More people are looking to hire a maid. While it’s easy to hire on price alone, it is more important to research a potential housekeeper before letting that person into your home.
It’s estimated that only 30 percent of housekeepers are employed by legitimate companies. What makes a company legitimate? Legitimate companies are backed by liability insurance, bonding insurance and are compliant with Workplace Safety & Insurance Board standards.
Many housekeepers are self-employed and are therefore not adequately prepared to cover loss, damage or injuries that may occur on your property.
Considering the fact that housekeepers and maid services will be entering your home when you are not around, it is important to find a reputable service.
Before hiring a service, figure out what you expect of the housekeeper. Standard packages often include a thorough cleaning of the kitchen, bathrooms, floors and furniture. Other work, like moving furniture and vacuuming underneath or washing the interior and exterior of windows, may be an extra service for an additional fee, or they may not offer it at all.
Other housekeepers do laundry or put away clean dishes. It is important to pinpoint just what you will need from the housekeeper so you can compare prices and services of a few different maids accordingly.
Also, look for a company that offers background checks on their employees. Select ones that offer insurance against any broken items, flooding, on-the-job accidents, etc. Ask each company you’re considering if it bonds its housekeepers. This is essentially “dishonesty insurance” and helps offer extra protection against theft. After you’ve narrowed down the prospects based on security and cost, further shorten the list by finding out answers to some of these other questions:
- What types of cleaning products are used? Are they eco-friendly?
- Will the housekeeper use his or her own equipment, such as a vacuum cleaner, or must these items be provided?
- Will the same maids come every time or do they rotate?
- Does the maid service periodically do quality-control checks?
- Will the housekeeper come alone or with others to help?
- How are complaints handled?
Setting rules and boundaries, as well as having all expectations spelled out in a contract, can help alleviate potential problems. Finding a housekeeper the right way will prevent having to go through the process again.
