CARMEN'S CLEANING SERVICES [in Waco TX] TOOK MY MONEY, DID NOT CLEAN…read more
I really hate having to write a bad review but I don't want anyone else to lose $450 like I did because they saw only the easy-to-write positive reviews on Next Door and elsewhere. I hired Carmen's Services to do a deep clean move-in cleaning of an old house that was undergoing some remodeling in the kitchen.
There were two bedrooms with small closets, a dining room, living room and cabinets in a small kitchen. All empty. There were a total of four ceiling fans with light kits, and vanity lights in the bathrooms. Nearly all switch plates removed, so only a couple of those often-grimy items were left to clean. All floors were brand new wood, so no "deep" cleaning required on the floors. No appliances to be cleaned.
I called Carmen's and talked to husband/manager Dave Henschen. I explained that what I wanted was a deep clean [i.e. detailed] with sanitizing of all the surfaces, including walls, from ceiling to floor. When they came to do estimate, I showed them that the ceiling fans were really bad and some areas needed extra attention, like inside the kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, and all horizontal surfaces such as baseboards and top of window and door trim. I showed them the accumulated dirt on fans. An agreement was reached that they could do the job the next afternoon [Thursday] for $450. That's a lot of money, but I knew it would cost me quite a bit to buy just the long-handled tools for wiping down the walls, plus other supplies, if I did it myself. And I really didn't have time to do it either.
In the texted agreement I specifically stated that our agreement was for "all surfaces sanitizing in two middle bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and dining room, including inside of all cabinets (including kitchen) and closets, and doors, and light fixtures. No appliances or kitchen counters and no blinds, just surfaces in windows." David accepted that as the agreement.
Later that Wednesday afternoon they asked if they could start in the morning instead of the afternoon on Thursday. I said yes, and hurried to move a couple of chests and a day bed into the previously cleaned rooms and make sure there was nothing in the way of them reaching the walls, baseboards or ceiling fans, and all cabinets were emptied, so they could get to work the next morning. I gave them the access code to enter the house and was told they would be there about 9:00 a.m. I intended to be there at least part of the day to see the work getting done. But as things turned out, I didn't get there before David notified me at 2:15 that the cleaning crew was about finished.
I got there as quickly as I could, and trying to be respectful of their time I did not take the time to move the ladder around and inspect everything closely. Carmen made a point of showing me the drawers in the kitchen and the vanity in the back bathroom, drawing my attention away from the fans and lights. The vanity cabinets appeared to be clean.
I had been told that Carmen, her nephew and sister were the crew for the day and I couldn't imagine how three people could have been there for six hours and not done a thorough job, especially on the items I had designated as being of special concern. I did point out the dirty finger prints around one door knob and asked Carmen to clean it again,--which did make a difference. Her sister spoke up to say that all other doors had been cleaned. I quickly wrote them a check and saw them out, and I also left the house.
Friday I went to install new light bulbs in the ceiling fans and as soon as I looked at the first fan I saw that it was almost untouched. The years-worth of accumulated dirt was still there, as it was on the other fans. The pictures I am posting show that I do not exaggerate when I say there appeared to have been nothing more than a rag dragged hastily over them, with no effort applied to reach the tight places. In the bathrooms the glass shades were all dirty, with the backsides almost entirely untouched. I was appalled that any professional cleaners would have left so much obvious dirt behind.
I texted Carmen's immediately to tell them what I found and give them an opportunity to come salvage their reputation. I sent the pictures of the fans to be sure they could come prepared for what needed to be done.
David came Saturday afternoon, with Carmen. He had a cloth in hand. He got on a step ladder and wiped off the fans, which was ineffective to remove the dirt from the openings on the fan motor housing. I asked if they had a vacuum or canned air to get the dirt out of the fan housing and some solution for sanitizing the surfaces. At that point he told me that obviously we had different standards, and WALKED OUT. Monday we discovered the medicine cabinets also had not been cleaned. I texted Carmen's and asked for a refund. Two days later, still no response. [Full review on Next Door Waco]
