July 10, 2021
You know that you want to find a maid service. But what’s the best way to find, and keep, the best maid service?
We all know that having cleaners wells can be marriage and sanity saving. So, you need to check out our tried and tested tips for hiring, and keeping, a great maid.
The first thing you need to do is to download the FREE maid app (on Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store) and enter your requirements. Make sure you include everything you want your maid to do – such as Laundry of Dog Walking – as it means we can match you most closely with the best local maids for you. Inputting them like this also helps you to get a better idea of how much time your required jobs will take, and how many hours you will therefore need to employ the maid for – so make sure you are realistic about this.
Once you have entered your requirements, you will see a list of suitable maids in your location, along with their hourly rates and the additional services they offer. You can then start to shortlist the ones you want to contact to find out more about and their availability.
You can chat to any of the maids listed in the Maid app through the app, to make sure you are aligned on conditions and pay – and you can also invite them to do a trial clean (if this is listed on their profile). You can arrange to meet them, and contact them at any time, through the app. We will cover how to interview them later on in this post, but some relevant questions would include how long they have worked with their current employers, their approach to house cleaning, whether they bring their own equipment or expect you to provide it, and any relevant experience they have in the other areas they may offer.
The best cleaners will expect the best pay for their services, and they will all have a preference as to how they wish to be paid. The most common preference for payment is by bank transfer, and it is usual to set up a standing order, either on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on how frequently you want them to clean your home. Some cleaners, however, do prefer to be paid in cash – although that is getting less common these days.
If your preferred cleaner offers a trial clean, we suggest you take them up on it before committing to regular days and hours. It is really important that you trust your maid, as they are going to be working in your property – your personal space. The only way to establish this trust is to meet them in person. It also allows them to see your property and get a better idea as to the size of it and what your requirements are, so that they can give you a better idea of how long it will take to clean and what they will be able to manage in the time and budget you have allocated to them.
Once you have found the right maid for you, the best way to keep them is to provide feedback and praise when they do a good job. If they have been with you for a long time, you may also want to consider offering them a bonus at certain times of the year, such as Easter and Christmas.
When you are at step three of the checklist above, it is important to feel comfortable communicating with the person you want to hire. As we have said, this individual is going to be coming into your home and you need to be able to trust them with your belongings. Here are some guidelines for interviewing your maid.
Start by asking them some general background information such as their name. Find out how long they have been cleaning for, how many other houses they clean and what other services they provide. Let them do some of the talking, so you can get a grasp of their personality and their communication skills.
Don’t be afraid to ask them for references. This is a stranger you are inviting into your home, so you want to make sure you are diligent. You could also ask for character references as well as work references, to give you a better idea of their background and approach to work.
Not everyone is comfortable with asking people about their background, so you may want to create a short form for them to fill in instead. You could ask them to fill out:
You should also check whether the maid is insured, and check your own home and contents insurance to see if household staff are covered or not. Present them with some hypothetical questions as well, such as
When you have found the right person for the job, be upfront about it and about how much you are willing to pay and what you expect of them. It is important for you to know ahead of time what cleaning tasks they dislike and what they will do for an extra cost.
We recommend that you use the chat function within the Maid App to reconfirm the price, frequency of clean and details of clean discussed, so that you have it in black and white to refer to, if need be, in the future.
Looking for a housekeeper or cleaners wakefield to Aberdeen? Download the FREE Maid App and find one in your area now.
