I hired Robert Page to clean my 9 x11.5' balcony to get it ready for summer- this was to include…read morevacuuming the furniture covers and space, glue a caster back on a furniture leg, removing an old rug, emptying the planters, and cleaning the balcony walls/railings of their grime, dust, webs, etc. He said that he could do the cleaning after seeing the photos, works quickly, and can do other projects. I let him know we'd start with the balcony. NEVER AGAIN for a cleaning or anything else based on his unwillingness to make the situation right. He charged $240, had poor technique and time utilization, and was not attentive to detail.
He did glue the caster, remove the rug, and empty the planters, but did not bring drop cloths or wear shoe covers so he made a mess of my floors when he came in and out, including wet foot prints and water splashes, so now shop towel laundry for me because he didn't have any. He insisted on removing the couch cover to shake it out, despite my request to leave it in place and vacuum it first. Because it now has dust and pollen on both sides, I will be taking it to a carwash to spray it down. He refused to use his shop vac to vacuum the rest of the space too and didn't bring his own broom or soap/cleaner. When he asked for soap, I gave him dish soap. I thought it was to wash his bucket before he started. Nope! It was for the deck cleaning. When I asked him to use Oxiclean instead, which is what I've used for the dozen of balcony cleanings I've done, he said, "we'll try this first."
He was out there working hard, but wasn't cleaning. Rather, he moved the dirt around with soap and water. I pointed out how dirty the balcony looked when he finished, and he told me "You'll just need to sweep it later." I was working from home and regret not looking at the space from more than just the doorframe, but after my meetings, I went out there and immediately took photos and contacted him, as I found myself wondering what I paid him for. He said he'd come back to continue the job, but would charge $80/hr. Why would pay him to do more poor quality work? I properly cleaned it myself, vacuuming up a bunch of debris, and dumping buckets and buckets of black water. I sent photos to him showing his after vs my after and asked for a partial refund, as this wasn't sitting right with me. Nope, he feels justified in what he charged.
Lesson learned, don't pay until the job is done and done right! It was still so filthy out there after he left!! Photos speak for themselves. My family thought the pictures after his work were the before photos. He did show up on time and seems like a nice person, but I won't be using him again for any services and do NOT recommend him for cleaning, anything cleaning related, or any project that could make a mess unless you want to feel grossly overcharged and disappointed and have to clean up after him.
