The Maids

Since I am pregnant and expecting soon, I hired The Maids to do an initial cleaning of my house as we were having family stay with us. There was a lot to do as our house was probably more dusty than the average home given some recent renovations. They were able to show up on short notice. They did a great job except they missed dusting the bar area in the basement; however, everything else was done to our satisfaction.

The first cleaning was very deficient and for the money I was furious. They missed the kitchen all together (it actually looked worse since they cleaned my soft top stove and oven with a dirty rag and you could see the streaks), the dusting was uneven and the many areas were missed. They sent somebody and agreed to repeat the areas that they missed and ask for a second chance. The second cleaning was better but not stellar, I found smudges on the piano from uneven cleaning. The third cleaning was acceptable but still problems with streaks. I had asked never to have the first crew but still this team showed up for my last cleaning. The kitchen counters were not cleaned, crumbs on the floor, dust was missed. I am furious and they are not even returning my calls. I will ask the credit card company to with old payment.

The first time they were wonderful! They sent four ladies and everything was spotless. The second time was a different crew and they were done in two hours and they did not pay as much attention to detail. The third time they had a different crew and they were done in 45 mins. They sent someone out and agreed it was not acceptable. They only offered $20 off next service. They quoted me $160, but when I got my credit card statement they really charged me $190. For the lousy cleaning they only offered the $20 off which would bring it to the agreed upon amount.

The service has been very uneven. Some weeks the cleaning is complete and to our satisfaction. Other weeks they have taken obvious short cuts. The company recently increased their price by about 30%. The basic explanation for increasing the rates was to improve customer service by providing services they should have already been providing. Most disturbing, after the most recent cleaning (after the rate increase), my husband and I discovered that the maids had broken one of our wine glasses and attempted to hide it. We understand that things happen from time to time, but trying to cover up the damage they caused (especially after substantially increasing rates to improve customer service) is unacceptable. We will no longer be using their services.

They arrived early. There were four people in company uniform and from the minute they came in they were balls of energy with a plan. One to the kitchen, one to the bath, one with a vacuum that did all the corners, cobwebs and tops of windows. They cleaned every crack and crevice they could find. And did such a great job. They ask if there was anything I was particularly wanting done and would do it. They made my house sparkle. And there was no slackers or down time. They were pleasant and professional. They worked every minute. I am still finding places they polished and cleaned. They were great.

The initial cleaning was slightly more than estimated, but after moving two dogs, two cats, and three kids into the home I am not surprised that it was slightly dirtier than the "normal". Very few complaints, all were handled by follow-up by their customer service folks. Some of the issues: Left cleaning rags all over the house. Shut basement door, which kept cats from litter box. Knocked picture off of wall, and "hid" it in drawer rather than owning up to it. Funny thing was, this happens a lot,and it was not broke! I wish that interior windows were done as a normal course of their cleaning, rather than an additional cost. But, this may be a geographical issue, as I received this as part of base service living in Bellefontaine, Ohio. The weekly cleans are a bit more expensive as well, and I will have to wait before passing judgment on whether it is worth it or not. For now, I will say yes, that it is.

Very good. They were on time. One of the reason that we choose The Maids was because the receptionist (Ms. Finnegan) was very helpful and this company was one of the only ones that had a full time person answering the telephones. They are not the least expensive cleaners; but, the whole process from the first phone call to the nice clean house was worth it. The initial cleaning was expensive ($350.00) because they do it on an hourly basis. After the first cleaning it will be based upon how often they come (weekly=$119, every other week=$139, monthly=$169). I tried to reach other companies before I hired The Maids because of their high price. Some did not return my phone calls, others made an appointment and were late. Even though The Maids are pricey, I wish I would have just bit the bullet and hired them right away because our house would have been cleaned properly much sooner.

The quality was up and down. 50% of the time it was outstanding. Other times it was unacceptable (i.e. chairs not moved to vacuum, food pieces left on floor, forgotten vacuuming). The quality seemed to vary based on which crew did the work and how much of a tip we left (the house was always perfect if we left $20 for the four person crew). We recently discontinued service because $161 (+ tip) is a lot to pay for less than perfect service.

The service was overall ok, sometimes better than others. I would have continued to use the company, but the last experience I had with them proved that they took advantage. I hired them to clean my rental property prior to new tenants moving in. The house was empty and what I would think would have been an easier job. The invoice was around $400.00. When I called Sharon to ask why it was so high, she said that they cleaned out counters and drawers and appliances. The fact was that they did not clean out the drawers or appliances. I could not justify paying this much and have not used them since.

I've had excellent experience working with The Maids. They do a very thorough job each time. Although, I did gave them a B on quality because there's usually some small thing missed, like one trash can not emptied or bed linens not changed. But don't take that as a disapproval; it's a wonderful thing to come home to a sparkling clean house every two weeks. I especially like that they use HEPA vacuums (especially because I have cats - clears out the pet hair) and environmentally and health-friendly cleaning products.

The owner spent 3.5 hours cleaning the ceiling fan. One lady took decorative pots and pans in the dishwasher. One lady spent 45 minutes arranging the magnets on the fridge. I would have to keep on them to make sure they were doing productive housecleaning activities. I felt they did a lousy job cleaning. The cost was for less than a month of housecleaning.

Calling to schedule first appointment on Wed, the company was able to provide service the next day. A team of four was here just under two hours. The kitchen cleaning was outstanding. The rest of the house was good.

What I really like about them is they clean the floors by hand. The boss always comes around and does a clean check. They are just a little pricey.

