As a small business owner myself, I love to see other businesses prosper.  Such is the case with Georgetown Cupcakes.  Following a dream—their love of cupcakes, they  started off in a very expensive area, Georgetown.  That’s what I call starting at the top.  They expanded into Bethesda Row, another sought after area.  And now, they are taking on the Soho area of  New York.  And in spring, Boston!

Keep in mind that they also have a reality show highlighting their shop and life.

Good for them!  They prove that with high hopes and dreams, backed up by a plan, anything is possible!

Two thumbs up to Georgetown Cupcake. They show that having enthusiasm about one’s business is step #1 to creating excitement and interest in the general public.

Speaking of enthusiasm, are you enthusiastic about getting an early start on a spring cleaning? Give us a call so that we may get you on the books! 301-322-7112

I have noticed a disturbing pattern recently. People are going to social media to share the following type of facts:

• The coupon that they purchased to get their cheap cleaning is not being honored by the “company” that sold it.
• They were forced to pay a gratuity prior to booking services.
• There is no contact person with whom to share complaints or concerns.
• Phone calls go to voice mail 100% of the time with no call backs.
• “Cleaning Techs” are showing up at houses without any cleaning products or equipment!

The long and short of it is, people are hiring companies—-usually via “coupons” without any type of prior knowledge of such companies.  They have no idea who owns the company.  They have no history of the company. The website of the company is vague and/or misleading.  There is no real contact information leading to any semblance of a real company.

I have also seen reviews that reveal that there are some pseudo-cleaning companies out here that are hiring illegal day workers to fulfill coupons.  And they are sending those strangers into homes.  It boggles my mind how people are so willing to allow anything in their homes in the name of getting a “deal”.  People are allowing thieves and possibly rapists or murderers from off the street into their homes in a quest to save a few bucks.

Check out this review, written regarding an apparent pseudo DC company that is headquartered in New York:

This was the worst cleaning service I ever had in my home.
I get my house cleaned every month and thought I would try a new service- BIG MISTAKE USING THIS COMPANY!

The woman was an hour late and left an hour early, sprayed terrible smelling chemicals everywhere, and did not actually CLEAN a single thing.  She took clorox wipes and wiped them on my mirrors making them unclear and dirty, and she swiffered a little, putting my swifter back in the closet WITH THE DIRTY WET WIPE STILL ON IT! What a terrible service! I used a living social coupon for this and they refunded me- thank god!  But I had already paid an online tip for the company and I have written them many emails and not only have they not refunded me or apologized, they have not even responded.   I have never been so unhappy with a company, and I never ever have had such a bad experience with a maid service.

She didn’t bring any cleaning supplies with her.  I offered her to use the vacuum at least 3 times (hinting to actually clean something!) and she still didn’t do it.
I am not sure what happened in my house- I never heard any water running to clean a sink or shower, and everything looked worse and more dirty than when she started.  The house smelled terrible, like toxic chemicals and yet nothing seemed to be treated with them.

I am so incredibly unhappy with my service that I am writing a review! I do not want anyone else to have this horrible chemical sprayed in their home, or lose their money to this terrible service.  This company should be sued for fraud and should be ashamed to even be in business- that is how upset I am with my wasted time and money.

The woman above is dealing with an alleged pseudo company that operates out of New York. They have set up an office in DC and are continuing what appears to be a money grabbing scam. Sadly, coupon companies—in their desperation to keep “deals” running, are interacting with these fake cleaning companies and people are falling for the dangerous game out of trust for the coupon companies. My fear is that it will come to a head with someone getting seriously hurt by an “employee” in one of these pseudo/scam companies.

Below is a review about the same company, but this person wrote about the New York division (both DC and NY divisions have “F” ratings):

The company should be avoided at all costs, unless you want breakage to be at your expense. Note they state all their cleaning people are “independent contractors” and are liable for breakage. Nice! The woman broke a large piece of glass at my apartment, acknowledged the breakage and then disappeared. Try getting any restitution from the company or the “independent contractor.” Any company such as this one, that does not take responsibility for its services, by independent contractors or employees should, in my opinion, be avoided. Unless you like aggravation and more damage than cleaning, avoid this one.

All this leads me back to my original question. Do you have a clue as to who owns the cleaning company that’s sending workers into your home? If not, it would be to your advantage—-and your family’s safety to find out. If you cannot find out, don’t use them.

