KIM'S CLEANING

Very bad. Do yourself a favor and 'pass' on Kim's Cleaning. On the first visit, Kim's sent 3 people and they did a good job. (Note: I work from home when not traveling, and am typically home on Fridays, the day they came. I work from my walkout basement, an area that they didn't clean for me.) Things went downhill fast. On the 2nd week, we were told that the third person we had last week quit after only one day. Instead we got a girl that looked like she was 16 years old. Within 10 minutes she came to me and told me she broke a unique candle holder I got at an art fair. Since the candle holder was only about 18 inches from the floor and the carpet was real thick, I wondered how she managed to break it. A few minutes later, I observed her about to use a kitchen/bathroom counter cleaner on my new wood coffee table. I am sure it would have runined the finish. When I said to her "what are you doing?' she looked totally clueless. Fortunately I caught this before she ruined the finish as Kim made no attempt to offer any discount, etc. for the item she broke (I paid arond $35-40 for it). After that first visit, the cleaning went from good to mediocre. Things like the glass door on my shower was streaked, obvious marks on my white cupboards were missed, things not dusted, etc. A pair of silver candle pillars were ruined apparently by some type of cleaner that was sprayed on it. On our last scheduled Friday, Kim called me 5 minutes before the crew was to arrive and told me she had to 'cancel' me because two of her crew didn't show up. I asked her to please get someone to clean as I was having a dinner party that weekend. She said she'd call me back that morning but she never did. She also told me that she 'wasn't making any money' on us. We're a child-free couple. I'm a career woman but pretty particular about my house being clean so this house, although fairly large, stays clean throughout the week. She offered me a price initially and I didn't try to get her to come down from that price and feel that as a business woman she should set a rate in which she can make a reasonable profit. This occurred in only 4 weeks. With the breakage, the mediocre cleaning job and the complete lack of professionalism on Kim's part, I would definitely say 'pass' on this service despite the discounts she offers in some of the local monthly shopper mailings. It appears that she has a 'revolving door' of employees and I suspect that she treats her employees and customers equally poorly. Being in a business where customer service is key, Kim fails pretty miserably.

Though the employees were friendly enough, the work was average and they are not very thorough. For example, they often didn't clean little things like certain counters, a tub, and mirrors. They also use your cleaning products and a bunch of paper towels (perhaps this is standard for this price range). The owner tends to be unresponsive and can be unprofessional. If you want the basics like vacuuming and mopping done, the price is good and it should be fine; for a thorough and more reliable cleaning, go with a franchise, or someone that's been around a bit longer.