CottageCare Des Moines

I have had multiple cleaning services for the past 10 years.  I had been looking for a different company after having the same one for a long time.  They just weren't doing what I was asking.  After trying a few companies, I found Cottage care.  Nate, the manager came out to give me an estimate.  It was much higher than any of the others I have used in the past.  He assured me that their workmanship was better than anyone else in town.  The first cleaning was great.  I usually go around my house to see what was missed. They did everything right!  After using this company every two weeks for around 4-6 months, many things were being missed.  The vent hood above my stove was hardly ever done. My stairs to the basement was hit or miss, even after specifically calling them to make them aware of the many missed things.  There were other things off and on too.  I could tell that they didn't wipe my bathroom floor down because it still had the sticky hair spray feeling. I have a small space of tile at the bottom of my stairs, that is the traffic pattern to the kitchen.  They cleaned that randomly- sometimes- I had to tell them to.  I thought that was very strange.  A main area on my main level!!  Nate assured me that everything would be done in the next cleaning. Not so.
 I was in a room next to the kitchen and overheard two girls talking about things that weren't appropriate to talk about in a strangers house.  They knew I was there too.  Another time I found cigarette butts next to where they had parked.  There was no one else parked in that spot in my driveway.  They would take a smoke break about every hour.  Again, not very professional. 
There were many times that only one person was sent for the cleaning.  It took her 6 hours to clean my house.  I like to enjoy a clean house at least for a for the afternoon before the kids come home and start the mess over. Apparently they have a system where one must pay additional for wood floors and mudrooms.  I did pay the extra $% for my mudroom to be cleaned- which consisted mainly of them wiping the floor- no counters were ever cleaned- and the floor wasn't done the last time they were here.  I had carpet when they initially started, but had that removed and wood floors put in.  Then I figured out that they didn't do the new wood floors and called. Nate told me that he charges for wood cleaning.  But would only charge me $5 for the two new wood floors. They didn't do either!! I really don't have exceptionally high standards for these type services based on past experiences.  But... I do expect that when I call to alert them on particular items, they will follow through with what they say they will do.  This has not been the case with Cottage Care.  When I called to tell them that I would not be using their services anymore, Nate didn't answer, so I left a message.  He never called back to see why I was canceling.  I know he received my message because they didn't come on the next cleaning day.  Not professional.  I do like to see small businesses succeed but they also must provide good quality in the services they provide.  I did give them a try, even though they were much more expensive, expecting higher quality.  I definitely would not recommend this company!!

    I arranged for a ?deep? cleaning, including light fixtures, vacuuming for cob webs, floors, furniture, bathrooms, kitchen, etc. I called the owner of the franchise to stress that I needed a deep cleaning. He said that that?s the only type of cleaning they do.  I felt reassured, but ended up being extremely disappointed.
     It's been nearly a month, and everytime I run into cobwebs hanging from my ceiling, or a dusty picture frame or light fixture, I get reminded of the inadequate job they did. 
    When the 2 women arrived, they reeked of smoke. I didn't want that smell in my house, but I was having a dinner party the following day, and I needed help. We did a "walk through," and I asked them to vacuum some louvered doors, and they said that it would cost extra! Well, I had already agreed to pay $214.00!
    I stressed (numerous times) how important it was for them to vacuum for cobwebs. But I found cobwebs hanging from my light fixtures, and bathroom skylight. They obviously didn't do what I paid them to do.  
In addition to the need for better training, I think they need some new equipment. Their vacuum cleaner did not do a good job on the family room carpet.  
    The company offers to address any complaints that are made within 24 hours, but within that time, I had a house full of guests. There was no time to have cleaning people come back to my home within the timeframe they allow, so I was just out of luck. Before they started, I told them that I subscribe to Angie's List, and I looked forward to writing a good report. What a dissappointment for all concerned. 
    I'm angry.  I wasted $214.00. - And just before Christmas!

I was really, really disappointed. I got two Big Deals, one for my son and one for myself. It said deep cleaning and maybe I misunderstood. I thought it was for housecleaning and I thought it was for dusting and the kitchen wooden floor that hadn't been done for quite a while. It was for three hours. They stayed for one more hour. My husband and I left and I wasn't sure what they had done when we came back. What they had done was clean everything on the walls, including the pictures and mirrors. They did the bathrooms. They didn't dust any tables or lamps. I wouldn't have them again. There was nothing visible that they did. I had an open stairway and they didn’t touch that. I could write my name on the floor by the air vents so I know they didn’t do that. Maybe I misunderstood what the deep cleaning was for. The price was good and they were responsive. There were two of them that came and I told them that I wanted the kitchen floor done well and I don’t think it was done at all.

They come over other week and have come a couple times....Rated B on the quality b/c there are a few things (spots on the walls, shower, random cob web here or there) that I've noticed that don't get addressed but overall it's a great job! If I ordered a deep cleaning I'm sure it everything would be spotless --- take me with a grain of salt b/c I'm a self-admitted perfectionist and still happy with the work!