UpperCrust Maids is owned by Greg and Cathy Green. Check us out on the “About Us” page. We are real people running a real company. Call us at 301-322-7112. If a receptionist does not answer, leave a message and I guarantee you that you will receive a call back within 24 hours! Do we charge more than the pseudo companies? Of course we do. But we are a real company and we charge real fees.

Cleaning on the cheap

It is not unusual for me to receive emails and phone calls from people looking to have their residences cleaned for $50 or $60.  And every time I receive such calls, I manage to keep a straight face but it boggles the mind.  Would someone expect to pay an electrician $50?  Would someone expect to pay a plumber $60 for service?  What about a gutter cleaner?

There is just something about house cleaning that causes some people to think that they need not pay a decent fee…yet they want their home cleaned from top to bottom, thoroughly.  What is it, I wonder?  Do people not view house cleaning as a serious, noble, or professional business type?   IF that is the case, I wonder why such people won’t just drive or walk over to their nearest 7-Eleven store and hire a day worker to clean their home?  Or why won’t they clean it themselves?

I cannot help but wonder why someone would think that a company that is bonded and insured—-a company that has hired and trained professional cleaning techs, would not have expenses.  If a company charges $60 to clean, how on earth is that company going to stay in business?  $60 is what one would pay to a teenager or some stranger from Craig’s List.

Cheap vs. real cleaning company

People tend to forget that there are many factors involved in pricing a cleaning.  Overhead is one factor.  Products and equipment cost money.  Office space costs money.  Some cleaning companies have cars, which cost money.  Uniforms cost money.  Payroll and insurance costs money.  I could go on and on and on.

Any company that can afford to charge $60 to clean a home is doing so because either they are not carrying insurance or they are paying their people a dirt cheap wage.  And if they are paying their people on the cheap, I guarantee you that the cleaning techs are going to do a horrible job.  What sane person is going to exert the amount of energy it takes to clean a home well for minimum wage or less?

That question leads me to my next point.  House cleaning is a very taxing career choice, which is why turnover is so high.  It is a back-breaking job when done well.  No cleaning tech is going to put out a lot of energy if s/he is not being paid well.  And I would not blame the person.

My advice to people who are in search of a dirt cheap cleaning is for them to look elsewhere. Our people are paid above minimum wage and that’s why they are willing to work hard and to clean well.

Finding the cheap cleaning

There are several places one can go to find the dirt cheap cleaning:

(1)  Coupon companies – I have run coupons in the past. I’d never do so again for reasons described by pressing HERE.

Now, if a person decides to buy their cleaning from a coupon company, expect to get a sub par job. Simple as that.  You get what you pay for.  Don’t believe me?  Go to any variety of social media sites and read the horror stories that both consumers and businesses tell regarding coupons. They are not appropriate for cleaning services.

(2)  Hire someone from off the street – Hiring a day worker will get you a cheap cleaning but you may also end up getting robbed or worse.  There is no end to what a stranger may do to you, your loved ones or your home.

(3)  Find a cleaning company willing to clean your home on the cheap.  You will find a company but you won’t be happy.  Their employees will not do a good job because they are not being paid well.  So you’ll waste your money, still have a dirty house and you will end up searching for another company within a month or two.

The best thing a person can do if they don’t want to clean their own home is to budget for a real cleaning company to clean.  Yes, it will cost more.  But some things are worth the expense when it comes to a home.  Professional cleaning is worth the expense.

Photo Credit HERE

From time to time my company has encountered hoarders. These are not poor people. The hoarders we have encountered have been upper middle class to wealthy and at least one of them was on medication.

We cannot treat the emotional or psychological aspects of hoarding. We can give hoarders referrals to professionals to treat that. What we can do is get the home cleaned after enough things have been thrown out that we can get to the home. We are in contact with an outstanding mover who can get rid of much of the debris.

Do you know a hoarder? Are you a hoarder? Call us before it gets to the point below:

301-322-7112

Are you still using the old fashioned bar soap? If so, why? I will get straight to the point and say that you honestly should throw out every bar of soap that you have in your home and the reasons are as follows:

a. Bar soap collects germs and when shared, the germs passes from person to person. It’s not hygienic

b. Bar soap creates a gummy mass which sticks to the soap tray and is difficult to clean

c. Bar soap is out of style and takes away from the beauty of the bathroom

Bottom line is this. You need to switch over to liquid soap. It is hygienic, easy to managage and does not add to the cleaning time. It can be stored in pretty bottles to ultimately help decorate your bathroom or any other area where you use it. You should keep some liquid soap any place where you have a sink, including your kitchen sink.

