long to clean. I hear this a lot from people so I still will ask a lot of questions about dust/dirt level of the home. She made it clear to me that it was low level dust/dirt, it was in good shape and it should be easy, therefore, she also wanted window cleaning done, inside and outside. I told her that our minimum charge for all one time cleanings “start” at $275.00 and that will give you up to 6 total labor hours. (Doesn't matter if we send in 1,2,3 or 4 girls in, its 6 labor hours total. Example: 2 girls=3 hrs. of cleaning. ) Anything over 6 labor hrs. we charge $35/hr. Per person, per hour. She insisted that we would find it was an easy cleaning and would not take longer than 6 hrs. so she wanted to make it clear that her total budget was $275.00, no more than that.
We track our time and the two girls did spend the 3 hrs. each to clean, Team Leader is always on the job with team members, she is the “Supervisor” They made a phone call to me to explain to me that this house was high dirt level, mildew all through bath/shower/fridge and freezer, very greasy stove top, etc...One girl spent 2 full hrs. just in the kitchen, and the bathroom was another 1 + hrs. they used damp rags and toothbrush on baseboards, lots of stains and dirt, and entire doors needed to be cleaned with bleach, lots of magic erasers were used. In other words the house was a high dust/dirt level plus window cleaning . All the windows had high dirt level all around them, each window would have taken a lot of time to detail, but we did vacuum them and damp wipe them.
We did as much as we could with the budget they wanted to work with. 6 hours was not enough, we clean homes like this all the time and a job like this easily can take 12-20 hours if they want it move in ready. We would have happily gone back to continue cleaning but we would have to charge extra for our labor. They said they did not want us to return. They only wanted a full refund, basically a free job. Their daughter showed up at the end of the cleaning and my girls even pointed out stains that would not remove and explained the mildew they cleaned, the inside cabinets and drawers were stained. They walked her through it to show her. Daughter had mentioned that they purchased this home online and didn't see it, and she added that she didn't think her parents were aware of how bad the condition of this home was. Not sure if this couple was misguided by someone about the condition it was in.
We tried to have a conversation with them on the phone, but he would not let us talk, he would talk over us and all he wanted was a full refund. He was hollering, swearing and cutting us off. Very very angry. They called us criminal and how did we know how long the girls were cleaning, he thought we were lying, he swore and said it would never take 12-20 hours, this was an easy job. We do this work all the time and take pride in our work, we would have gone back to detail it more if they would have let us. Bottom line is, they paid for only 6 labor hours and that is exactly what we gave them. We cleaned as much as possible in this short time frame and distributed the work out so we could clean the whole house, PLUS clean windows inside and out. It needed more details cleaned, I agree, but they didn't want to pay extra. Now they want it for free. I feel that my girls did a lot of cleaning in 6 hrs. The before and after were a big difference. They did not see this home before we cleaned it, otherwise they would have agreed it needed a lot of catching up.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
QCS