I thank God for the internet. I love the world wide web. Although it has its shady side, for the most part, it’s fantastic. One of the best things that the internet does is affords people the opportunity to search out information. Personally, I no longer will hire a company to do work for me if they do not have a website.
Case in point. My back yard became a disaster area recently when a small hurricane swept through my town. Giant sized limbs were left all over my back yard (the limbs were the size of small trees!) Fortunately no damage was done to my house. A huge number of tree companies entered my town and started to place ads on people’s doors (that’s smart advertising!)
On my door was a hanger from a tree company. I immediately went to the internet to check out their information. Fortunately they had a web presence. No, it was not a fancy or even expensive website. But it served several purposes:
(a) The fact that they bothered to have a website created gave me a sense of satisfaction that they—at a minimum, can afford a website (it was not one of those “freeby” sites) – To me, if a company cannot afford a website, something is wrong.
(b) The website afforded me the opportunity to read and gain information about that company, its history and services offered.
(c) The website left me which the feeling that this is a company willing to hang its hat in a steady place.
Of course, there are many criminals out there who have websites also. And yes, websites can be misleading. However, I do believe that there is something very odd in this day and age when a company won’t invest in a website so that potential clients can check them out.
I ended up hiring that tree company. Not only did I check out their website, but I looked them up on Angie’s List, where they maintain an “A” average!
That brings me to my topic. I would not advise anyone to hire a cleaning company that does not have a website. And I’d go so far as to say that you should think twice about hiring a company that has a sign at the bottom of it declaring that the website is free. If they cannot afford to pay for a website, then they cannot afford to be in business. You would need to question what type of products they are using in your home. Are they using dollar store, budget, cheap products in your home?
From time to time I’ll read reviews about various websites on Yelp. The company in question will have horrible reviews. And when I look to see if they have a website, too often they do not. And every time that happens, I cannot help but ask myself why someone would hire a company that does not take itself seriously enough to get a website? Why would someone hire people to come into their homes when they have not even looked the company up? And the first place to look is at the company’s own website.
Here are my tips for finding the right “fit” for your home cleaning needs:
(a) Regardless of how you heard of that cleaning company, start with their own website. If they don’t have one, cross them off your list immediately.
(b) If the company does have a website, scroll to the bottom to search for the “freebie” bar. If the company is using a free website, cross them off your list. Why bother doing business with a poor company that either cannot afford a website, is too cheap to invest in one, or that simply does not care about their own image?
NOTE: For those companies that are too cheap to invest in a website, I guarantee you that they also are too cheap to invest in decent products for your home.
(c) Check out the company’s “about us” page if they have one. Very few “about us” pages actually have details about the company’s owners. I personally favor companies whose “about us” pages tell the story of their beginnings. I like the personal touch in a website. That’s not a requirement, but something to think about. A cold website probably equates to a cold, impersonal company. A warmer, more inviting website may translate to a warmer company with whom to do business.
(d) Check out the company’s reviews on Yelp and/or Angie’s List (if they have any reviews). Any company worth hiring is a company worth talking about. If no one is talking about the company, ask yourself why!
In a separate article, I will tell you all what to look for in a review for cleaning companies. I won’t do that here.
In summary, save yourself some headaches and possible heartaches by first checking out a company prior to hiring them. And check a minimum of two sources: The company’s website and a social media site
Here is wishing you the best in finding the right cleaning company to fit your family’s needs!