The Cleaning Authority

The crew does a very good and thorough job. The morning arrival time varies, which is quite tolerable.

I have one issue with them. It's the same with all cleaning companies. I would like to have the same team come to our house every time so that I get to know them, I know who they are and I can tip them and know that I'm tipping the right person. It seems like they send a different team every time. I do wish they all spoke better English. We'll stick with them definitely.

They left the kitchen counter dirty with bread crumbs, refrigerator was not touched and they left the rooms in shambles. I would not recommend them to anyone.

unknown

My POC for scheduling and estimate was extremely professional and friendly however, the quality and attention to detail of the cleaning crew was sub par.  We had them clean the house twice but were unlitimately unsatisified with the quality of the clean.  A couple of examples of why we were not happy are:

·         There was a sticky spot on the sunroom floor (in plain sight)  that remained there through both cleanings

·         There was a ring on the hardwood floor at the top of the stair (from a wet bottle) that remained there through both cleanings

·        The shower doors and faucets during the first clean were not clean.  The both shower doors still had water marks and appeared to not have been cleaned

·       Debris found on  master bathroom sink after the cleaning.

The clean went great-a team of three arrived early and worked quickly. I work from home so I appreciate that they are mindful of that and keep conversations low and to a minimum. Extra care was taken to dust plantation shutters and knickknacks. They always do a great job vacuuming. The kitchen sparkles and I love the fresh smell of the "green" cleaning products

Long before we joined Angie's List, we were using The Cleaning Authority in Leesburg, VA. At first the cleaning was very thorough, but over the years it became less so. We also noted that our walls and furniture was accumulating dings and damage from the cleaners. When we decided to remodel our first flow with newly painted walls and new hardwood floors (we used to have carpet), we joined Angie's List. I called The Cleaning Authority to talk to them about suspending service, which was no problem, but then to have a real talk about how important it would be that the cleaners do not drop the vacuum on the hard wood floors, or knock into the walls. The owner said that it was entirely possible for the cleaners to avoid these things, she felt confident. I said OK and we got them back onto schedule. After 3 cleanings, we had dings in the floor, and a ding in our wall that actually went through the layer of paint and into the dry wall. I called the owner, and explained what we saw. I know for certain it was the cleaners, based on the fact that only two very careful adults live in the house, and the damage was directly after the 3 cleanings. She did not seem concerned that I was complaining and I cancelled the cleaning service. After that, I looked for them on Angie's List and saw bad reviews. I wish we had known. 

Well, the two women were nice and both spoke English, but didn't move anything and told us in advance that they don't "move things".  Well, I took that to mean that they don't move furniture, not that they don't move a magazine off the floor to vacuum under it.  They literally won't move ANYTHING to clean it up (if it's trash), or to clean around it (like a trash car on the bathroom floor).  This means that they don't really try too h****** cleaning floors.  They do reasonably well otherwise and get most other detailed areas, but really not a life-altering clean here.  
They also charge reasonably well, only $110 for our home, which is about 2600 sq feet.  
They also broke a cable wire out of our wall and promptly told us about it (very cool), and the owner agreed to pay us for the damages, but we never followed through with the payment.  We didn't call again because I would rather put my next cleaning money toward folks who will actually clean my floors/corners/under stuff FULLY.  
The new owner does try and means to provide a good service though, so ignore their old online reputation, they are under new management.  I would use them again in a pinch though.

We?ve been using TCA since February 2006. We arranged for cleaning twice a month. We are two adults who have a two story (no basement) home with living room, dining room, kitchen, family room, 3 bedrooms and one sitting room. Since we went under contract, our fee was set at $75 each visit. It has gone up couple of times as this franchise has changed management at same frequency.

We really appreciate their flexibility. When we expected a large number of friends visiting after a family funeral, the TCA came especially the day before to clean the down stairs area on a special request. During other various times, we had to either move up or cancel, or postponed cleaning visits. All our requests were met professionally.

Once I got a call at my office from the manager that my team arrived at my home and found the front door was open. There was nothing missing and even the cat was still there!  But I appreciated the professional thoughtfulness. Once a crystal candy dish broke as a shelf being dusted fell on it. TCA paid for the broken dish. Our aging cat was handled lovingly; even through her declining conditions. (Her litter box was in our master bath and it was never a fun/easy clean-up for me and TCA team never complained!) When I found something unsatisfactory, I would call my TCA management and they would make it right every time. They keep detailed records, so that everyone working on  your home is aware of your special needs and requests.

