Metro's Other Woman

Received an email on August 31 cancelling an upcoming appointment because of "staffing issues." Have made numerous unsuccessful attempts to reschedule. Last four messages have gone unreturned.

Jenn, my cleaner, was quite pleasant. I was told my appointment was at 8:00 and she arrived about 8:45. I was not concerned as I figured it was more a general time frame. Upon her arrival we discussed my expectations: baseboards cleaned, ceiling fans cleaned, sheets changed, and then just the basics. We also joked about the fact that I have 3 cats and a dog and so I am vacuuming at least every other day. I was using the cleaning service to augment (not replace) my normal cleaning routine since we have family arriving tomorrow. After Jenn left I started walking the house and was astounded at what all was NOT done. which included: Master Bedroom and closet not vacuumed Master headboard and footboard not dusted No window sills or blinds cleaned anywhere in the house (indeed there was still a small dead bug on one sill) Sheets not changed in daughter's room (and sheets were clearly visible on dresser and indeed she would have had to move the sheets in order to dust the dresser) Floors not mopped in upstairs laundry room, upstairs hall bath or anywhere downstairs Poor vacuum job downstairs as there were still 'dust bunnies' in a couple of corners None of the kitchen appliance fronts were cleaned NO light fixtures / shades were dusted Kitchen island not cleaned (I cleaned crumbs up from it after she left) Baseboards were not cleaned (this was particularly frustrating as I made a specific point to ask her to make sure that the baseboards were done) I was so astounded that I contacted the company via email. To their credit, Michael, their Business Development Manager, did get back with me via email the same day. He said that 'everyone has a bad day' but that they were attempting to contact Jenn to get 'her side of the story'. I was somewhat amused at this at what did they expect her to say, "Yes, I did a sub-par job cleaning the house". Of course she isn't going to say that and what does 'having a bad day' have to do with the LONG list of things what weren't cleaned? When they finally did reach Jenn she simply said that there was lots of pet hair which kept her from doing a thorough cleaning. How pet hair effected wiping down the kitchen appliances, mopping floors, actually using the vacuum in the Master and getting urine off toilets I still don't understand but apparently that was the reason. And, if indeed she did clean the appliances and mop the floors then there is even greater reason for concern given the state things were left in (if you have hardwood floors you know we can tell when the floors have or have not been cleaned by the marks or streaks left on them. Upstairs the toothpaste on my daughter's bathroom floor was a dead giveaway it had not been mopped). I was also told that their company doesn't change sheets and that was the reason my daughter's sheets weren't changed. This was perplexing as well since Jenn HAD changed the sheets in 2 of the 3 upstairs bedrooms and we talked about her changing the sheets when she arrived. It seems then that she should have said something about not changing the sheets, explained their policy, or something. Also, a light was broken in my daughter's bathroom after the cleaning. I also let the company know about this - there was no real monetary value but it has sentimental value as it had been something of mine from childhood that I saved for my daughter. I was later told that she found the light smoking and so turned it off. Now, doesn't this seem like something you would tell the homeowner who is just downstairs? Despite Micheal's communication I found myself more and more unsatisfied with the integrity of the company the more communication we had. There is clearly no sense of what customer service means. Don't they realize that doing a great job for customers during the first interaction will gain them additional clients? I didn't ask for an additional cleaning or require anything additional from the company. I had already spent several hours of my afternoon getting the house really cleaned after she left. I just wanted to let them know my experience - to which I received several poor excuses (not reasons). Michael did say that they could offer me 50% off a service they offer but I told him that the company's lack of ability to meet my (reasonable) expectations did not inspire me to pay them for any additional services. Sadly, I would greatly caution anyone from doing any sort of business with this company.

I had a party scheduled December 9 so I scheduled house cleaning for December 7. That morning I called to confirm the cleaner's arrival and the arrival interval of 12-1 was confirmed. I called back at 1:30 wondering where the cleaner was and I was told the cleaner would probably not get to the house that day, but could come on Saturday. I said that was not acceptable and was told the cleaner could come late in the day, but would have to work late. I agreed to that scenario out of necessity. When the cleaner arrived at 4:45 she was in a belligerent mood and made no secret that she was unhappy to be at my home. She started cleaning and prompty knocked down a shelf while talking on her cell phone. She DID NOT EVEN LOOK UP AT ME nor did she get off her cell phone when I went to see what the noise was. I'd had enough at that point and she supposedly called her manager. Then after another brief conversation, we decided it would not work for her to stay in the house to finish cleaning. I called the manager and asked for a return phone call to report property damage from the shelf being knocked down. I never got a single call from the company. It was an unbelievably bizarre experience and one of the most unprofessional companies I have ever hired. Fortunately, I got a full refund from LivingSocial.com.