Bare Minimum…read more
Terrible. I called Merry Maids to ask for a DEEP CLEANING of my house. I told them it was a big house, needed a LOT of cleaning and to allow AT LEAST four hours for JUST the first floor.
Well, first they were late, second, they started as if it was a general cleaning, doing front to back, dust, vacuum, etc, without asking me any questions or having a checklist. Then when they were done, they asked me what I thought and I pointed out dirt still in the cracks of our main room (it's natural wood with crevasses between each board). They told me, well, they didn't know what else they could do. I pointed out a place on the rug where there was hair that I reached down and picked up. They just looked blankly at me.
Then they asked if I wanted to use a credit card or check and called in my cc without ever giving me a total or any receipt. Wow.
After they left, I went back through and I saw so many things not done. The whole area they went through was half done and minimally cleaned, and they still never got to the top floor, except for vacuuming my bedroom, with my own vacuum, since something happened to theirs. This was after they asked earlier to use my dustpan and had sent one of the two people back to the office for more rags. I had rags, why didn't they ask me, and then why did they charge me for four hours when they arrived at 10.15 and left promptly at 2pm with one of them gone for half an hour.
I didn't ask them to say because obviously they were half hearted about everything and it was all about punching a timeclock.
When I called the office to complain, they had the same answers, oh, well, we did what we could in the time we were there. Well, why didn't they tell me how much time they needed? Why didn't they do an outstanding job on anything, but instead, just a halfway job on everything?
You could have asked them to stay longer, she said. Why would I ask them to stay longer when they just told me they couldn't do any better when I pointed out that dirt in the cracks. They claim to have swept and mopped three times in there. Really? They why were there still things on the floor that I could wipe lightly with my finger and get off? Why was there a pile of dust on the floor? Why was the return register still covered with dust? Why didn't they even take out the trash they generated and left in my kitchen instead of carrying it out the door to the big container right outside?
I know my house needed cleaning and I was willing to pay the price. I'm used to using Molly Maids in Arizona and they worked til it was done and only charged $60/hour for two people whereas these people charged 90/hour and seemed to worry about their time clock, not doing a good job.
Based on my convo with the manager, her unending excuses and blaming me for not being specific enough I'd have to say this is standard procedure for Merry Maids. This is the first time I've not tipped a cleaning crew, but it just didn't feel like they cared.
Meh, after spending $400, I'm left feeling Meh, not happy. I wanted clean and happy. One excellent room and I would have been happy, but instead, I got Meh.
Looking for clean? Just hire someone off Craigslist and you can pay them 10/hour for 40 hours for what I paid for a company that's supposed to be a "professional" cleaning crew. I'm sure you'll get better service.