From the perspective of one who owns a cleaning company, I can tell you that clients who have bars of soap in their homes typically end up paying more to have their homes cleaned than do clients who use liquid soap. Why, you might ask? It boils down to time. For first time cleans, we charge by the hour. Soap scum takes a good deal of time to get off and when bars of soap stick to various soap dishes, it may take two or three sessions to get it fully off…or it may never come off.

Why use bar soap? There actually is no good reason. Where is your nearest trash can? Go ahead and dump it!

Specifically, we are taking on Annapolis, the capital of our great state.  And we are taking on Crofton and Severn, MD.

Welcome to Anne Arundel, County!

We are offering a special to our new area, which is good for those who commit to seven cleanings.  If you live in Anne Arundel County, we will take off $50 from your first, third and seventh cleanings. That’s a $150 savings (not to be used in conjunction with any other offers).  HURRY because this offer expires on January 31, 2012.

GO HERE to fill in our estimate form so we can get you started with the most thorough cleaning your home has ever had!

UpperCrust Maids, LLC  is happy  to announce that we are a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) company. Our MBE certification is via the National Minority Supplier Development Council www.nmsdc.org

Why does it matter?

The certification puts this company in a position to bid on commercial contracts that will in turn create more employment opportunities that will allow us  to hire, train, and employ more citizens who reside in the Maryland/DC/Virginia area.

We are proud of our record of hiring worthy individuals regardless of race, creed, religious beliefs or skin color.  As a result, our small business is doing our part to create career paths in the hospitality industry to further assist in keeping willing workers employed and out of the unemployment lines.

I’ll go out, perform an estimate—and I see the bedrooms of these grown “children”.  Clutter.  Dirt and dust build up.  Dirty clothes strewn all over the floor.  Trash in the room.

The advice I always give to parents is that if their adult child wants his/her room cleaned, they should pay for it themselves.  I inform the parents that it is not their obligation to have the room cleaned of an adult. I further tell them that due to the condition of the bedroom, it will be charged separately and on its own merit/condition.

Fortunately most parents of these adult “children” opt not to add their adult child’s bedroom to the bill.  And ironically, there has not been one instance where an adult child has agreed to pay to have their room cleaned.

My tip to consumers today is as follows.  After your offspring reaches adulthood, you are no longer responsible for the condition in which they choose to live.

If they want to live in a bedroom in your home that has the odor of dirty socks or spoiled milk, that’s their choice. But you should not foot the bill to have their room cleaned. They need to take on that responsibility for themselves.

One client emailed me and asked, “What happened to your Yelp rating?” He was aware that prior to running the coupons, my rating consistently hovered between a 4.5 and a perfect 5.  That’s the type of company we run over here.  When we discover that an employee is not up to par, we replace him or her.  The goal is to have the world’s best house cleaning company—-or at least the DC metro area’s best.

As of 3/1/2011, our rating has dropped to a 3.0.  And I predict that by July, 2011 (when the coupon expires) we will be all the way down to a 1 star or less.

GO HERE to see a vast array of positive comments from happy clients and customers—-including those from coupons.

What’s going on?

If you look at where the low ratings are coming from, you will see a pattern:  Groupon and Living social coupon buyers.  And when you look at why they are giving us the low ratings, the reasons follow:

a.  They have forfeited their coupon for any variety of reasons and do not like that we won’t allow them to reschedule after the forfeit

b.  In several cases, employees have driven to their homes to discover that they have moved or simply decided not to be there (in spite of receiving reminder notices or even personal calls from me)

c.  In some cases these individuals are angry because we did not give them a freebie/extra such as bed making or dish washing or blind washing…..or the washing of all the hundreds of windows in their homes! Some are angry that we did not pick up their rodent or cat or dog droppings…

d.  Some have homes that—-quite frankly, have never been cleaned  so you can imagine that one coupon will not solve the issues present in such residences

e.  Some have purchased a 90 minute cleaning ($49)  and for some odd reason, expect that in that short period of time the cleaning techs will have completed their entire 2,500+ square foot home—in spite of the fact that I alert them that in 1.5 hours the tech will only finish 3 – 4 rooms (and less if the rooms they choose to have cleaned are very dirty or greasy).

