There are quite a lot of people in the house cleaning business – one can find a cleaner on Craigslist, a maid service posting in the local coffee shop, or a housekeeper in the classified ads of the community newspaper. One of the challenges we have at The Maids Boston is in explaining some of the differences between a home cleaner who is self taught and a professional house cleaning service that is built upon a solid foundation of systems, best in class technology, and industry leading human resources practices.
flickr credit: Key Gilmour
Solid Systems
It is important to understand how your house cleaning service cleans your home. Are the products well thought out with emphasis on the different cleaning requirements in a home, low impact to the occupants of the house, and regularly available so that they do not change frequently? Does your cleaner have a process for cleaning your home that includes dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning all surfaces while leaving it smelling fresh? Is quality controlled through in home inspection checklists, follow up calls for feedback, and a satisfaction guarantee?
flickr credit: davynin
Best in Class Technology
Technology can be a major differentiator in any business. While our residential cleaning customers enjoy the benefits, some of our commercial cleaning customers (such as property management companies require it. In the cleaning industry, it starts with our scheduling and work order system, our email availability that includes the use of smartphones, and a 24 hour answering service to receive after hours calls. It continues through to our intelligent routing, navigation systems, and constant availability of our cleaning teams for last minute schedule changes. Lastly, our technology use enables us to capture customer feedback through a web based reporting system and monitor quality trends so that we can focus on continuous improvement within our cleaning service.
flickr credit: Will Clayton
Industry Leading Human Resources Practices
It is uncommon for one to pay an independent house cleaning person for a missed day on a holiday or when they take vacation. Many of the individual operations struggle to provide the stability that can be afforded by a larger cleaning service. We’re very proud of our record of providing paid holidays and time off to our employees – a benefit that many take for granted. Ongoing training is a part of our business. Online training on our cleaning system, customer interactions, and managing people are just some examples of what is available to our employees. A small but important gesture in our shop is a birthday cake; sadly, one employee recipient recently commented that this was the first birthday cake she had since she was five years old.
Is your maid a professional? One may want to consider the above points behind the housekeeper and the house cleaning service that they are hiring in trying to establish if they are getting a professional.
