What to Expect When Hiring a Cleaning Lady #Giveaway

The year that my first child was born, there was a Groupon for a cleaning maid service. How luxurious! I thought that I’d treat myself – absolutely I’d pay $30 for a house cleaner for 2 hours while I sit with my feet up and nurse my baby! …and then, before I knew it, my Groupon had expired. I did the same when my daughter was born. Another $30 out the window, along with the dreams of someone else cleaning up after me. 

Why did I never call the companies to book the service? Why did I waste my money? Why did I not take the chance that I had for someone else to clean up after me? 

The answer is a little embarrassing, but here it goes: I had no idea what to do with a maid service! I felt embarrassed asking someone else to clean up my mess, and stupid paying someone to come into my house without knowing how it worked to have a cleaning lady – what they cleaned, what I was supposed to have ready before they came, if I was supposed to stay home or go out, who it was, exactly, that was going to be in my house, if and how much I was supposed to tip them… I am not High Brow. I don’t do things like pay people to clean for me! People pay me to do things like babysit their kids. I am able-bodied with time to sit down and watch TV, so I certainly have time to clean my own house (this would be the Dutch Work Ethic that’s ingrained in my head). Am I the only one who’s intimidated by the prospect of a cleaning lady?

I met Marisa from MVP Cleaning on Twitter earlier this fall, and after I got to know her a bit, I finally screwed up the courage to ask her if she could tell me what to expect when hiring a house cleaner. She graciously agreed to share her insider knowledge with me and my readers, and even offered to send a cleaning lady to my house so that I could get over my fear of the unknown. (By the way, go follow Marisa on Twitter – she’ll follow you back and is super nice. 🙂 ) 

1. Q: I’ve always heard people talk about how they “clean up for the cleaning lady.” What kind of state should my house be in when she arrives?

A: The expectation will be different for every cleaning service provider. 

This is my suggestion: meet with your potential cleaning service in your home and have your home appear as though it would on a normal day.  Discuss your expectations and ask them what their expectations are of you as the homeowner.  Some providers will be happy to tidy up each room as they go along, others will work around the “mess”. Everyone has very personal feelings about their home and belongings so it’s important to ask a lot of questions during the quotation process and make sure that you are on the same page. 

Things to put away – laundry, important paperwork, toys, medication or other life saving devices.  Otherwise, as long as you have had the discussion about what your home should look like on cleaning day, there should be no panic to clean before the cleaning lady comes.  Time is money: if you are working with a budget, as most of us are, the more “tidying” you do the more thorough of a cleaning job we can do.  Leave a laundry basket out and ask the cleaning lady to put odds and ends into there for you to put away later.

2. Q: What should I expect when they arrive the first time? What’s the routine? Do I show them around the house, let them find their way around? What’s the etiquette? 

A:  We expect your house to need cleaning: we’ve built a whole business that banks on you needing us! So relax, relinquish control for a few hours and ENJOY having help.  On the first visit, them on a quick walk through.  Point out any “no go” areas such as the teenagers room, or the toilet that is broken so we don’t flush it and cause a flood.  The routine is different at every home.  We typically have a standard top-down method but as many of our clients are home during their cleanings, we’ll ask where the best place is to start.  

3. Q: What kind of things can I expect to be cleaned? If walls and fridges are not something that they normally do, could a person pay extra now and then for those services?

A: This is something that I would discuss with each company that I was considering before making my decision.  I have found over the years that we (MVP Cleaning) tend to be on the more thorough side.  We don’t do wall washing (we will spot wash as we go along), inside of fridge and/or cupboards at every cleaning but we do dust blinds, window sills, baseboards, and light switches, which is considered to be extra with some service providers.  The other things like an oven cleaning and inside of fridge can be arranged ahead of time and scheduled now and then.

4. Q: What kind of cleaning products do you use? Are your cleaners open to using cleaning products that belong to the homeowner?

A:  We typically use eco-friendly cleaning products that we have researched and tried time and again.  We also use natural products such as vinegar and baking soda. Everyone’s home has different needs so we’ll use what we feel to be the most suitable product for doing the job well.  We can use the home owners products if they prefer. We will put  a note nto the file so we can be sure we all know what to use. I recommend that you ask about this when you are meeting with potential service providers and make sure that you are on the same page.  We typically prefer to use the home owner’s vacuum as it’s easier and doesn’t transfer dust and allergens from house to house.

