Soap & Water Cleaning Services LLC

.This had to be a bad April Fool's Day joke.  I have a large house so I knew up front that I had to prioritize the cleaning. But when I first talked to her on the phone, she seemed confused and it actually took 3 separate phone calls just for her to figure out when she was able to come. And this was no where near when I actually needed her to come.  She did show up when she said she would, however it wasn't when I would have liked.  She was scared of my little dog and I had to put her outside.  And then the cleaning...when I got home I actually thought something happened and she had to leave early and couldn't finish the job.  I had asked her to clean the kitchen and bathrooms and to sweep and mop the floors.  I am 7 months pregnant and ended up having to clean the whole house the next day and swept up a huge pile of dirt and the bathrooms were not touched.  Basically she cleaned the stove and made one bed.  She doesn't deserve to be on Angie's list at all and I request that she be removed.

I called this morning to schedule my service and the person I talked to, a female, quickly asked me about my location.  I explained that you can get to it "from I-285 and (I named the road)."  She quickly indicated that I would be charged an extra $20 because it would take her 40 minutes to get to my location from Riverdale.  She indicated that she always charges people in "that" (my) area extra.  I then explained that I had not finished telling her where I was.  I am located inside the perimeter, just west of midtown.  I told her that I didn't see any indication that I would be charged extra in the email or on the website that explained the details of the voucher.  I first moved into my house about 10 years ago and it is very central.  I have never been charged extra due to my location as I am inside the perimeter located very centrally.

But as I again explained my location, the woman continued to say it would be $20 extra.  So I asked her if she charged an extra $20 for Buckhead.  I asked this because it looked like Buckhead was a normal part of her service area (according to the website I was looking at).  She said Buckhead was not extra.  I explained to her that I am closer to Riverdale than any home in Buckhead and she then changed her story a bit (i.e., she lied) and said that some parts of Buckhead were indeed extra.  She then went on to very unprofessionally tell me that the company that I got the voucher through, Living Social, holds onto her money too long - she doesn't get paid for a while.  So that was one reason she had to charge more.  But the deal I purchased was $39 - so how do you just change it to $59?  The deal was also an Atlanta deal, so if you were going to charge extra money for people who actually lived in the city of Atlanta, that needed to be very clear.

The woman also told me that she was in the process of cleaning so I would need to call her back to schedule.  She would not schedule my appointment even though I was speaking to her.  Overall, her tone was very combative and rude.  I do not chase down merchants to spend my money.  If I had already paid my money, emailed her, and called her twice, why on earth would I call again?  She spoke to me as if I was inconveniencing her.  Also note that the time I called her today was the second time I called her.  I called her Friday and her voicemail would not allow me to leave a message.

I called Living Social and they refunded my money.  I also told a friend who had purchased this voucher what happened and he got a refund as well. 

Do not use Soap & Water Cleaning Services.  The person I spoke to was extremely rude.  I'm pretty sure it was the owner, because she knew the "ins and outs" of the Living Social deal and complained about the process of how she got paid.  This company is very unprofessional.

*** UPDATE:  In response to the provider's claim that the bottom of the Living Social deal contained clear information about the fee -  this claim is incorrect.  I am copying, word for word, the bottom of the Living Social deal (see below).  This is not something that "clearly" says an extra fee of $20 would be charged for a home in the city of Atlanta.  I understood what I read - the text is below.  I just re-read the deal and again, this deal was fraudulent in that there were some significant misrepresentations.  It also is clear to me from having researched this company on the Internet, that the owner has submitted false reviews on other sites (for example, many reviewers who have given the service high marks had only that one review on the site in that time period - note these were other websites).  I am simply sharing my experience.  As a consumer, I appreciate candid feedback.  I have nothing to lose or gain with this feedback - my hope is that it is helpful to consumers.  All the best to you.***

Directly from the deal:
"? Distance restrictions apply; service area limited to metro Atlanta area, Buckhead, Decatur, and College Park"

Additionally - here are the first three sentences of the deal (copied word for word):
"While futuristic street sweepers make sure Atlanta's sidewalks look tidy, the cleaning system in your own home is a little less advanced. Discover that a well-kept home can exist outside of science fiction with today's deal from Soap & Water Cleaning Services. Pay $39 for two hours of house cleaning good for homes located in Buckhead, Decatur, College Park, or anywhere in metro Atlanta (a $120 value)."

From reading the two items above, directly from the Living Social deal for this company, it is definitely not clear that there would be an extra $20 fee for a home in the city of Atlanta.  There is no way that "anywhere in metro Atlanta" translates to an extra $20 for a home in the city of Atlanta, located minutes from Buckhead.

When I talked to her she said she was going to do a deep clean, but it wasn't as thorough as I would have liked. I did have to point out a couple of things here and there that were being missed. She did an okay job, however, I wanted someone that I would be able to use long term.  They might be great for some people, but I have really high standards and don't want to have to worry about pointing missed areas out.  After they left, there were dust streaks in the areas that they had dusted. I found a lot of things that were not dusted as well.