Your marketing efforts are starting to pay off!
Now you have to deal with the reality of how to deal with clients!
House Cleaning is a “perception business” meaning what people perceive is what they “think” cleaning should be based on prior experiences or maybe just from word of mouth from friends or family but who really knows. It’s time for you to set the record straight.
Have you ever gotten that call from a client, because you missed 1 tiny little hair in the sink? You know that one that fell down from some unknown location after you closed the bathroom door and at that time the bathroom was completely spotless and now for some reason, your whole cleaning job is based on one tiny single hair!
Don’t leave it up to the customer to tell you about it, tell them FIRST!
How about that table that’s clutter with crap, or borderline a hoarder that expected it to be spotless when in reality they would want to pay you for the time needed to clean that up.
People don’t always tell you what the true situation is and in any relationship “communication is key” so taking the time to send your cleaning clients an email explaining these types of situations is step one of that relationship.
Here is an email I put together that was sent right after someone booked a cleaning. This is also a great reference point because we know they won’t all ready this but I guarantee someone will call to complain about at least one item listed here and because you did your due diligence in sending this, you now have the upper hand!
Email Swipe!
Title: Important – Before we clean!
Hi {{ customer.name }},
Thanks again for booking with us! It happy clients like you that help us grow, please reply to this email should you have any questions.
You’re all set for the date and time listed. Please double-check the date, time, and address to make sure it’s correct. We ask that you allow us a 1-hour window to deal with traffic, parking, and other surprises.
Attn: Happy Clients – Our happiest clients understand that it takes two for the perfect clean, and that begins with us giving you an awesomely clean home, and with you understanding exactly what will be done when we clean your home, also you know a little about how we operate….
Please read the complete list of policies listed below so you have a good understanding of the services we provided and as always if you have any questions just reach out to me, or a member of our happiness team who is just a reply away!
Cleaning Policies:
1. Smile – I know it can be stressful having a stranger in your home, rest assured that our cleaners are true professionals and have been thoroughly screened for your protection. We ask that you be pleased with your cleaners, they are great people and want to do a good job for you, but sometimes get stressed by how they are being treated or being told what to do, causing them to be uncomfortable in your home and distracting them from doing the best job for you, REMEMBER they are people with feelings just like you and me, if you have an issue with anyone on the team please call our office immediately and we will handle it.
2. Pets – Please place any dogs in a room that is not being cleaned, or in a dog crate while our cleaner is in your home. This allows us to focus on your cleaning and allows us to deliver the best cleaning possible without distractions saving us both time and money.
3. Understanding – We know you are opening your door to us and are wondering what to expect. We guarantee our work and ask if you have any issues with the services that you understand we are human and can miss small things from time to time. Please let us know and we will gladly return to re-clean the missed area as soon as we can, without too much inconvenience to you.
4. Who’s Cleaning – We use the solo cleaning model, meaning for most homes 1 cleaner is assigned to your home and is why we choose not to clean 5 Bedroom or Larger Homes. Your cleaning can be as short as 1 hour and as long as 8 hours depending on the condition and size of your home. We reserve the right to add additional cleaners if scheduling allows for this. Please understand that our cleaners are professionals and are trained on being highly efficient so don’t be surprised if we knock out a 4000 sq ft home in 4 hours and only having 1 cleaner, that’s is what we do!
5. Are You going to be home? – It is not required that you are home while we clean, in fact, we prefer that you are not so our cleaners are not distracted and able to provide you with the best possible cleaning they can. If you are home we ask that you refrain from looking over their shoulders and wait to inspect the cleaning while the cleaners are packing up to leave, also please make sure if we have already cleaned an area that all surfaces have dried before you start to utilize the area. We cannot do the work twice and keep your rates where they are, and it’s not fair to ask the cleaner to touch up an area she has already thoroughly cleaned.
6. Clutter – For us to be able to clean at a consistent pace and to keep your cleaning affordable we ask if there are more than 5 items in a specific place that needs to be dusted please have the items picked up so we can keep a consistent pace and continue to offer these rates for your services. If there is an area where 5 or more items are we will simply dust around them as best as possible, and they will NOT be moved by your cleaner. Please note: We do not offer organizing services at this time.
6a. Extreme Clutter – We have found when we figure the time it would take to for us to clean major cluttered areas that it will not fit in most peoples budget to pay us, and we cannot handle this kind of tasks is an efficient matter, so we have chosen not to offer this kind of cleaning as a service that we can perform.
