How to hire a professional cleaning company in Berlin?
I started this article about a cleaning service company because Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about this industry and I wanted to answer a question that I get asked a lot: How to hire a professional cleaning company in Berlin?
If you want to hire a cleaning service to assist you with another job, an annual spring cleaning, or something more frequently, before you make a decision, there are so many factors you need to think about.
It takes a lot of risks to get someone in who is not part of a professional cleaning service company. “But, having an under-the-table cleaning lady for cash is cheaper! “It’s something I hear sometimes. Funny enough, if price is their primary concern, I always advise people to hire that cleaning lady, and if things go well, keep her close. If things don’t go well, though, that’s when you call a service company in.
Yeah, it’s more costly, but you get many, many advantages by bringing in professional cleaning services. So, when you’re trying to hire a cleaning service company, here are ten things you should consider.
1. Get Referrals From Relatives & Colleagues
Start by asking friends and family who they use-referrals give you an inside look at what a business is all about-not just what they say on their website (let’s be honest, everything can be mentioned by a business). Companies may make themselves sound incredible, trustworthy and experienced, but a friend or family referral can paint a different image and hold more weight.
2. Take Online Reviews
Happy people do not seem to post as many reviews as unhappy people who are compelled by their awful experiences to shower the world. Note, these reviews are often used by people as an excuse to complain, blow a story out of proportion, or threaten to damage the company’s image. That’s certainly a red flag if a business has ALL bad reviews, but if they have mostly positive reviews and a few poor ones, that’s pretty average. No one is perfect.
The other thing to look out for is a perfectly scored company. I know businesses who pay people to write reviews for them, so they’ll be 100 percent fine, of course. However, avoiding a company with all perfect scores, avoiding the company with all bad scores, and seeking those with very consistent high scores is a reasonable rule to follow.
3. Bonding, Insurance & Compensation for Employees
Does the company have the right to cover the cost of any harm done to your home, any fraud, or if your property is injured? If they do not have this coverage, you may be on the hook for cash, stolen goods, damaged property, or an injured worker. At your request, a business should be able to inform you whether they have this coverage and offer copies of their policies.
Now, be careful that this leads to the expense of running a service business, which is why the costs per hour or per work are higher. This level of assurance, however, is valuable, especially when you let someone into your home, and may soon be on the hook for anything that goes wrong-remember, we live in a litigious world!
4. Experience, Quality & Loyalty
How long were they in business for? Does the company have professional organizations with any awards, accreditations, or affiliations? I like to look out for this because it makes me feel secure that a business is trustworthy and concerned with its brand.
5. Additional or Fixed Services
Will the organization accept requests or have a fixed service? How comprehensive do they get? Ask a few questions about what level of service is delivered, depending on what you choose to do. If you can customize it and hire someone to come and check off your wish list with a lot of things, or if you just have the same service every visit regardless of what you want to do, or if you can do a mix. There are a range of solutions provided by companies; none are right or wrong, you just need to find what suits your needs and your lifestyle.
6. Satisfaction for clients
Be sure to ask about assurances of breakage, injury, and satisfaction. A business should stand behind its work and its employees. If you are not happy as a consumer, what are they able to do with you? How are they going to do it right?
It’s just a part of life… things are going to break down. The way we have always dealt with it is to be extremely sensitive, genuinely apologetic, and, at any cost, repair it. This sounds horrible, and I know this isn’t done by many businesses. They tell the client to claim it under the insurance policy of their own homeowner, or chalk it up to an unintentional accident.
What would the company offer you if you’re not satisfied with the cleaning? With a touch-up? Cleaning for free? Huh? Nothing? Companies have different policies on this, but if you are not pleased with the quality of service you have got, find out what option you have.
7. Management vs. Contract Employees
Find out whether the staff are employees or if they are contract workers. Contract staff usually do not benefit from the same benefits as employees, nor do they have the same form of supervision. Although they are typically cheaper to hire, they are also inconsistently eligible and not as effective because the fact is that they are “replaceable” to a large extent, so I mean that the company outsourcing the job has little to no interest in its real job product, so that they can easily move on to another contractor while losing little to no investment (training, taxes, benefits, etc.).
An employee has a better set-up than a contract worker does, and the company has more input and oversight (and more investment) over the worker, which simply indicates that they are more responsible for their employer. Employees also pay taxes and make the employer, who helps the province or state and nation you reside in, pay taxes on their behalf. These two categorizations can differ from country to country and the laws covering them.
8. Verify their employees
Who really comes to your home and how are they tested for references? Is it a bona-fide service organization with a consistent employee list, or is it a sharing-economy company popping up with random people? Note, you let someone into your most private room, which houses your most important things, when you hire a cleaner, probably when you’re not home! Who can you trust for real? Ask the company how, and where, their employees are interviewed and background checked, do background or criminal checks on their employees, and if they plan to schedule you as much as possible with the same cleaner.
9. Cleaning Tools & Equipments
Do they use their own equipment and tools for cleaning, or do you have to provide your own? The company should require our customers to supply their own and enable them to decide exactly what they need, of course. Based on their unique specifications, companies sell kits or provide them with a shopping list. I think a mop should be used in a single home, or else the mop from house A would find its way to house B.
10. Service Terms
Find out what your service cancellation or shift policy is. This procedure should be in effect so that any surprise fees are not slapped on you. A cancelation fee is paid by many companies because it can be difficult to reschedule cleaners at the last minute, and the company needs to cover the unpaid wages. So, you can better plan and prepare for any scheduling problems if you know this info.
