11 Questions You Should Ask When Hiring a Cleaning Service

When hiring a cleaning service, you want to select the best match for your family. Here are some questions to ask that help you get the perfect choice.

1. Are you licensed bonded and insured, and do you perform background checks, reference checks and drug screening? Who is in your home is generally the most important question that consumers have. Official checks and verification are how professional companies can ensure you have trustworthy people in your home. 
2. Do you hire employees or subcontractors? This question is about who is in control of your job. If a company hires employees they are legally allowed to train, insure, pay payroll taxes and provide care and control over the job. If they hire sub-contractors, it is the sub-contractor themselves who must provide the insurance, they should not receive training from the company, and they are really independent business owners. If a company hires sub-contractors then you should ask a lot more questions about liability, insurance, qualifications and payroll taxes.
3. What are your most common complaints and how do you solve them? Customer satisfaction with a cleaning service is about understanding and meeting customer expectations, communication, and a complete understanding of the customer’s needs. Learning ahead of time where things could go array can help avoid misunderstandings in your home service.
4. Can you work within my budget? Everyone loves having their house cleaned from corner to corner, but that may not always be in your budget. Find out what the cleaning company can do with your budget.
5. How reliable is your company? You are busy, and you don’t have time to wait around for umpteen changes in time from your cleaning company. Ask your cleaning company how they measure their reliability, and do they have a good track record.
6. Do you have expertise in cleaning stains and unusual cleaning problems? It does not take much expertise to run a broom across the floor, but to maintain a home in tip top shape you are going to need occasionally to handle the odd stain on your carpet, in your grout or on your granite, etc. 
7. Do you belong to a trade association or have you received any specialized training? True experts spend time and resources staying up on the most effective procedures, standards and technology for an efficient cleaning.
8. What kinds of tools and supplies do you use? Green cleaning, microfiber, traditional products, commercial grade… learn what your company plans to use.
9. How do you guarantee your work? Not only ask the company if they guarantee their work, but how they do it. Is there a lot of red tape? Do people need to redeem the guarantee often?
10. Do you offer special projects if I need it? Is the company available to do a detail of the interior and exterior surfaces of the kitchen? How about hands and knees polishing of your dining room and dining room furniture? How about giving a good clean to your RV or boat? It is important to know that your cleaning company is available for all of your needs.
11. Can you come out to give me a free in-home estimate? I know you are busy and may be considering skipping this step, but an in-home estimate is your opportunity to really see who will project managing your service. See whether they seem experienced, flexible, good communication, a good leader and someone you can work with for a long term relationship. No matter how frequently you are using a cleaning service, the process of finding and vetting a good service takes time, and you would rather only do it once.