By the way, check the reviews of other cleaning services also.  You will find the exact pattern with coupon purchasers complaining and purposely trying to destroy ratings of small companies.

I am happy that the ratings are NOT coming from my clients. The people who purchased coupons are not my clients. In fact, I don’t know them at all. I’ve never seen any of them, never interacted with them. Never got the opportunity to see their homes prior to my employees going to clean. And therein lies the rub. It is never a good idea to allow a third party [such as a coupon company] to find clients for a company. It’s too cold and impersonal. You don’t know who these people are and they don’t know you. It’s simply a bad idea.

Impact on Employees

At first we lost one employee. She simply walked away from the stress and never looked back. Then we lost two more really good employees. Then another quit. Several months later two “master cleaning techs” quit.  When the dust had settled, we had lost SIX employees since the onset of the coupons.  We are so sorry that they were so affected by all this; however, we fully understand why they left and do not blame them.

Issues:

Employees have reported being talked to in a rude and demeaning manner

Reports of being followed from room to room and having people stand over them while they were trying to clean

Unreasonable commands/demands and expectations

Some of the homes had not been cleaned in years [literally] and employees were oftentimes expected to perform miracles

Some of the homes were a health/safety risk with animal droppings all over the place, unbelievable odors….and some employees actually got ill

And so on and so forth…

Impact on the company

Less than 1% of the coupon purchasers were in a position to hire a cleaning company on an ongoing basis

Cleaning coupons do not typically attract loyal customers. They attract people who are looking for a dirt cheap bargain—and they buy coupons from any cleaning company offering such a bargain

Constant last minute cancellations….resulting in loss of income, as we did not have time to fill the spots

Loss of employees who could no longer deal with going from a very, very pleasant working environment (pre-coupon) to an unbearable working environment (post coupon)

We have paid out hundreds of dollars in parking tickets in DC.  We were quite surprised by the number of people who purchased coupons knowing that they are living in areas heavily monitored by meter maids….or worse, areas where parking does not even exist. They could not have cared less that these employees would have to carry heavy equipment and products for blocks (in some cases).

We’ve had to deal with more than a few sociopaths—people who have attempted to put themselves on schedule multiple times knowing that they only purchased one coupon OR knowing that they already received a refund.  And they had no conscience in attempting to literally steal from our company.  We encountered several of them who purchased a $49, 1 bedroom coupon but they lived in a 4 or 5 bedroom house!  And they thought that they would cheat us.  And the sociopaths would actually run to Yelp to complain and lie once we caught them.

It would take a full article just to describe the various scenarios of some of the characters we encountered.

Our company has been stood up more times than we can count.  One woman in particular decided to punish us for not allowing her to reschedule after she stood us up.

My employee had sat outside of her home for 45 minutes waiting for her and calling her.  My husband also called her and left a message.  In short, she forfeited her coupon.  I was flabbergasted when she filed a BBB complaint against us after she forfeited on us. They ruled on our behalf and closed the case but it is this type of thing that caused us to pause and question human nature.  I could share a million unpleasant stories—like the self-described “attorney” who threatened to sue me because SHE chose to forfeit her coupon.  Fortunately I kept great documentation.

As you may have guessed, I would not wish a coupon experience on my worst enemy and would strongly urge any cleaning company reading this to take heed.  Do not run a coupon under any circumstances. You will lose money.  You will (for the most part) not attract the type of potential business you are in search of.  And you will risk losing some wonderful employees.

I liken this experience to being on a haunted roller coaster—-knowing that you are out of control and that it won’t end until it stops….and you cannot control when it stops. Fortunately our coaster ride ends in late July. Never again!

The good news!

The good news is that some of the coupon purchasers did in fact become loyal and wonderful clients.

The good news is that we are picking up real clients from other sources.  Those clients are keeping us above board.  Also, our regular clients are holding firm!

The good news is that this coupon expires in July, 2011 (I check my calendar and mark off on a daily basis…)

The good news is that we learned a  lesson—and we hope that other cleaning companies will listen carefully and never run a coupon. Overall, it’s a no win situation.

The good news is…..we have and will survive this.

99%  of our clients come from sources other than Yelp, actually.

By fall, 2011 we will have at least started the process of rebuilding because the coupons will be nothing more than an unpleasant memory by then…

My precious pooch….a reminder of what really matters in life!  Oh, and forgive me for going off topic but is he not the most handsome dog you’ve ever seen in your life?  Be honest.  LOL!  Yes, my dog is cuter than your dog!

