In the current busy world, it is very hard to find time for some of the most important things in life. You can only imagine how tough it is to, therefore, find time for your everyday home duties. This is why hiring a maid is becoming the norm in every home in Singapore. Hiring a maid lessens your daily struggles by conveniently helping you keep your home cleaner making your family healthier. But the problem comes in when choosing which maid service is best for you. Since you are bringing a total stranger to your home, it is just natural to have worries. So how will you decide on which maid services to choose? To help you, I have come up with some guidelines that will help you make a good decision.
Here are 10 tips for choosing a maid agency.
Your family needs
The first thing you need to consider before you go searching for a maid agency is to know what your family needs are. Ask yourself if you need someone who will just do general work or look after your children or elder parents. This is because not all candidates will have the necessary skills to do just anything. For example, if you just need someone to help with the general work, you can opt for a part time cleaner which is much cheaper.
Research
One of the best ways of getting starting points is asking around for recommendations. It is good to find and hire a helper who is recommended by a trusted friend. Although this proves very effective, it is advisable to be careful of gross generalizations. Also, the agency may fit with your friends family but not yours. But when you get one and decide to use it’s services, now do your research on the agency.
References
Customer reference is one of the things you should request for when hiring an agency. Always remember to ask for references and work history. Ensure that you request for customer references which should be always available. This gives you an opportunity to contact them so that you get reassurance that the agency is the one they would. When you call them, some key questions to ask include:
– How long they have used the maid service
– If they have had any complaints
– How did the maid service handle this
– Can they enthusiastically recommend the maid service
Employee hiring and screening
Employee reference is very important since you are looking for someone that you can trust and depend on. A good maid service should do criminal background checks and give their employees regular training for keeping them up to date. When hiring a maid service, reliability, cleaning knowledge, and most importantly criminal background checks are some of the things you should look for.
Bonding and insurance
Most people assume that the maid agency will carry the insurance and protection against thefts. However, this is not the case since most agencies assume that the client is covered from this with his or her own insurance policies. On the other hand, when your maid falls while cleaning or steals, your home policy might not be able to cover for the incident. Since your insurance is not always going to cover for all the situations, it is better to seek the services of a recognized agency that can assure you their employees are insured and bonded.
Cleaning products
Another thing to consider is if they have their cleaning solutions and equipment. Most independent maid agencies will expect you to supply the cleaning products. However, if they include the house cleaning products, you should find out what type of products they use. You need to ensure that the products are safe and do not contain any harsh chemicals like ammonia. A good maid agency should use only proven and environmentally friendly safe products that are effective in cleaning and disinfecting pathogens. Since the products will be used in your home, they should be environmentally friendly and also very effective. When it comes to equipment, they should also be superior with effective filtration systems. Efficiency of the system is very important.
Flexibility
It is very common to find an agency that you like but are unable to clean your house on the day you need them. A good agency should be available to clean your house any time that is convenient to you. Also, the cleaning should go on even if a team member gets sick or is absent. When need comes to adjusting your scheduled day to another day, the company should be still be able to accommodate your flexibility. Whether you are looking for a bi-weekly service or a regular service, the service should be available to do the work at a time that is convenient to you.
Quality assurance
Quality control and improvement are some of the major things to look for when hiring a maid agency. Maid agencies which are proud of their services are never reluctant in offering clients with a customer satisfaction guarantee. Maid agencies react only when they hear complaints. Therefore, it is your work to do the quality assurance. You should ask if the maid service has someone who inspects the cleans to ensure that quality service is offered. Do they have a checklist that you can look at? The best maid services have quality assurance procedures in place that ensures their house cleaning services meets the quality standards.
Taxes
When you go with the services of a maid agency, you can be sure that they will include almost all other costs. A reputable maid agency will withhold things like social security funds, taxes, and other costs for their employees. You will have no need to pay for any hidden charges or do added paperwork. However, it is still worth checking.
Costs
Before you choose an agency, it is always good to know how much the services will cost. It is advisable to get a number of estimates before you choose a maid agency so that you can determine if they are charging the going rate. Ask if there are any extra charges above the quote amount. Also, if you will be responsible for buying the cleaning supplies, find out everything you need to purchase.
Conclusion
Hiring a maid agency for the first time can be very complicated. However, since you need to protect your property and family, it is your responsibility to ensure that the person who will enter your home is very trustworthy. Thanks to this tips, you will now be able to avoid some mistakes and choose the right maid agency.