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The following are some of the more frequently asked questions
and answers. Simply click on a question to bring up the answer.
Why should I hire a cleaning service?
People hire cleaning professionals for many different
reasons. The number one reason is to save valuable time. You can save
countless hours on dreaded housework (including the time you spend thinking about not wanting to do it). So, how do you value
your time? There are a couple of great articles on this topic.
CNN / MONEY MAGAZINE ARTICLE - How Much is Your Time Worth?
MSN ARTICLE - Why it Pays to Hire Help at Home
MSN
Time Value Calculator
WALL
STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE - Political Economy: How Much Is Your Time
Worth?
For most of us, our time is worth much more than we may
think, especially when psychological aspects are considered.
It seems that life just keeps moving a faster pace. It is
easy for valuable personal or family time to get shortened. Hiring a good
home cleaning service can give you back some free time. In most homes,
cleaning services
are rapidly becoming a needed service rather than a luxury. While it is not difficult to find a cleaning service, it
is not easy to find a service that consistently provides the level of
service you deserve.
Isn't it expensive and
only for the "wealthy"?
It's probably less expensive than you think! On
average, house cleaning chores require 35 hours per week (according to a
1999 Whirlpool Foundation study). So, to answer this question, you
need to develop an estimate of what your time is actually worth, and how
much your cleaning time would be reduced with a cleaning service. It
is not likely to drop to zero unless you hire a live-in maid. The
previous question/answer provides information on how to determine the value of your
free-time.
Using some round numbers for folks in southeast Texas, the
value of free-time for a single-income family earning $40,000 per year is
around $30 per hour. For a $50,000 income family, it's $55 per hour
and it is $67 per hour for a single income family earning $60,000 per year.
These values were obtained using the
MSN
Time Value Calculator.
Now, not only is our average hourly cost significantly
less than these figures, we also know we can clean a house better than most
homeowners and in about 50% to 75% less time. Why? We are
professionally trained and equipped to do so. This means that you
would likely save 1.2 to 1.5 hours of housework for every hour you paid a
professional cleaning service.
What makes you any different from all the other
services out there?
Let us count the ways!
- Our Mission and Vision - It starts with our
mission and vision. We are here to be profitable enough to give
back to those in the community who need our services at low or no cost.
We
aspire to be known as an enabler of stronger families as we give our
Customers more time to spend on the really important things in life.
- Selection of Employees/Associates - Then there
is our extremely careful selection of employees - we call them
Associates. We hire people who love to clean!
Click here to get an overview of our screening
process.
- Training - Our state-of-the art training - we
take about three weeks to train a new Associate - and we don't train
on your time! We provide classroom lecture, book reading and
video coupled with multiple testing along the way. This is
followed by field training in a controlled environment - not your home!
- The Best People on Our Team - The end result
of the previous two items is the absolute best housecleaning
professionals - period!
- Our Compensation Process - Since we've hired
the best, we also treat them in like-fashion. We use hourly
compensation and not a "pay-by-the-house" plan. We believe paying
our Associates by the hour coupled with a profit sharing plan second to
none. Our compensation plan, corporate culture and management
experience sustains our Associates' motivation to do what's right - right for the
Customer and our business.
- Quality Management - Our quality management
program is second to none. Having more than a decade of experience
on our team with corporate quality activities - we know quality and
how to make it real. We have modeled our program using the
criteria of the Baldrige National Quality Award (click
here for more information).
- Our Cleaning Products and Equipment - Our
products and equipment match the caliber of people we hire - they are
the best money can buy. Our main vacuums are German-built and
include certified HEPA filtration. Our cleaning products are
extremely effective and environmentally safe.
- Our Highly Engineered Cleaning Process - We
have spent significant time developing the most efficient and effective
methods to clean a home. With our industrial engineering
background, we know a little something about motion and time. We
applied this knowledge and experience to our cleaning methods. The result is a highly
effective process that actually eliminates many sources of errors
( such as forgetting to do something).
- Our Commitment to Our Customers - is second to
none! Sure, we have a guarantee similar to others. We simply
stand behind ours - 100% of the time. We also offer significant
flexibility. Need something special, something extra, something
different? No problem! We can handle most anything.
