Cleaning on the cheap
It is not unusual for me to receive emails and phone calls from people looking to have their residences cleaned for $50 or $60. And every time I receive such calls, I manage to keep a straight face but it boggles the mind. Would someone expect to pay an electrician $50? Would someone expect to pay a plumber or gutter cleaning company $60 for service?
There is just something about house cleaning that causes some people to think that they need not pay a decent fee…yet they want their home cleaned from top to bottom, thoroughly. What is it, I wonder? Do people not view house cleaning as a serious, noble, or professional business type? IF that is the case, I wonder why such people won’t just drive or walk over to their nearest 7-Eleven store and hire a day worker to clean their home? Or why won’t they clean it themselves?
I cannot help but wonder why someone would think that a company that is bonded and insured—-a company that has hired and trained professional cleaning techs, would not have expenses. If a company charges $60 to clean, how on earth is that company going to stay in business? $60 is what one would pay to a teenager or some stranger from Craig’s List.
Cheap vs. real cleaning company
People tend to forget that there are many factors involved in pricing a cleaning. Overhead is one factor. Products and equipment cost money. Office space costs money. Some cleaning companies have cars, which cost money. Uniforms cost money. Payroll and insurance costs money. I could go on and on and on.
Any company that can afford to charge $60 to clean a home is doing so because either they are not carrying insurance or they are paying their people a dirt cheap wage. And if they are paying their people on the cheap, I guarantee you that the cleaning techs are going to do a horrible job. What sane person is going to exert the amount of energy it takes to clean a home well for minimum wage or less?
That question leads me to my next point. House cleaning is a very taxing career choice, which is why turnover is so high. It is a back-breaking job when done well. No cleaning tech is going to put out a lot of energy if s/he is not being paid well. And I would not blame the person.
My advice to people who are in search of a dirt cheap cleaning is for them to look elsewhere. Our people are paid above minimum wage and that’s why they are willing to work hard and to clean well.
Finding the cheap cleaning
There are several places one can go to find the dirt cheap cleaning:
(1) Coupon companies – I have run coupons in the past. I’d never do so again for reasons described by pressing HERE.
Now, if a person decides to buy their cleaning from a coupon company, expect to get a sub par job. Simple as that. You get what you pay for. Don’t believe me? Go to any variety of social media sites and read the horror stories that both consumers and businesses tell regarding coupons. They are not appropriate for cleaning services.
(2) Hire someone from off the street – Hiring a day worker will get you a cheap cleaning but you may also end up getting robbed or worse. There is no end to what a stranger may do to you, your loved ones or your home.
(3) Find a cleaning company willing to clean your home on the cheap. You will find a company but you won’t be happy. Their employees will not do a good job because they are not being paid well. So you’ll waste your money, still have a dirty house and you will end up searching for another company within a month or two.
The best thing a person can do if they don’t want to clean their own home is to budget for a real cleaning company to clean. Yes, it will cost more. But some things are worth the expense when it comes to a home. Professional cleaning is worth the expense.
Photo Credit HERE