Training cleaning techs

When you are searching out a cleaning company, there are several questions you should ask:

1.  Is your company insured?

2.  What types of  insurance do you carry (they should carry Worker’s Comp, Liability and Bonding insurance)

3.  Have your employees been trained?

4.  Do you complete in-home estimates before sending out techs to clean the home?

Be careful to only hire real businesses that are insured.  If they are not insured, you will be held responsible if their employee(s) get hurt in your home and if anyone steals from you or breaks an item in your home, you would have very little recourse.  So only hire insured companies.

Secondly, be certain that the company you work with actually trains its cleaning techs.  To be honest with you, the reason most cleaning companies fail is because it is very difficult to find good help.  It’s also difficult to find someone who is truly cut out to clean homes.

House cleaning involves a great deal of skill and hard labor.  I have personally hired and fired at least 15 different employees over the past couple of years.  Not all of them were bad people.  It’s just that not everyone is cut out to do this type of work.

Lately I have not had to fire anyone. Why?  Because I am now better at choosing employees and I have discovered that the more training employees receive, the better employees they make.

I have a trainer who teaches new employees and I personally train new employees.  It takes at least 6 months to get an employee fully trained in expertly cleaning a home.  There is sooooo much for them to learn and it must be taught over a period of time.  Expertly cleaning a bathroom requires a different skill than expertly cleaning a kitchen, for example.  Making a bed with a regular blanket is different from making a bed with a Duvet cover that needs to be changed.

Professional house cleaning can be overwhelming.  Therefore, employees must be taught a systematic, top to bottom method of cleaning.  And they are literally cleaning the entire home within 3 – 3.5 hours.  That’s not easy.

My advice to consumers is to inquire as to whether or not the cleaning company you are considering hiring has actually trained their employees.  Many, many companies literally send folks into homes untrained and with the assumption that “anybody” can go in and clean a home.  Not so.

Be aware that if you hire a company that employees untrained workers, you will ultimately need to fire that company and search out a different one.

Call UpperCrust Maids TODAY and we will send out trained workers to meet your needs.  301-322-7112

 

In home estimates

I went to a potential client’s home a few days ago for an in home estimate and she shared with me how another company that she had called had refused to complete an in home estimate.  The person gave an estimate over the phone.

That is not unusual.  There are many, many companies out there that are willing to send their workers into strange homes, knowing that they have not personally eyeballed the home.

I cannot understand how a person could give an estimate over the phone.  I’m referring to a firm estimate.  First of all, seldom will a person who has a cluttered or particularly dirty home admit that fact.  My experience has been that people are not comfortable admitting that their home is in bad condition.  With that in mind, it is very important to go out and look at the home.

My advice to clients is, do NOT hire a company that refuses to perform an in home estimate.  If they won’t perform an estimate, it speaks to how the owners run their business.  Such a company will disrespect its clients because clearly they lack in the area of customer service.  If they won’t come out for an estimate, what will happen if you need them to handle a problem for you? 

First impressions are important.  I perform in home estimates 99% of the time.  When I don’t it’s not because I don’t want to. Rather, it’s because the client needs the home cleaned in an emergency and I’m too booked to make it out there on short notice. 

When you are searching for a cleaning company, definitely rule out companies that refuse an in home estimate.  That refusal will foreshadow the way you will be treated in the future by that company.

Would You Hire a $10 an Hour Maid Service?

By:  Cathy Green

A woman contacted me recently to tell me that she was looking for a company to do her laundry.  I told her that we do not do laundry. We only clean homes.

She went on to indicate that she already had someone cleaning her home but needed a company that would do her laundry for her.  She wanted to know if I would be willing to bend my rules on her behalf and have an employee to do her laundry.

Again, I told her we don’t do laundry but I asked her how much she was looking to pay.  She told me that she was searching for a company that could do her laundry for $10 an hour.

$10 an hour?

Truth is, there is no legitimate company out there that is able to do her laundry or anyone else’s for slave wages which is what she was in search of.  There also is no legitimate company out there that can clean a home for slave wages.  Where on earth is the profit margin in $10 an hour?

My question to you is, would you hire a “company” that would offer to do work in your home for $10 an hour?  If your answer is “yes”, I will just tell you that if you ever bring in someone who is charging you that low rate, that is not a real company.  Instead, that is a “scab” service that is paying zero taxes and such a person will demand that you pay them in cash, so as not to leave a paper trail. 