All we ask is a couple of days notice so that we can effectively schedule
the work.
- Professional Credentials - We are a proud
member of the Association of Residential Cleaning
Professionals (www.arcp.us), a member
of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce and are a member of the Better
Business Bureau of Southeast Texas (www.bbbsetexas.org)
What's the difference between a "cleaning service"
and a "maid"?
While many call themselves maid services and many more
call themselves cleaning services, most are the same. There are several
categories of differences - training, services provided, insurance/bonding,
and legality.
Training - Most services train their employees.
Most maids or individuals have had no formal training for cleaning.
This increases the chance that maids can damage items by using the wrong
cleaning product or process. So, the Customer must provide the
instruction. Our Associates go through more formal training than any
service we know of in Beaumont.
Services - Most cleaning services
perform basic home cleaning with a wide range in services. If your
expectations include things like laundry, ironing, shopping, organizing,
looking after the children, or things beside basic house cleaning you will
want to discuss this with the service you are interviewing. We provide these types of custom services through both
our residential cleaning, concierge and home management services.
Insurance and Bonding - Be sure to inquire about
items such as insurance and workers compensation. Most individuals do
not carry this type of coverage. A simple service bond does not
actually provide the Customer with very strong coverage, as service bonds
usually require that someone is convicted of the crime before the bond will
pay.
While most homeowner's insurance policies cover medical
costs, should someone be injured in your home, they rarely provide coverage
for lost wages or income. This is were the service provider's workers
compensation coverage comes into play.
Of course, we are bonded, carry full liability coverage
along with the non-mandatory workers' compensation (and we call tell you
first hand that it is all expensive!).
Legality - Many individual maids work on a "cash"
basis and most do not report their income. Hence, they are not paying
income tax or social security. Rest assured however, that they will
file for social security when they are eligible! Many are also illegal
aliens who do not have the proper documentation to work in the U.S. but also
obtain social services from our community.
Sure these individual maids charge less for the service
provided, but we feel strongly that people who employee these maids are
supporting an underground economy that ultimately hurts all of us.
Of course, we do not discriminate in our hiring process.
We do, however, insist that all individuals have the legal right to work in
our country. All of our Associates have I-9 documentation
and we pay all legal taxes (federal and state taxes and social security).
Am I required to commit to a long-term contract?
No, absolutely not. While we do offer a 12-month
contract that saves you some money, it is not required. We are
confident enough in the quality and value of our service that it speaks for
itself rather than using a contract to rope you into something!
Do you have or use coupons?
We do not include coupons in our mailers. The reason
is simple - we don't want to insult you. Offering you an enticement of
$25 or even $75 in coupons for a relationship that could be worth several
thousand dollars just does not seem right. When was the last time you
saw a 2% OFF coupon in any store? We think it's silly and would rather
concentrate on offering you a reasonable price for service that delights
you. Now, having said that, we do participate in the Beaumont Chamber
of Commerce's "Bucks" gift certificates and offer gift certificates
ourselves. However, we don't think gift certificates are the same as a
paltry 2% off coupon.
How do you assure my and my family's safety?
While we can't assure anyone's safety, including our own,
we do take more preventative steps than most anyone. We start with
in-person interviews where we carefully screen out individuals who don't
meet our exacting requirements. For those candidates with whom we have
interest, we put them through an intensive (and costly) screening process
with Intellicorp (www.intellicorp.net),
a premier employment background checking service. The screening starts
with an identity verification check that searches over 600 million
records on an individual's reported social security number and provides the
ability to verify and validate who may be using a specific social security
number. This is the same information used by banks, lenders and credit
companies nationwide. Once the candidate's identity is confirmed, we
conduct a nationwide criminal search (covering arrest records, court
records, inmate records, and sex offender registries). This is
followed with a comprehensive Texas criminal check - which provides more
timely information than the national search. We
also perform a check of the candidate's Texas driving record and we look at
their credit history. Having passed all of this, the candidate is then
subjected to initial and subsequent random drug testing. We use National
Diagnostics, Inc. (www.natldiag.com)
for all our drug testing - more expensive than most, but is an excellent
service provider. Last, but not least, we fingerprint all Associates and
maintain these records for at least 5 years after an Associate leaves us.