5. Q: It’s a little strange having people that you don’t know spend time in every area of your house. What sort of a process to your applicants go to go through before you hire them?

A: Every provider is different, but this is the process for MVP Cleaning: 

Candidates submit a resume & cover letter (addressing experiential and behavioral questions) and then have a telephone interview, an in-person interview, submit a criminal background report, job shadow for a day, and then clean alongside an experienced cleaner until we are confident that the cleaner is able to handle jobs on their own. 

We hire to fit with the culture of our company: respect for the customer and each other, outstanding customer service, reliability, and work ethic.  Training someone to do the actual job is not nearly as hard as it sounds once we find the person with the right traits to fit our team and culture! 

6. Q: Do you have any tips to help people feel comfortable with the process of having someone clean their  house? It seems very ‘Downton Abbey’ to have ‘staff’ to clean up after me – I’m used to being part of the lower-middle class, so it feels strange to me!

A: I occasionally have my own house cleaned.  After so many years, it still feels odd to me.  For me it’s easier to not be in the house when someone comes to clean it, but that isn’t always possible. 

Go ahead and tell them that it’s new for you and a little awkward and they will reassure you that it’s okay for you to focus on what you need to do and let them do their job.  Cleaning isn’t just for “rich” people anymore! 

7: Q: Do the cleaners just do what they do and then leave, or am I expected to give the house a once-over before they head out the door?

A: If you are home, we will let you know when we are finishing up and invite you to take a quick look around to make sure you feel good about everything and/or ask if there is anything else we can do.  This isn’t the time to get shy on us!  We do this because we are human and every now and again we might miss something. If you are really busy or just don’t feel comfortable with this, then just say thanks and we’ll be on our way.

8. Q: I know that house cleaning is part of the service industry. Is tipping normal etiquette? If so, what kind of tips should we expect to give? I love to thank people for a job well done, but we are also on a budget. I don’t want to be stingy, but I want to be fair without going overboard.

A: Like any service provider, our team members work very hard to earn your approval and a tip is a good way of letting them know that you were pleased with their work.  Some clients tip after every cleaning, others save it for Christmas or other special occasions, some don’t tip at all.  You can show your appreciation for their hard work in other ways, as well: a small gift card for a coffee shop, a thank you note, or an email to their boss to say job well done.  If you decide to leave a cash tip, I recommend you leave it in a clearly marked envelope saying thanks for your hard work so that they know it’s for them.  We will never assume that money on the counter is for us.

Did you survive all the way to the end of this post? I hope so! Because I have some exciting news!

After Marisa shared her knowledge with me, she emailed me right back again and offered to do a giveaway for my readers! So listen up, all you folks who either live in the following areas or have family or friends in the area that you’d like to spoil:

I’ve got 3 hours of house cleaning to give away to one lucky winner who lives in one of the following areas: Ancaster, Binbrook, Burlington, Dundas, Flamborough, Grimsby, Hamilton, Mount Hope, Oakville, Smithville, Stoney Creek, Waterdown.

Guys, you’re going to love this. I had a cleaner come in before Christmas from MVP Cleaning and it was amazing. I’ve got a blog post coming soon about what that was like, but you can experience it for yourself! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 Winner does not have to be in that region to qualify for the win, but must provide the name & location of the person to receive the cleaning within 24 hours to us for verification of qualification.

Must be 18+ and a resident of Canada to win. Winner must respond to an email within 24 hours of receiving notification or she will be automatically disqualified.

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Jenn vanOosten

I live in Hamilton, Ontario, and love my city. I'm a Netflixer, choral music geek, bookworm, inventor of recipes (I take Artistic Licence on EVERYTHING that I make), wife of one, mother of two, and owner of a neurotic Schnauzer. I respect people who respect others. I love good food that's well done, but my favourite lunch is KD & hotdogs. With ketchup. I'm addicted to Clearance Shopping. I will ALWAYS get the product that I want at the price that I want, eventually.

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