If the $10 an hour person gets hurt in your home, you will be responsible for her medical care.  And if the IRS finds out that you are not taking care of the taxes regarding this person, you’ll be in a heap of trouble.  Have you ever heard of the “Nanny Tax”?  It applies to these “10 an hour” cleaning ladies.

I tell people all the time that they certainly don’t have to hire my company but they definitely should hire a legitimate company to entrust to their homes.  Why hand your key over to someone who is not in business for real and who could easily disappear off into the sunset with stolen goods from your home? 

With real cleaning companies, at a minimum there is an owner whom you can call if there is an issue.  The owner has registered the business.  You can ask the owner whether or not he/she is insured and bonded.  You can ask the owner whether or not the employees have had background checks.

However, with the $10 an hour cleaning ladies from off the street, all you have is a hope and a prayer that this person will not get hurt in your home and that her boyfriend will not get the key to your home and enter it.

Yes, you will definitely save by hiring a $10 an hour (or less) cleaning lady from off the street.  But it could end up costing you soooooo much more in the long run.

Looking for a real cleaning company that is licensed, bonded and insured?  Call UpperCrust Maids, LLC at 301-322-7112

Note:  I write on this issue all the time.  PRESS HERE   for a recent article I wrote about the dangers of hiring these “$10 an hour” scab serves.

Choose Only Companies That Train Employees

By: Cathy

Above is a picture of one of my employees working on a portion of a client’s floor.  Each of my cleaning techs is put through an extensive training program prior to me allowing them to work independently.

House cleaning may sound like a simple job but in reality professional house cleaning requires skill.  And unlike many companies that send their workers out with no direction, my employees are given the best equipment and supplies and taught how to use them for the benefit of clients.

After all, no one has money to throw away and if a client is paying to have their home cleaned, there are no excuses for it not being cleaned and cleaned well.

Are you tired of dealing with untrained cleaning techs who enter your home, rushing through and leaving it uncleaned? Give us a call:  301-322-7112

Another employee cleaning the bathroom

House Cleaning Gift Certificates

By: Cathy Green

Did you know that UpperCrust Maids offers gift certificates?

$150 – Covers 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and  living room.

Your friend or family member will truly appreciate the gift of a clean home!

Call to today at  301-322-7112

Does your adult “child” live in your home?

By:  Cathy Green

    From time to time I receive a call from a person who mentions that their adult child still lives with them. In almost every instance, they warn me that their adult child keeps a sloppy room.

I’ll go out, perform an estimate—and I see the bedrooms of these grown “children”.  Clutter.  Dirt and dust build up.  Dirty clothes strewn all over the floor.  Trash in the room.

The advice I always give to parents is that if their adult child wants his/her room cleaned, they should pay for it themselves.  I inform the parents that it is not their obligation to have the room cleaned of an adult. I further tell them that due to the condition of the bedroom, it will be charged separately and on its own merit/condition.

Fortunately most parents of these adult “children” opt not to add their adult child’s bedroom to the bill.  And ironically, there has not been one instance where an adult child has agreed to pay to have their room cleaned.

My tip to consumers today is as follows.  After your offspring reaches adulthood, you are no longer responsible for the condition in which they choose to live. 

If they want to live in a bedroom in your home that has the odor of dirty socks or spoiled milk, that’s their choice. But you should not foot the bill to have their room cleaned. They need to take on that responsibility for themselves.

NOTE:  After writing this article, I happened upon an article on this very topic.  PRESS HERE

Hire a Real Cleaning Company and Avoid the Cleaning Ladies

      Most of us don’t just wake up one morning and decide we need some help in the home. It generally is a process.  Over a period of time it occurs to us that yes, it’s time.

It’s time to stop scrubbing baseboards. It’s time to stop dusting furniture. It’s time to stop mopping floors.  It’s simply time to turn it over to hired help.

There are several choices that a consumer needs to make when s/he finally makes the decision to bring in hired help.

I.     Hire a cleaning lady or a cleaning company?

II.   Hire the cheapest cleaning company out there or hire a reputable company that charges a little more?

Let us look at #1 first.  The cleaning lady.  Are you aware of the fact that cleaning ladies carry with them a tremendous amount of liability?