We obviously believe an ounce of prevention is worth a lot!
In addition to the screening, all Associates are
supervised while in a Customer's home. We do not use any
subcontractors for residential cleaning services. Through our
dispatching software we track the movements of our teams - so we know
exactly where they are at any time. Finally, we work as teams which
not only helps to assure your safety, but theirs as well!
How do you keep my key safe and sound?
Most of our Customers are working during the day,
which is exactly when we like to clean your home - so we don't bother
you when you are at home spending some of that precious time for
yourself or family. As a result, most Customers provide us with a
key to their homes. To ensure the security of your keys, we do
not mark them with your name, but rather a secure code number.
Your key is stored in a locked key safe at our office, which has a
24-hour security monitoring system. We take your key out of the
key safe only on
your cleaning day. It is put on a locked key chain and carried by
the Team Leader. Should the key be lost, there is no way to trace
it back to your home. Should our office be broken into, in
addition to getting through our office security system, they would have
to be able to quickly hack a system with two levels of separate password
protection (where we store our Customer information data).
Why do you need to do the "Initial
Deep Cleans"?
Old dirt! We have found that simply doing a general
cleaning does not provide you with a sparkling clean home. Old dirt is
significantly harder to clean than "new"
dirt. Our initial cleaning takes this fact into account as we deliver
a totally "spring cleaned" home at its conclusion. Doing an initial,
or deep/spring cleaning once is also not the answer as Mr. Grunge has an
insidious way of sneaking back in. That's why our initial cleaning
followed by the deep cleaning rotation system ensures that your home gets
what amounts to a complete "spring cleaning" at the end of every fourth
visit.
Why do the first two cleanings cost more?
It takes us significantly more time and effort to clean
"old" dirt as compared to "new" dirt. A good example is the dust that
accumulates on the top of your picture frames or refrigerator. As it
sits there and piles up over time, it literally packs down. This "old"
packed dust cannot be removed with a duster, but requires hand-wiping with a
general cleaner. The more time it takes us, the more costly it is for
both of us. That's why we specialize in and encourage folks to use a
recurring cleaning service.
My home has been cleaned by a professional maid.
Will the initial cleanings still be required?
It depends (sorry!). If you have had an outstanding
service, then an initial cleaning may not be needed. We must tell you,
however, that we've yet to see a home that has been "professionally cleaned"
that lives up to our standards. So, the actual answer is - maybe an
initial clean will not be required, but it likely will be based on our
experience.
What products do you use and are they safe?
We primarily use two cleaners - Red Juice and Blue Juice
around the house. Red Juice is non-toxic and FDA approved for use
around foods - it is also the best grease cutter we have ever seen.
Blue Juice is a light-duty cleaner that we like much more than the blue
window cleaning products on the market shelves. We use one other
"juice" in the bathrooms - Tile Juice. This is a soap scum and hard
water stain cutter - once again safe for the environment. We also use
bleach very sparingly, ammonia, and CometTM.
There are several other products we use, but to a much lesser extent.
If you ever have any questions about any product we use,
simply call us, or ask a Team Member when they are visiting your home.
We can provide you with Material Safety Data Sheets on all.
Can I buy the same products you use?
Yes! While this is not our primary service, we do
offer our Customers the option of an automatic refill system. Each
time we visit your home, we will check your supplies and replenish them if
needed. No more buying all those cleaning products at the store that
don't work! What's even better, you only pay for what you use since we
refill the bottles, there is no cost for the bottle - which is much more
expensive than the product itself!
Do you do specialized work, like cleaning windows or
ironing?
But of course! We can handle many, but not all
household cleaning chores - including windows, ironing, washing. Since
these services are not included in our standard rotational cleaning process,
we will provide you with a quote for any additional service requests.
What insurance do you carry?
To protect our Customers and our company, we carry General
Liability, Workers Compensation, and a Fidelity Bond. Our liability
insurance covers accidental breakage. Workers compensation covers
our Associates should they get injured while on the job and our Fidelity
Bond protects you in the case of stolen property. One note about
bonds, they are not as useful as many think. They are inexpensive
coverage for severe theft and require a conviction to provide coverage.
