The Cleaning Fairy

I have searched for a great cleaning company or person for a while. I haven't been wowed by anyone and thought I would try The Cleaning Fairy - maybe someone who doesn't have a crew might work better. I contacted Carol and booked several weeks around the holidays since I was running out of time as a single parent, working, getting to events and so on. Then I severely sprained my ankle so there was no way I could clean even with extra time. My first appointment came and Carol needed to reschedule due to a death in the family. I asked her to contact me the day before to let her know how to get access. I heard nothing so I emailed her - then she didn't show up. Her reasoning was her phone didn't work and she hadn't heard from me and assumed I changed my mind. Hmmm, red flags but I took her word and she rescheduled and came to the house with help since she had to squeeze in time for me. The work was subpar and I discussed that with her and she said next time she would make sure to be more detailed. I paid and then she was scheduled the next week. Well, she didn't show up! Then I emailed her and she said she had a car accident. I felt bad but heck, no one texted, emailed or called to let me know! She did end up coming the next day. I still had some things that weren't done to my satisfaction. I do keep a very clean home but when I see that items weren't dusted or nothing around the toilet was moved to vaccum around it or shampoo bottles in the shower weren't moved and cleaned underneath, well, I really don't want to continue paying someone when I would have to go back and clean. I let her know, she offered to come back but it would have been Christmas Eve and I wasn't going to ask that. Plus, I clean weekly, so I felt it was silly and she promised to do things better (or to my satisfaction) and I was good with that! Working towards a good partnership is fine when I feel that someone is willing to put the effort in. After the second cleaning critique, I received somewhat rude emails by saying she would make it right and wondered if I going to avoid paying her. Well, I wasn't planning on it but if someone isn't happy with your work, wouldn't you offer some type of compensation to keep business and show sincerity? I paid in full (by the way, her prices are reasonable). She explained she had issues with being paid before by others so I understood her concerns fanning out onto me. Again, putting the red flags to rest. The next time she was scheduled, I cleaned myself, my ankle was better but I was scheduled for some minor surgery and wanted the house clean by my standards for sure since I wasn't going to be able to do any strenuous activity for 3 weeks. I rescheduled cleaning times for the next 2 weeks and let her know about the surgery. Today was the day to clean, she texted me and said there was a school delay asking if she could come later. Sure! No problem to come at 11am after your kids are on their way. She said she would be at the house right after the 10:40am bus. I am sitting here at 6:15pm - she never showed, called, texted or emailed. Needless to say, I should have listened to my initial red flag. Unreliable, undependable, doesn't do a thorough job and obviously has no interest in doing so. Now, I have to find another company to come in and clean.

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Carol has been cleaning for me and my family since March 2014. First of all, her prices are terrific. I think she understands the value of keeping her prices low enough to make her services very accessible to families. I also felt a sense of comfort right away, both with Carol and with her employees. This is not the kind of service where I feel like I need to lock up all of my valuables or pack away things that I worry could be damaged; I have complete confidence that everything will be still be just as I left it--only cleaner! The quality of cleaning that has been provided for me by The Cleaning Fairy is top notch, very similar to the same way I would clean, if only I had the time. I love coming home to a spotless house and knowing that no cleaning has to be placed on my to-do list. I cannot recommend The Cleaning Fairy highly enough!