Hiring a Maid Service is often necessary for large homes of residents with busy schedules. Some homeowners prefer to hire a professional service to clean their homes on a regular basis. Many cleaning services offer a variety of services. They can be easily found online or in the telephone directory under maid service.
When hiring a service for the first time, it is important to investigate a few before deciding on one service. If you can, get a recommendation from a friend or neighbour, this way you have someone that can vouch for their services. It is important to get a full understanding of the services they provide. It is also important to clearly communicate your cleaning needs to the individual that will be cleaning your residence.
A maid service typically provides domestic services to homes and offices. Maids can be both male and female but in most cases, female maids are employed in these types of services. Some domestic services are more comprehensive than others and offer an array of services. Along with cleaning property, a maid may accomplish chores such as cooking, ironing, laundry, grocery shopping and caring for any pets in the home.
Many years ago, maids were only seen in very affluent homes, but they are now accessible to middle-income homes as well. Some maids are live in help, which is typically a lot more expensive than hiring a service to clean on scheduled visits. Depending on the type of service, the rates will vary. Whatever service you go with should only hire documented workers that do not have a criminal record. It is important to ask about their screening process before utilizing any service.
Before hiring a maid service, you should first have a clear understanding of your cleaning needs. If there are particular cleaning responsibilities that you cannot at all seem to manage, then this needs to be communicated to the service. If there are certain tasks that you are willing to do, this must also be disclosed. Any specialized cleaning such as steaming the drapes or finishing the silverware will also have to be mentioned to the service, so this can be included in your service contract.
A good way to go about hiring a service is the make a comprehensive list of everything you want the maid service to handle. The more complete the list, the better your service will be. Once this is done, then it is time to find the appropriate service. Professionalism and security will be your major concerns. You want to make sure their workers do excellent work and that they are all bonded and screened. A full background check should be done on all of the maids.
You will also need to determine the cleaning schedule and frequency of service you require. If you need daily service that is very comprehensive, your rates will be much higher than if you only needed weekly basic service. This should all be discussed with the maid service. Many will offer additional discounts depending on the level of service required. A lot of services also offer individual packages for their domestic services. See what kind of special deals may be available.
When hiring a maid service, it is important to be as thorough as possible. You will want to make sure you are hiring a professional service that has a qualified staff of workers that do an excellent job. The rates should be reasonable for the level of service they provide. It is not difficult to find a maid service, but you will need to make sure you find the right fit for your needs.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Maid
When one hires a maid to clean their home or office, they are permitting a stranger access to their personal items. For this reason, you must ask the right questions to make sure that you end up hiring an honest and reliable maid. The first place to start is asking friends and acquaintances for their experiences with maids or maid services. You will then want to make a list of what you expect a maid to do, and how often. You will want to know what the current rates are for various cleaning services, and whether you will need additional homeowner’s insurance. If you are hiring an independent maid on contract, find out what the tax implications are, what must be deducted from the pay, and how you file those taxes. Check with the federal and local tax offices to determine what your responsibilities are as an employer.
If you are hiring a maid through an agency, you will want to know how long they have been in business, ask for referrals from current clients, and whether their maids are insured and bonded. Do they guarantee their services? Has the agency performed background checks on its maids? Does the organization train its maids? Will the company send the same person every time, or is a team coming in to do the job? If it’s a team, is there a team leader or supervisor on-site?
When speaking to previous clients, inquire about reliability, promptness, attitude, and how satisfied the other person is with the work performed. Ask whether the agency provides cleaning equipment and supplies. Many are complete services, bringing their vacuums, mops, and pails as well as rags, cleaners, and polishes. You may have preferences for green products; find out if these are available.
Be sure of the charges, based on the tasks you want to be performed, and the size of your home, whether you are hiring a maid privately or through an agency. Other questions you will want to ask are whether there is a fee charged if you cancel the service for a week or month because of illness or holiday. You will also want to be clear whether you will be expected to be home to let the maid in, or whether you can make arrangements to leave a key. Ask whether the maid is comfortable with pets as some people are allergic or uneasy around dogs or cats.
When interviewing a new maid, whether from an agency or independent, some questions will concern the methods for dealing with everyday tasks and if you have items that require special care such as oriental carpets or antique furniture you will want to know how they will be treated. Make sure that you are clear about how to clean these items. You may also discuss special requests, such as cooking occasionally or taking care of pets when necessary. Observe how the children interact with the maid, and her response to them. If the maid is not a native English speaker, are you able to communicate well enough?
Whether you go with an independent maid or a service, being clear about your needs and expectations at the start will help foster a good long-term relationship. Asking the right questions will ensure that you have a hired a professional and quality maid.