Do you pay taxes? Workers Compensation?
Yes! We pay federal income tax on our earnings,
social security for our Associates, Federal Unemployment Tax, State
Unemployment Tax. There are absolutely no tax liabilities for you,
other than the sales tax that is included on your invoice.
Why can't you give me an estimate over the phone or
via email?
Gosh, we sure wish we could - it would save us both time!
We don't do it for one simple reason - we need to see your home to give you
an exact price to clean it. Some call their homes "small", when in
fact they are huge! The size of your home is not the only factor.
There are multiple aspects we consider when developing your customer
estimate - amount of woodwork, increase in cleaning from pets and children,
amount of decorative items, type of appliances, etc.
Now, having said that, we can assure you the last person
we want in our own home is a pushy salesperson! We pledge to you that
this will never occur. The estimating process takes about
10 to 15 minutes. We simply ask you to give us a quick tour of your
home so that we can see what we need to clean. As we are walking
through your home, we will ask you some questions about any issues/concerns/specialty
items you may require. At the conclusion of the tour, we sit down
with you, develop a written quotation and review our cleaning process.
We ask if you have any questions, and whoosh - we're out of your hair!
We can assure you that compared to the time you invest with us to develop an
accurate estimate will be repaid hundreds of times over with the time you
save each month!
What if you break something in my home?
Since we are all human, an accident can happen. If
it ever does, the Team Leader attempts to contact you (if you are not at
home) to tell you what happened. If we are unable to contact you, then
we will leave a message. For many items, we will gladly replace the
item or pay you its fair value. For very expensive items, we turn it
over to our insurance company to replace the item. You will not hear a
lot of hemming and hawing from Towers Elite Service - it's not in our best
interest or yours!
What if something is missing in my home after you
leave?
Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, a missing item has
simply been misplaced (the "Butler most often does not do it").
However, should this ever happen, we urge you to immediately contact the
office. We will investigate it promptly. We also request that
you file a police report, as we treat this type of issue with utmost
seriousness. We will cooperate fully with any and all crime
investigations. This have never been an issue at Towers
Elite Service.
Can I
substitute one chore for another at the time of service?
Well, that depends. We do not like to substitute
cleaning one room for another. The reason is twofold. First, if
the room being skipped on a cleaning is dirty, and someone comes to your
home - we don't want them to think that we don't do a fantastic job.
Second, it makes the room skipped a bit harder to clean the next time
around. We can accommodate this, but would ask that you let us know
while we are quoting your price as it can affect the price we quote you.
What
if I need to cancel a cleaning?
No problem! We simply ask that you give us at least 48
hours notice so that we may adjust our Associates' schedule.
I have very high ceilings with
ceiling fans. How do you clean those? What about high
chandeliers?
That depends on how high they are. We have
specialized equipment for dealing with ceiling fans - assuming they are no
more than 15 to 16 feet above the floor. During our deep cleaning
process, ceiling fans are wiped down by hand. This is followed by
dusting each visit by a specialized duster called a "rabbit ear" duster.
As for chandeliers, our standard service provides for
dusting. We can include a more thorough cleaning of chandeliers and
other light fixtures at an additional charge.
What's the difference between your "deep" cleanings and "general" or regular
cleanings?
To begin with, our "general" or regular cleanings leave
your home sparkling clean - no exceptions! The primary difference
between the deep and general cleanings is the level of hand-work involved.
As an example, for deep cleanings, we hand-wipe baseboards and hand-vacuum
carpet edges with a special tool, hand-wipe ceiling fans, knick-knacks, and
polish furniture. For general cleanings, we mop and vacuum floors,
dust ceiling fans, knick-knacks and furniture. Our objective is that
your home always looks clean throughout when we leave - regardless of what
rotation cleaning has been performed.
Two areas of your home that differ little on the deep vs.
general cleaning are your bathrooms and kitchen. The primary
additional service in deep cleaning for these rooms is hand-wiping/polishing
your cabinets. Otherwise, the deep and general service are about the
same - both resulting in a clean and disinfected room.
I have a
question that's not listed here - what do I do?
Easy - give us a call! Our contact information can
be found by clicking here.
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Residential Cleaning Frequently Asked Questions
409.832.2444
