apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

There's also the Green Maid services:
http://www.greenmaidinc.com/

I don't think I'd use them.

I think word of mouth is sometimes the best reference.

I would never use a maid service after the series of articles in The Globe and Mail by columnist Jan Wong. She showed how women who work for these companies are essentially exploited, and that there is practically no way they can survive on their meagre earnings.

Here's the first of the series here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060331.wxwong01/BNStory/Front

We have used cleaners since having children -- life is short, our time with our children is all too brief, and we spend enough time doing chores -- cooking, laundry, shopping -- that for us at least, it is the right thing to do. We always hire individuals and pay them directly -- no middle-men (one time, we had a husband and wife team). Word-of-mouth is the best way to find someone reliable we have found.

I wouldn't recommend them. I used them to clean my old apartment after I moved out. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hang around while they cleaned because I had moved to a different city. My apartment wasn't very dirty, but they did a sloppy job and missed some obvious spots. I would have done a more thorough job had I cleaned it myself. I wouldn't use them again.

I agree with Monika1 - Barbara Ehrenreich worked for one of these services in researching her book "Nickel and Dimed" and the exploitation was horrible. Also, their 'methods" were intentionally slapdash to minimize the time they spent in every house.

Oops, I apologize - I used Molly Maid! I'm sorry, I got the two services confused. As far as I know, Merry Maid is great!

Yes, read "Nickel and Dimed" -- and pay a person directly what they deserve! don't let it all go to a middle man!

I used Merry Maids to clean my new house before I moved in... they did a really meh job. Just kind of wiped things down, and didn't clean thoroughly at all (missed lots of areas, windows not cleaned, appliances not cleaned). Wouldn't recommend them.

I used Merry Maids a few years ago once a month and they did a nice job, I was actually very happy and the price was good. I couldn't believe it when they made the dingy tub white again. I would recommend them.

That said, I've got a new condo and a new cleaning lady (though I realize it is almost always a woman, is there a more PC or gender-neutral term at this point?) that was recommended from a friend, which is always good- not with a service, just does it on her own, which is probably the ideal.

I worked a summer for Merry Maids while in college. This was about 15 years ago though. They paid better then fast food or retail. I was interested in interior design/architecture and it was a good chance to see inside amazing homes. Also learned some good tips about cleaning that I still use. Each office is going to be a bit different because you will get some lazy workers, but if the client is happy they will use the same team over and over and establish a good working relationship. If you have the money and really hate cleaning I would try them out.

Read Nicked and Dimed first.

Try craigslist too. I found a cleaner named Jesus on craigslist, and he showed up at my apartment on Easter to clean up--seriously! This was during my the last weeks of pregnancy and I wanted my place clean before bringing the baby home. Jesus did a miraculous job (sorry, couldn't help myself). Very thorough, and a very reasonable price. He had kids of his own that he was supporting and it felt good to pay him directly, knowing he would get all the money.

I organized a Merry Maids gift certificate for a pregnant friend, and she liked them so much that she signed a continuing contract on her own after her gift hours were used up. This was around 2000, in the DC area. They seemed like a decent outfit.

I've used Merry Maids in the past, and they did an okay (not great) job, but that issue aside, I too, feel better about paying my cleaning person directly rather than going through an agency where the middle man eats up so much of my check. It turns out a little cheaper for me to use an independent cleaning person, and I know that the person cleaning my house is definitely being paid more than they would be were they to work through an agency.

I would never use them after reading Nickel and Dimed.

"Nickel and Dimed" not only goes in-depth to show how pressured and exploited the cleaners are, but also how they're trained to cut corners by only giving the "appearance" of clean.

Unless their corporate policy has changed since the book was written, cleaners are only allowed to use a teeny tiny fraction of cleaning supplies to do each home. So your floors and surfaces could be getting wiped down with used, dirty water that they doled out at the beginning of the job.

Scariest part of the book was when one cleaner possilby broke her ankle but kept going because she desperately needed to finish her cleaning assigments.

I love the Jesus came to my home on Easter story.

I haven't read "Nickeled and Dimed", but my experience working for them was good. Granted I was there for a very short time and on part-time, but I'm sure it varies from office to office. I don't remember being pressered to skimp on supplies. It was important to do a good job. And I smashed my finger in a car door while on the job and I was encouraged to go home.

I used Merry Maids for about a year about 7-8 years ago. The first six months of service every other week was pretty good but then the quality of work went downhill and became very hit or miss. I switched to a woman starting up a cleaning business who did a fabulous job. She ended up with a lot of customers on my block. I also appreciated knowing the person who was coming into my house. The Merry Maids folks always seemed downtrodden to me, which didn't make me feel good about complaining about the service.

My elderly mother-in-law uses Merry Maids. They barely clean at all, and the service charges a fortune. (The workers don't make much at all.)

Ditto on checking out Barbara Ehrenreich's book. Merry Maids is notorious for exploiting its workers. Best to use Angie's List or Yelp or something like it to find an individual or a small, owner-run company or worker-owned co-op with good reviews. Consider taking the time to do the research both because it's the right thing and because you probably don't want to give your hard-earned dough to a company that exposes its workers to toxic chemicals, underpays them and may even sexually harass them. Also suggest you look for a coop owned by workers, and for companies that use non-toxic products.

These maid services exploit workers. Read NICKEL AND DIMED (as everyone else has written). Your perspective will never be the same.

You don't have to commit to a book -- just read the series of articles by Jan Wong in the Globe and Mail that I linked to; the really horrifying part of her story is that the cleaners wound up making LESS than minimum wage because of all the deductions the company took (gas, etc.).

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060331.wxwong01/BNStory/Front/home

She's a witty writer too, monika1 - and even though I had already read N & D - the hard facts on pay still stunned me anew in this article.

Brave to involve her children in the expose assignment, I thought.

They're pretty much crap.
I've found no luck in corporate cleaning services like Merry Maids.

I've gotten much better service from word-of-mouth self-employed maids.

Someone personal is nice. I may pay a little more than MM, but it is the same person every time, she knows me, I know her, she does an amazing job, I've recommended her to friends, and they've used her over a period of years.

I know the money all goes to her, there's no middleman, and I feel it's a fair amount to pay.