They told us that the price is $135 per 1000 sq Ft. Our apartment is 1200 sq Ft, and had no appliances to clean. They assured us that the time charged will not be more than 1 hour. We asked them to call us BEFORE they charge our credit card. Instead, they charged us for 2 hours, and NEVER called us to let us know of the overcharges. When we called them to inquire about the overcharges, they said that they never told us that it would take less than 1 hour, and that they just did not feel the need to call us before they charged out credit card. It was like a "BAIT and SWITCH". DO NOT HIRE THESE GUYS, THEY WILL ROB YOU CLEAN. THEY ARE DISHONEST!

They sent out four people and they were here for an hour and a half. I asked them to clean the kitchen first and then the bathroom if there was time. They fine-tuned the kitchen and did a real good job in the bathroom.

I called and scheduled an appointment for an estimate. On the day of the appointment, no one came or called to let me know that they were not coming. I waited (2) two hours after the scheduled time in case they were running late. I understand that things come up at the last minute, but this is a customer service business, and if this is how they handle estimate calls, I can only wonder what type of work they do!!!

Everyone was on time, ready to go. One of the team members was sick, so a substitute was sent. Even the boss showed up! I can't afford them on a regular basis, but to anyone who can, hire them. AS for me, I will have them come back at least on a seasonal basis. I believe the base cost is about $127 per hour, but that is for 4 people! And they are in and out in a short time!

WE TERMINATED OUR PREVIOUS SERVICE DUE TO SUBSTANDARD WORK AND BECAUSE ONE OF THE MAIDS THEY HAD HIRED WAS INVOLVED IN AN IDENTITY THEFT RING AND HAD STOLEN OUR CHECKING ACCOUNT INFO. WE INTERVIEWED SEVERAL OTHERS, AND DECIDED TO GIVE THE MAIDS A TRY. THEY SEND OUT 4 PERSON TEAMS, AND ARE VERY THOROUGH AND PROFESSIONAL. THEY HAND SCRUB KITCHEN FLOORS AND USE A HIGH POWER VACUUM THAT DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB ON CARPETS AND UPHOLSTERY. WE HAD ONE PROBLEM WITH A DAMAGED APPLIANCE (AN ACCIDENT) AND THEY PROMPTLY REPLACED IT. WE ALSO HAD A BILLING DISPUTE BUT IT WAS RESOLVED TO OUR SATISFACTION IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER. OVERALL, WE'RE PLEASED AND INTEND TO CONTINUE USING THIS SERVICE. WE HAVE NO HESITATION IN RECOMMENDING THEM TO OTHERS -- THEY'RE A LITTLE EXPENSIVE, BUT WORTH THE COST.

THIS COMPANY HAS BEEN A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH. I HAVE BEEN WITH THEM FOR 4-5 YEARS. THEY ARE RESPONSIVE AND THE TURNOVER IS LOW. ANGIE IS CONSISTENT AND CARING. WHENEVER I HAVE HAD ISSUES, THEY HAVE BEEN QUICKLY RESOLVED AND ONCE PER YEAR, CHRYSTAL DOES A PHENOMENAL JOB ON MY WINDOWS. I HAVE COME TO TRUST THEM WITH MY HOME. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY.

FOR THE MONEY, I DID NOT THINK THAT THEY PROVIDED MUCH OF A SERVICE. ALSO, THE OWNER TOLD ME MY EXPECTATIONS WERE TOO HIGH WHICH INSINUATED THAT HE JUST DID NOT WANT MY BUSINESS. ANOTHER THING I DIDN'T LIKE IS THAT THEY USUALLY SEND DIFFERENT PEOPLE, SO IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC NEEDS AND YOU AREN'T HOME, THEY WON'T KNOW THAT.

THE FIRST TIME CLEAN WAS $224. THEY TALKED ME INTO LETTING THEM COME MONTHLY. I'LL TRY IT FOR A WHILE.

I WAS TOLD IT WAS $90 AN HOUR. I WAS GIVEN FOUR PEOPLE TO PERFORM THE WORK. I DID NOT RECEIVE AN ITEMIZED BILL. I DID NOT GET A SENIOR DISCOUNT OR KNOW IF THEY GIVE ONE. THEY WERE LATE AND HERE FOR OVER AN HOUR. THINGS WERE MISSED BUT IT WAS NOT THEIR FAULT. BASICALLY THEY DID A VERY NICE JOB.

IF YOU AREN'T COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR TEAM, THEY WILL ASSIGN YOU ANOTHER ONE. WE TRUST THEM WITH OUR HOUSE KEY. THEY CLEAN TO MY LEVEL OF EXPECTATION - AND I AM PICKY!

THIS CREW WAS ROUGH ON OUR HOME. THEIR LAST VISIT RESULTED IN BREAKAGE OF EXPENSIVE ITEMS THAT WERE DISCONTINUED, SENTIMENTAL. BECAUSE THE ITEMS WERE DISCONTINUED AND COULD NOT BE REPLACED WITH THE SAME ITEMS, THE COMPANY INSISTED ON REPLACING WITH SIMILAR ITEMS THAT THEY THOUGHT WERE 'APPROPRIATE'. ALTHOUGH THEY CLAIMED THEY CARRIED INSURANCE, THEY WERE NOT WILLING TO REPLACE OUR LOSS WITH A FAIR MONETARY AMOUNT. THEY NEVER DID REPAY US FOR WHAT THEY DAMAGED. ALSO, WERE HIGHLY ARGUMENTATIVE. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THEM.

THEY WERE FAST AND VERY EFFICIENT. SPECIFICALLY PLEASED WITH THE EFFORT TO REMOVE RUST STAINS FROM TUB. SALES REP. DISCOUNTED PRICE AFTER TELLING ME THEY WERE AVAILABLE ONE DAY BUT COULD DO THE SERVICE TWO DAYS EARLIER.