Hiring someone to come in and clean your house is pretty much a necessity these days rather than the luxury it was once thought to be. Whether you are a busy singleton juggling work and social life, a child-free couple enjoying the freedom to travel and do things outside of the home, or a parent responsible for children, (and probably pets too), on top of managing your own busy life, there are endless benefits to having someone else take care of the housework. Sometimes people need help with a one time clean (especially popular after having a baby, or before/after moving in/out of a new rental home.)
You may live in a smaller-sized apartment or a huge mansion like family home, dust, dishes, laundry and the general debris of daily living don’t discriminate – we all have to deal with either talking the chores ourselves or handing over some (all) of these duties to another.
Of course, while the idea of having the domestic drudgery taken care of while you do something much more interesting or more lucrative than clean the bathroom or iron a basket of creased shirts and blouses is an attractive one it isn’t always as easy to make this into a reality.
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The trust issue
The major hurdle you will face is actually finding someone who can be trusted to do a great job, respect your home and its contents, and not be snooping through your closet trying on your clothes, or reading personal mail while they should be washing windows and changing bed linen!
Whether or not you are around when they are, or you hand over a key and leave them to see themselves in and out, being able to have complete trust in the person or people who have access to your personal space is 100% vital.
How to find a trustworthy house cleaning service
That is totally natural, but how easy is it to do? If you need some guidance on how to find a house cleaning service in Calgary that you can trust take a look at these tips and ideas.
Tip #1 – Ask for personal recommendations
This is always the first option you should try, especially if you begin by asking family, friends and neighbours. So long as you trust their opinion, have similar standards, and have seen – been impressed by the cleanliness of their place then you have the best chance of finding an amazing and trustworthy house cleaning service. You can, of course, ask around on local Facebook groups too, but be a little more wary as it’s not unusual for a company to sneakily recommend themselves by pretending to be a client!
Tip #2 – Look at online review sites
These can be quite helpful, but don’t rely on just one. That’s a mistake because anyone can hire people to write them a lot of great reviews, and on the other hand some people are more likely to write reviews if they have something negative to say rather than after a positive experience. Facebook or other pages with a mix of comments, (but mostly great), are more realistic than those with many, many 100% scores.
Tasks – if you are keen to hire someone directly
Whether you find them through a friend or a card on the local store’s noticeboard, hiring directly means you have to take the responsibility for checking things like criminal records and insurance cover. Of course, you can choose to go ahead without either or both of these things, but many people feel or reassured to know that the person coming into their home has no hidden criminal past, or is not covered should they hurt themselves or damage something in your home.
You should also check things like cancellation policies, payment terms, who provides the cleaning equipment and products required, and any other incidentals that come up.
Tip #3 – Use a professional house cleaning agency
As sourcing and managing excellent house cleaners is what agencies are all about if you can find a great one then all the responsibility can be lifted from your shoulders. You simply need to book, pay and enjoy the sparkling results. If nobody you know already recommended a good (trustworthy) agency, you will need to look around online, and use tip #2 to evaluate reviews and testimonials.
When checking out an agency look for evidence that they are trustworthy, such as clearly laid out information on the following:
- Their recruitment methods.
All their staff, whether employed directly or as contractors should have been interviewed personally, have had references thoroughly checked, and have had a suitable background check.
- Insurance
This should be comprehensive, with cover for liability (in case the domestic worker is hurt on your property), as well as for any damage or theft which may occur as a result of their employee’s behaviour.
- Affiliations
A company which is a member of relevant bodies, such as the Better Business Bureau suggests it is serious about providing a good service, and both establishing and maintaining a good name in the domestic services field.
- Scheduling options
There are various ways a house cleaning business can choose to offer their services. Some have a set way of working – a list of tasks which are tackled each visit, others are more flexible, allowing clients to negotiate a personal cleaning plan which best suits them. Don’t forget to check out how they allocate staff to work – will you have the same person or team of people (to account for staff holidays), or random workers?
Finding a trustworthy house cleaning service may take a little time and effort but it really is worth the investment, especially when you know you have a lovely clean home to enjoy without any worries at all about who is spending time in your home.