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UPDATE: July 27, 2011 – I wrote the first draft of the  article above on March 1, 2011.  At the time, my company was suffering financially due to the failed coupon offering and employees were leaving us left and right. I cannot express what torment we endured.  We are proud to report that the company is still standing.  Also, although I had predicted that our rating would be a “1″ by now, it’s a “3″, though at any given moment that could change.

Today is the day that the coupon expired.  All I can say is, thank GOD it’s over and never again!

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UPDATE December 16, 2011 – Our Yelp rating has climbed back to a 3.5 and our hope is to see it at least at a “4″. We survived the coupons. Did I say “never again”? Never again! LOL!

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NOTE: This article somehow has caused an influx of calls and emails from owners/representatives of coupon companies who want me to advertise with them to prove that they are different. No, thanks. Please do not contact my company, as we will not speak with you.  With very few exceptions, the type of people attracted to coupons are the opposite of the clients we are attempting to service. They are buying coupons because they cannot afford full priced, ongoing service—-and that’s fine, but that’s not what we are in search of.  So don’t contact us.  We will never run another coupon. Period.

Groupon – Expired back in November, 2010.  If you have a Groupon, please note that we are not honoring any further Groupons

Living Social  coupon – Includes the following:

a.  A general cleaning of your home

b.  A general cleaning of your floors

c.  This is not a move in or move out cleaning (look at your fine print) – Move in and move out cleanings are totally different and are charged differently.  We will only clean your home if it’s being lived in.

What it does not include:

a.  Bed making (that’s reserved for our regular clients)

b.  Deep cleaning – The coupons do not include a deep cleaning of your home, such as scrubbing of baseboards or climbing up to clean ceiling fans or window well cleaning.

c.  Windows – They do clean mirrors but windows are a specialty area and those needing window cleaning should hire a company that specializes.

d.  Blinds – This coupon does not include the cleaning of blinds. The cleaning techs can do a light dusting of the blinds but nothing further.

e.  Dish washing – This coupon does not include the washing of dishes

f. Attics and basements – This coupon only covers the house proper.  The cleaning staff will only enter the basement if there is a bathroom or bedroom there to be cleaned. They will not clean the entire basement.

Please do not ask my employees to remove shoes.  They must have shoes on their feet during the entire cleaning.  This is an important insurance regulation. Do not ask them to clean your floors on hands and knees.  Do not ask them to do non house cleaning chores such as hanging pictures or drapes.  They are only there to perform a general cleaning on a deeply discounted coupon.

We ask that you please not ask my employees to clean the inside of your oven or fridge.  Call me if you need that service, as the oven will cost $25 extra and the fridge will cost $35 extra.

We have had a few instances where employees have been asked to move furniture and/or carpet.  They are not allowed to move any furniture. Anyone who needs furniture moved needs to do so themselves. And clients who move furniture are responsible for replacing their own furniture back to its original spot.  Employees are also not allowed to assist clients in moving furniture.  These are important safety and health regulations which employees must follow.  Please understand that the employees are there solely to clean the house.

Again, this is a general cleaning.  Email me at uppercrustmaids@gmail.com if you have any questions (you’ll recieve a quicker response via email)

Clarification

There has been some confusion as to who the cleaning techs work for.  Employees work for UpperCrust Maids, LLC and must answer directly to the owners of UpperCrust Maids.  They must follow our policies, procedures and rules.

Coupon purchasers are not the employers or supervisors of the cleaning techs and must direct any serious concerns or questions to the owners.

Coupon purchasers are not clients of UpperCrust Maids and we have no obligation to coupon purchasers beyond a general cleaning.  Clients are people who sign on for regular service and are in our computer system as clients.

FORFEIT (Read, very important!)

The following will amount in a forfeit of the coupon:

a.  Cancellation without 24 hours notice

b.  Not at home when employees arrive

Please do not contact us past the expiration date of the coupon.  We will accept appointments until July 27th and after that day, we will not accept any further appointments.  This amounts to an extension, as many of the appointments will occur in August.

NOTE: We are holding firm to the forfeit rules so please be certain to be careful to let us know if you need to cancel.  We understand that everyone views their reasons for cancelling as important. However, we still need notice because we have other clients we would put in your place.  You may email us at uppercrustmaids@gmail .com [faster response via email] or your may leave us a message at 301-322-7112  or you can use our contact form here on the website [faster response than telephone]