“The choice of local cleaning contractors is overwhelming, and I always doubt my choice.” “I find it impossible to navigate the maze of cleaning ads.” “Choosing a local cleaning company feels like a lottery – it’s pure luck to pick a good service provider.”
These are only a few of the complaints I get from customers in my line of work. And I don’t blame them – the cleaning field is among London’s most competitive service-based industries. If you live in any of the top residential areas, you can spend the whole day picking up home, carpet or window cleaners. They all convince you that theirs is the best service, quality and price.
So how can you make sure that you choose a company or a single cleaner that will always get the job done? I am afraid my answer will disappoint you – you can’t. But I will flip the problem and give you a few tips on recognising a risky cleaning contractor that almost certainly WILL NOT do a good job. Once you manage to weed those out, your chance of picking an excellent cleaner will increase dramatically.
Should I Pick Single Unaffiliated Cleaners?
Call me a cleaning snob, but my answer would be no. Freelancing cleaners do not benefit from the structure, legal and insurance background and institutional knowledge that an established company brings to the table. Don’t get me wrong – I personally know more than a few upright, hardworking, dedicated home cleaners. But they are rather the minority exception that proves the rule. Unaffiliated cleaners have to face two major disadvantages – they are limited in resources (most of all money), which means lesser equipment, tools, and cleaning materials; should damage to your property occur, forget about any insurance option covering it.
Their only advantage is the cheaper rates. But consider this – is it worth saving a few pounds while risking a poor quality of service?
Cleaning Contractor Red Flags: No Professional Certificate Information
If you are looking for someone to clean your carpets, this will be the last thing to check on their website. But I don’t know a reputable cleaning contractor that would not put their professional credentials for the world to see.
Let’s use the carpet washing example. Go to a random company’s website and look for an NCCA badge or mention. NCCA stands for National Carpet Cleaners Association – the leading training institution in the UK. Let’s assume the company does not have the approval badge or hasn’t mentioned it. There are two options – the contractor is not cooperating in its operatives’ training with the NCCA, or it is not even aware of its existence or doesn’t see the need to mention it. Either option is not great and undercuts its credibility.
Further professional credentials you should look for are:
- Membership in the BWCA (British Window Cleaning Academy)
- BICSs certification (British Institute for Cleaning Science)
- OHSAS:18001 Certificate
- ISO:9001 Certificate.
No Direct Or Easy Access To Customer Support
Trust me – if you book a cleaning service, you will have lots of questions. How will you react if there is nobody to answer them? Hard as it is to believe, some cleaning contractors do not invest in their customer support or skip it altogether. How do you avoid such a disaster?
Do not be quick to book a service. Get as much information as you can from the provider’s website. Do not hesitate to call them and ask all the questions you have. Even their attitude on those first calls will be a sign of professionalism – if their customer support is on top of their game, providing detailed and timely answers, you are good to go!
No Specifics Or Service Breakdown
“We provide the ultimate quality in home cleaning and housekeeping!” Well, that’s all nice and dandy! But what is it supposed to mean? What chores does the service package include? Are laundry and ironing included? How does the contractor price the service – by hour, by visit, or by number of rooms? If you cannot find the details on such basic questions, I strongly suggest you not book this contractor.
Pro tip: Serious cleaning companies, almost by default, have a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section. The more comprehensive the section, the better. Its lack should serve as a red flag.
Negative Or No Feedback
Approach the feedback section of any cleaning service provider with caution – most of them write the “testimonials” themselves. Fortunately, the Internet gives you many excellent alternatives to find accurate information about the company you research. Local forums, business directories, Google reviews, and even Facebook comments are valuable sources of information if you want to spend the time to sift through them.