If an industry is well developed professionally, there should be no secrets that keep customers in the dark. Domestic cleaners have not yet reached such a level of professionalism. Hence, there are some dirty little secrets some maid services in Chicago hope you will never find out.
Today, for the first time, we disclose them to you. In addition, we will also provide you the strategies on how to overcome the potential deception or misrepresentations from these house cleaning providers.
1. “We Send Clients Independent Contractors, not Employees.”
What is it?To save payroll taxes, some domestic cleaners hire Independent Contractors (ICs), instead of employees, to come to your home and interact with your family. Yes, the company’s cost is a lot lower. But, US labor law prohibits these companies to train and direct these ICs. As a result, if you hire an IC, it means the company is not really committed to quality, safety, and worker’s protection. Instead, the company put profit first at all cost.
How to protect you and your family.
Ask before you book! Do you have your own employees or Independent Contractors? If the company does not provide you a clear answer or states that the company provides Independent Contractors, stay away!
2. “A Cheap Price Could Cost You Dearly.”
What is it?Your cost of hiring a service is not just the price paid directly to the cleaning company. The cost also includes your time of:
- Monitoring the service,
- Complaining about the quality and fixing the misses
- Communicating with the company if you have feedback.
It is all about the time and stress!
The cheapest services are cheaper for 1 reason: their hire low quality employees and pay them low as well. These cheap services often end up being very expensive for your time and mental health.The opposite is also true. When you hire a more “expensive” company, the company will deliver a great quality backed by excellent service. You waste no time and stress. This kind of service has a lower overall cost!
How to protect you and your family.
Stay away from the “super low prices”. The price is low for a reason. Work with the Chicago maid services who hire, train, invest, and inspire its employees. The price will be higher, but for a good and dignified reason! You will have an overall lower cost!
3. “Clean …… or Is It?”
What is it?
Some chemicals can make your home really shine, but, chemicals are still on the surfaces. You won’t see dirty, but you also won’t see toxic chemicals. What you cannot see can still hurt you and your family’s health.
How to protect you and your family.
Ask for chemical free! That reduces the use of chemicals by 95% - 100% for maintenance cleaning. New technologies, such as DI Water, Dry Vapor, and Engineered Water, can achieve better results than chemical based products. On Dec 2, 2017, Fresh Tech Maid's founder, Wells Ye, demonstrated live on Fox Chicago 32, how effective chemical free cleaning is. Chicagoans witnessed the amazing results of chemical free cleaning, live! The fact has been out!
4. “We Guarantee the Same Cleaner Is a Sales Tactic!”
What is it?
This industry has the highest turnover rate among all industries. Yet, many maid services still guarantee the same domestic cleaners. Due to turnover, attrition, sick days, and vacation, there is no way a company can guarantee the same technician every time.
How to protect you and your family.
Ask this question: can you guarantee the same domestic cleaners every time? If the answer is Yes, stay away from this company! Ask about the record of turnover at the company and if you like a technician, can you have this person to regularly come to your home. The honest answer would be to maintain the same technician as long as possible, without guarantee only for sales purposes.
5. “The Hidden Cost of Low Hourly Charge Rate.”
What is it?
They may not tell you, but a company often calculate the cost of a house cleaning based on: Hourly Charge Rate * Hours Needed to Perform the Task.Some companies intentionally make the Hourly Charge Rate low and the Hours Needed to Perform the Task high. As a result, the company can claim a very low Hourly Charge Rate for marketing purposes, while increasing the overall cost for you.
How to protect you and your family.
Ask about not just the Hourly Charge Rate, but also the estimated Hours Needed to Perform the Task. You would like to know what if the estimated time is off and when you would know. An honest company should have a process of updating you the status during the cleaning.
6. First Impression Is Everything, but What About the Future Cleanings?”
What is it?
Has this happened to you?
The first cleaning was awesome. Then, the quality steadily dropped, until you could not tolerate it anymore. Frustrated, you canceled the service.For many companies, they go overboard for the first appointment to make a great impression. But, this tactic is not sustainable. Hence, you see the sustained drop in cleaning quality.A service with integrity depends on a process, not just one event. The process includes feedbacks from clients to customize the cleaning. It can take a few times to customize a service to be a perfect match to your needs.
How to protect you and your family.
Be aware of a sales pitch based on the first appointment alone. True quality is based on a great initial cleaning and client feedback process to get the best results. Don’t be the fish who takes the bait!
7. The Smell of Chemicals Might Be Pleasant, but Bad for you!
What is it?
Smells from popular products are chemicals called VOC (volatile organic compound). That nice smell hides that VOCs are also dangerous, causing asthma, allergies, respiratory diseases, and even cancers.
How to protect you and your family.
Ask if scented products will be used. If so, ask for fragment-free products. If not, stay away.There should be no scent from the solutions used at your home, for the sake of the health of your family.
These 7 secrets will help you choose the right service, for your family’s security, health, and sanity!
If you have questions, please call Fresh Tech Maid at 847.392.0888, Ext 1.
Thank you.