Are we satisfied with their work? Let?s be honest here: no one can or will clean your house like you ? well, maybe your Mom. TCA was clear from the beginning; if a desk, vanity or table is cluttered with stuff, they will not move anything to clean under it?that surface will not get cleaned. Simple. The night before our TCA visit, we go around the house putting things away to clear off surfaces. Sure it?s a pain, but hey?it?s a necessary evil. Is the house spotless when you come? Please, define spotless! They will miss here and there.  Parts of furniture and various fixtures do not get cleaned. There are spots that are left dusty or with dirt. You need to realize that these teams are tasked with maybe three or four homes a day to clean--in a two hour time schedule! Don?t expect perfect; at least our home was getting cleaned on the whole and on a regular basis.

We have had the Cleaning Authority for over a year now. The manager was very professional when she gave us an estimate. I told her I fired the last company because they broke things, didn't put anything back where it belonged, and did a sub par job. We have had many issues over the time where the cleaning has been sub standard. They have broken items in the home and not told us. My wife specfically told them to tell her when they broke something. We know accidents happen, but instead they try to hide it. This last week I came home and a picture in the bathroom was hanging by the staple on the back that held the backing to the frame. They had knocked the picture off the wall. It left a gash in the wall, and a gash on the baseboard, and I just spent $10,000  on custom painting inside.  I noticed the dirt was so thick on the baseboards, they couldn't have been cleaned during the last deep clean. I'm not sure If it's the cleaning crew, or the fact that they have a designated time limit that they can spend at any one home. If I don't keep trash bags in the bottom of the waste baskets, they don't even have the initiative to go get more from the pantry! We have a beautiful stainless steel stove top, but they have scratched the surface up because they are so careless with the grates.  I have started to fire them several times, but my wife stops me because the cleaning crew are "nice people". Well, nice only goes so far. I am on Angie's list now looking for a new cleaning company.


Customer comment relative to company response.
A good rapport and accommodating cancelations doesn't make up for poor service relative to cleaning. What the company failed to mention in the response is that my wife has MS and continually in and out of hospitals and doctors offices. Sometimes one has no choice but to cancel. We did complain and were told that if we paid more, they could spend more time in our home cleaning. Two senior citizens having a home cleaned once a week...how dirty could a house get?  Regardless, none of this should affect the ability to clean. Last I looked, this company didn't swim in rave reviews.

Overall, I was lied too about services that were to be performed.

We hired this company for a move in clean and were considering them for bi-weekly service.  The quality was sub-par. I was very specific about what we wanted them to focus on (bathrooms and kitchen) and exactly what we wanted done in preparation of moving in.  The house was empty at the time except for one blow up bed and a few suitcases.  After they started cleaning they called and said they would need to charge me an additional $50 because they needed more time. (Again - the house was empty at the time)  After I called to complain that we were unsatisfied, they did come back, but then charged me for the additional time spent doing what they didn't do after the first visit, even though it was what we initially had agreed on. After the second visit it still didn't look like they had done anything, but we were unwilling to invest more money in "cleaning". The original estimate was $150 but we ended up spending $225.  Then, I had to clean myself when we moved in the next day.  It was a huge waste of money.

Ostensibly, this is a house cleaning service. Unfortunately, they aren't much of one. Baseboards went uncleaned. Bathroom floors, particularly around the toilet, weren't cleaned. Spots on the kitchen floor, in high traffic areas, went untouched for weeks at a time (we had weekly "service"), and the only bed in the house they had to make (the master bedroom) looked like it had been made by a slovenly child. I had called to discontinue service a couple of months ago and the proprietor asked if I would give them another chance. I did. The next cleaning was not much improved from any of the others and then went back to the status quo thereafter. Upon terminating their "services", we requested that our key be returned to us. What we received was a standard business envelope with a hole torn open in the spot where our address had been written. Inside the envelope was a blank 8.5x11 piece of paper with a matching tear in the middle and the remains of the scotch tape used to "secure" the key to the paper. On the envelope, the post office had stamped "RECEIVED IN DAMAGED CONDITION" in red. The missing key required locks to be changed, incurring further cost to us. This was, by far, the worst "house cleaning service" I've ever employed. Three females showed up every week and spent approximately one hour "cleaning" for which we paid $300 per month. You are strongly encouraged to seek service from another company.

I interviewed three cleaning service and chose The Cleaning Authority based and price and commitment to a thorough cleaning. The first cleaning the crew did a horrible job. I gave this feedback to Lee, the owner, who said it would improve the next cleaning. The second clean was acceptable, not great. The third cleaning was conducted by a third crew and was horrible as well. Prior to the forth cleaning I requested that Lee conduct a quality inspection. Lee refused to accommodate the request and hung up on me. I tried to report to the headquarters of the franchise who did nothing to resolve or apologize for the experience. Needless to say my experience was unacceptable. I would not recommend Lee or any franchise of the Cleaning Authority to anyone.