Check this out:

a.  Once you bring a cleaning lady into your home, you become her direct employer.

b.  You immediately are responsible for her taxes as well as her health. This means that if she slips in your home and gets hurt, you have to pay her medical bills. 

c.  If you are paying $1,400+ a year to her, you had better be taking care of the taxes. Otherwise, you are in a serious heap of trouble with the IRS if they ever find out that you are cheating them.

d.  Assuming that you are willing to work with the IRS for your cleaning lady, you will need to fill in form 926, located at  http://www.irs.gov

e.  You may also need to file for an employer ID number, as you are that person’s direct employer.

f.  You will need to withhold and pay 7.65%  [at this time] for the cleaning lady’s social security and Medicare taxes (check with your accountant to verify the percentage)

g.  You will need to withhold federal income taxes, as well as state (again, check with your accountant for direction)

h.  That’s not all.  There is something called “unemployment taxes”.  Guess who is responsible for paying that fee?  YOU are, if you hire a cleaning lady.

i.  There’s more.  Guess who is responsible for giving the cleaning lady her W-2 form at the end of the year?  YOU are.

BUT….if you hire a cleaning company, you are able to avoid all that!

II.  The legitimate cleaning company

If you have decided to avoid becoming an employer, then you have certainly chosen to avoid the cleaning ladies.

That means you have decided to seek out a cleaning company. Guess what? Some cleaning companies are not functioning legally.

Do the following:

a.  When you call around, ask the cleaning companies what type of insurance they carry.   Ask them what insurance company they use.  If they cannot answer, move on.

b.  A legitimate cleaning company will charge you a little more because insurance costs money and it is not cheap. 

Questions? Confused?  Give me a call!

Cathy @ 301-322-7112

Remember to Wash Your Hands!

By:  Cathy Green

With the Swine Flu outbreak, it is more important now than ever for people to remember the importance of hand washing.  Below is a video that will display the proper way to wash hands.

UpperCrust Maids Cleaning Academy

By:  Cathy Green

     House cleaning may appear to some to be an easy task but I assure you that professional house cleaning is far from easy when it is done correctly.

When people clean their own homes, 99% of them will target one or two rooms at a time. Very few people will clean their entire home in one session. Yet, employees of cleaning companies clean the entire home at once.

Because of  how overwhelming it can be to take on such a task, any cleaning company worth its salt will teach and provide ongoing training to its staff.

This company has created the UpperCrust Cleaning Academy and every employee is required to undergo extensive and ongoing training. They are trained in each aspect of house cleaning and taught what to look for in a home.

The Training Academy is an ongoing process and after the initial 3 month period where the most intense training takes place—there is updated training based on situations that arise. Training never officially ends because we want to perfect the art of professional house cleaning.

We also are on a continuous search for the best products and equipment to use in clients’ homes. And as we make changes, our employees are re-trained.

UpperCrust Maids, LLC is not a “perfect” company and never will be. However, our goal is to strive for perfection and to live up to our motto: White Glove Service on Us!

So when you hire us, rest assured that trained staff are in your home giving it the best cleaning they possibly can.

Does Your Cleaning Company Offer You a Consistent Schedule?

By:  Cathy Green

    I’m the first to admit to you that UpperCrust Maids is far from perfect; however, we strive for perfection. At all times I’m searching out ways to perfect the cleaning process and to ensure that clients have a home that is in top condition.

If one were to ask me about the strengths of this company, I would have to point out the personalized, customized service. My clients have my cell, home and business numbers, as well as email address. They have no problems reaching me.

Another thing my clients have is a set schedule. They are not a number. We treat every client with respect because they are important to us. Never will you find us offering impersonal service or dehumanizing a client.

While surfing the web and checking out other Maryland/DC cleaning companies, I happened upon a website which had the blurb below:

Your service is scheduled for a specific day. Unfortunately, we cannot predict a specific time the team will arrive, nor can we make appointments.

Upon reading that, I was left scratching my head. They are a professional cleaning service, yet are unable to offer a ball park time of team arrival and they don’t make appointments? Huh?

Look again at that company’s policy:

a. They cannot offer a time. That means that the consumer is at the mercy of the company, and has to sit around the house hoping that they will show up. Well suppose the client has other obligations? Who has the time to sit around wondering when a service will arrive?

b. They do not offer appointments. I cannot help but wonder how such companies stay in business. Rest assured that UpperCrust Maids offers you both an appointment as well as a consistent day and time to expect services. So for example, if you receive services biweeky, we would assign you a stable day, such as a Monday. And a stable time, such as 8:30 a.m. or 12 noon. You “own” that timeslot and day as long as you desire. And you will be assinged the same cleaning tech or team unless there is a substitute.

Believe it or not, it’s not unusual for cleaning companies to refuse to offer their clients regular schedules. I have no idea how such companies stay organized but I assure you that it’s not to the client’s advantage to deal in such chaos.

Are you looking for a quality company that cares about your home and are wiling to offer you the stability of a schedule? Call us at 301-322-7112