The Maids of Manassas

We have used The Maids for a few years now and are very satisfied with their work. We have the "Red Team" with Silvia as Team Leader. Silvia is friendly and all business who never fails to ask if I want "anything special?" They do a great job and are consistent. We have had other cleaning services in years past who were a disaster, leaving damage behind. Not The Maids. The quality of their work speaks for itself. I am a very happy customer and will be using their services for years to come. They are also reasonably priced.

Top 4 takeaways - 1) I was charged a very different rate than what I was quoted. 2) The cleaning team itself was outstanding - conscientious, prompt, and thorough. 3) I feel that the owner, Marcel Clarke, is lacking in customer service skills and is difficult to deal with. 4) I will not be using this service again. I had used this service in the past, but discontinued it. Then a few weeks ago, I received a $75 off coupon in the mail so decided to try The Maids again. Since they had cleaned my house before, Mr. Clarke was able to give me an accurate quote of the cost. I added two guest bed rooms to the standard service they had provided before. Mr. Clarke offered me a flat-rate figure in the $180-$199 range, minus the $75 coupon (so approximately $105-$124), and I accepted. Making an appointment to fit my schedule was easy and I had no problem getting the dates and times I desired. A team of four arrived promptly, with a supervisor arriving later to check on their progress. The supervisor asked if I wanted the office cleaned, and I stated that I only wanted what Mr. Clarke and I agreed on. She said she thought they were doing a deep clean, but I told her again it was only what the quote covered, and was a flat rate. She checked her book, said okay, and they did not clean the office. Note here that I reminded the supervisor of the flat rate quote so any intention to not honor that should have been brought to my attention at this point. After the cleaning was over, the head maid showed me my bill that was calculated using an hourly rate of $146/hour for 2 1/2 hours, totaling $256.00 (that math does not add up, but that was the total given to me). I explained that it should not have been hourly but the flat rate Mr. Clarke quoted. She tried to call Mr. Clarke, and after about five minutes was able to reach him. She put me in the phone with him, and he immediately began to argue with me and maintained a hostile tone the entire conversation. I explained that the price was different than what he quoted. He said since they had not been to my house since 2012 they would be charging a first-time clean hourly rate. This would be an understandable rate, but it is not what he initially told me. I replied that he never quoted me an hourly rate, but a flat rate of between $180 and $199. He argued that he would never quote that, as he would not make any money off that rate. (However, on the estimate card provided to me after the clean to solicit future business, it offered a $189 monthly clean rate.) I kept going back to my point that he should honor the quote he used to get my business, but he said no matter what I thought, it was a miscommunication and the price was $256. Then Mr. Clarke stated that I was getting the deal of the lifetime especially since he is going to honor the coupon he sent. I replied that I hoped he would honor the coupon, since he used that to solicit my business; if not he would have fraudulently induced me to use his service. I felt that this happened on some level in any case, as I would not have agreed to use his service had I known the true rate he was going to charge me after the cleaning was over. In the end, I conceded because I wanted the women who cleaned my house to get the money they deserved and I was embarrassed to be having an argument in front of them, using the head maid?s phone. I thanked Mr. Clarke for the great job the team did, to which he replied, ?You?re welcome? and hung up. If you decide to use this service for any reason, I recommend getting your estimate in writing, detailing if it is hourly or a flat rate. Additionally, try to request the ?Orange Team? - they are superb. I would have rated this provider much higher if I was charged what I was quoted.

Housekeeping did everything that I requested they do within the estimate that was proposed to me. They did a fantastic job and their price is reasonable. I have checked other cleaning services and they are way too expensive for what I want done in my house. I would recommend this company to everyone that is looking to have an excellent cleaning service and reasonable price. They are always on time. I have never had any complaints or problems with housekeeping.

VERY POORLY

I found them to be very expensive, and they neglected to clean my dining room chairs. That was disappointing as I was having a party that week.

They were super expensive. They had one lady with a vacuum cleaner and she vacuumed everything like walls and ceilings. They also had some other ladies who cleaned the house. They were here for three hours and only did an average job. They were professional but extremely overpriced. They were not punctual and were very late in arriving here.

They have done better than the last two companies that I used. They show up on time, and are trustworthy, efficient and reliable. I think some people give them keys but since I?m home, I don?t. I need them to come in the afternoon because I am taking care of my mom. They always come when they say they are coming. The owner of the company always calls me the day before to tell me a general time when they would be here. It takes them about an hour and twenty minutes to do the job. I get the same crew all the time. Every once in a while, they might be hung up in another house and they?ll send somebody else but the lead girl has always been the same. They are expensive but you get what you pay for - they are a lot more expensive than the other companies that I had used before. The initial price is more when they first do your home and I don?t remember how much that is. I pay $165 every two weeks. I have a four bedroom home but I really have them do only two, but the price is as if they?d cleaned my whole house. I would continue to use them.

The team does an efficient, quick, and thorough cleaning. There's usually a team of 4 and they divide up among rooms and duties, so it goes very quickly. Only drawback is that the time of the day seems to change from appointment to appointment, not a big deal but could be an issue for some. Cost is higher than for an independent house cleaner, but I feel more comfortable knowing that the cleaners are insured and bonded.

They were quick and efficient. They cannot be rated high on punctuality, but I believe it is not necessarily their fault.