7. Porous Surfaces – Porous Surfaces in your home ie: moldings, caulk, entrance doors, shower doors, bathtubs, furniture, countertops, windows, etc. may not appear to have been cleaned due to the nature of porous surfaces they contain small crevasse that holds trapped dirt for years and can be nearly impossible to get 100% clean without using abrasive actions that can potentially cause damage to the surface. Homes that have these types of surfaces and have not had them refinished to a smooth surface can cause the appearance that the item(s) to not have been cleaned when in fact they have been. We can clean over surfaces like this many times and still have the same visual results. Please take a good look if you feel an item like this has been missed before the assumption is made that we did not clean it.
8. Pricing – We reserve the right to change the pricing or discounts if we see that the circumstances of your home are not typical, or if the incorrect booking options had been selected for your home. A 4 Bedroom 3 Bath home is a 4 Bedroom 3 Bath home regardless of what we are cleaning and is used to gauge the size of your home not what to clean.
8a. Flat Rate Pricing – We chose flat-rate pricing by selecting Beds/Baths to simplify the process for you, and to make it simple to schedule online. By pricing upfront like this, we have nothing to hide and do not guarantee how long or how many cleaners will arrive, the price is simply the price and not based on an amount of time. If you have specific tasks that you would like to be completed and are not based on our cleaning checklist, please schedule our hourly services that are also available online at the rate of 39.00 per clock hour, per Cleaning Technician.
8. Discounts – If you change your service frequency ie: weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly from its original booking or if your cleaning has been rescheduled so it falls out of line with your selected frequency, we reserve the right to charge you for that discount that we previously provided and/or change the current discount for further cleanings.
9. That hair in the sink – It doesn’t happen all the time but it has, and it could be the toilet or floor as well. We fully vetted and test our cleaners so we know they have the utmost intention to leave your home sparkling clean, however, there are times where dust and hair may settle after the job has been completed. We do our best to spot this by performing a walk-through of the home prior to leaving but at times when a door is shut or someone walks by swiftly it can kick something up that was hidden during our cleaning and moved to the top of a surface. Please understand that we are not perfect though we strive to be if that’s all it is we ask that you don’t judge the entire cleaning we worked hard on for you just on this one little thing.
10. 200% Guarantee – Please note that refunds are not offered without a Re-Clean being accepted. A Re-Clean will only be completed within a 48-hour window from your date of service, otherwise, it will be considered denied. No refund will be offered if a Re-Clean is denied.
11. Cancellations – Any cancellations or rescheduling within 24 hours before your scheduled service a $45 cancellation fee will be charged because we reserve that time specifically for you, and are unable to schedule another job in that place. We appreciate your understanding.
12. Services We Do Not Offer
- Dish Washing ( we will do a few if they are there when we clean, and you have the proper supplies for us )
- Laundry or Folding Laundry
- Replaceable Blind Cleaning (the low-cost white ones)
- Shopping & Errands
- Pick Up, Moving, or Remove Clutter (5 or more items in any given area ie; Books, Boxes, Mail, Papers, Cloths, & Trash, etc.)
- Exterior Windows, and High Reaching Windows
- Heavy Lifting over 25 lbs. ( Insurance Requirements)
- Cleaning of Bodily fluids, mold, toys, pet waste, or other bio-hazards (we do clean minor areas in bathrooms)
- Step Higher than 3 steps on a ladder ( Insurance Requirements)
13. Tipping – We encourage tipping your cleaner if you feel they did a great job, and believe me they appreciate it too! If you do choose to tip your cleaner we prefer payment in the form of cash. If added to your invoice we are forced to split the tip due to taxes and fees that apply when we run your card.
14. Billing – PLEASE NOTE: A hold will be placed on your account (for authorization )in the amount of your total balance the evening PRIOR to your scheduled cleaning service. If your service is canceled for any reason, this hold will drop off within 2-5 days. THIS HOLD IS NOT A CHARGE. Charging is completed the day of your appointment and you will receive an invoice via email once this occurs.
As always, thank you for choosing {{ client.name }}. Please let us know if we can assist you with anything further.
We have your information listed below as:
{{ booking.info_for_customer }}
If anything is inaccurate please reach out to us and let us know at {{ client.support_email }}.
Thanks so very much for choosing {{ client.name }}!
Sincerely,
Ray Malaski &
The {{ client.name }} Happiness Team
