Let me first say that most of the women who have come to clean my home have been professional and considerate. They've worked hard and usually done a pretty good job. When I have had an issue (something not getting cleaned, bleach stains on rugs or clothing, etc.), I'd been able to call and get it taken care of with fairly minimal fuss. There was one woman who was with us for several years, which was a blessing because she got to know us and our home and did a lovely job.
Some time ago (maybe a year or two), the management changed at Merry Maids in Tallahassee. And then, about six months ago, the woman who had been our regular finished up her degree and headed off into another field. The combination of these two events meant that we were suddenly getting a new person nearly every time someone came out. The timing was all disrupted too - they'd come sometime between 9am and 5pm, even though they had said they would be out during a specific window. I would have to specifically confirm the time/window every single time they called with the reminder (or call them, when the reminders didn't come or went to voicemail), and even then the maid would often arrive hours outside of the window. This last time, the woman (new to us, again) arrived at 5pm, about twenty minutes before I got home from work and needed to unpack groceries, cook dinner, pick up my son, etc. She did a great job, but had cleaned several houses before mine that day, and was here until nearly 8pm. I would have been significantly happier if the office had called to say they had some sort of issue and asked if I would prefer her to come so late or to reschedule for the following day. But they did not.
I had asked for a regular cleaner again several times, both because it gives me more peace of mind knowing who is in my home while I'm at work, and because my dog tends to be terrified of new people if I'm not home to calm her down a bit.
From what various women have told me when I have been able to be home for the puppy introduction, it seems that something has happened that makes their take-home pay lower than it had been previously (or at least, not as high as their competitors). While I don't know if that's true, I can say that Merry Maids had not raised their prices in more than five years while I was a customer. That's great, but not if it means the women who are doing all the cleaning aren't getting paid what they're worth.
I finally had enough with the last session, but it was the cumulative effect of months of issues. When I called and canceled my service forever, the interim manager just said she'd mail my key back. She didn't ask why I'd decided to cancel, inquire about any service issues, ask if I was moving out of the area, or even say she was sorry to lose my business. After more than five years, I expected...something. But I think this is just one more sign of the issues that the company now has here in Tally.