The Maids Tri-County
About us
The Maids of Scotch Plains offers maid and house cleaning services you can trust. Our staff is bonded and insured. Products and equipment are provided. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Capet Cleaning Maintenance, Cleaning Services, Fall Cleaning Services, House Cleaning, Maid Service, Moving Cleaning Services, Same Day Cleaning Service, Spring Cleaning Services, Window Cleaning
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
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43% | ||
14% | ||
14% | ||
29% | ||
0% |
My story is similar to another review in that the initial contact with Arlene and the initial housecleaning were fantastic. She was very responsive and professional in providing all the cost details and setting up the initial visit to bring the house back up to a steady state. I was thrilled with the quality of that first visit and thought perhaps I had found my "forever housecleaning" service. I had let my last housekeeper go because she had started out really doing a nice job but then gradually went downhill over time (a couple of years).
The first visit was expensive (>$300) and five people spent three hours cleaning the house. But it looked fantastic. I set up biweekly visits for $150 each cleaning.
The first biweekly visit was pretty good. The house still looked pretty nice. There were a couple of very minor observations (a little cat hair here or there, some of the dusting maybe could have been a bit more detailed) but in general, the house looked good and nothing rose to the level of me triggering their "recleaning" policy. They did damage our bath mat with bleach; I didn't get upset or ask for any compensation because I have done the same thing myself when not rinsing the tub thoroughly or being careless with putting the mat back on the tub before it's dry. But I did let Arlene know when she called to confirm the next visit and she apologized on behalf of the team.
The second biweekly visit was not good at all. They failed to empty all the trash. There were actual pieces of debris and pet hair left on various floors through the house. The full bath floor hadn't been touched at all and was still dirty and there was dust on items, clearly indicating they hadn't dusted in the bathroom or other areas of the house. I was particularly upset because I had company coming in that weekend. It was a Friday so I couldn't call for a reclean so had to clean the house myself. I did call and leave Arlene a message as soon as I got home about the state of the house. I was also disappointed in that they say they have someone come in and inspect and sign off - it didn't seem possible that anyone could have walked in to the house, seen the mess and signed off that the house had been fully cleaned.
I can access the history of log ins for our security system so I checked to see how much time the team had spent in our house - about 40 minutes. I checked for the second visit and it was about 40 minutes as well. This didn't seem like much time to get everything done, given that they spent three hours on the first visit.
Arlene did call me promptly on Monday and was professional. She didn't push back much but did say she had asked her team if they had felt rushed and said indicated they had said they did not feel rushed. I told her there was no need for a reclean since I had already had to do it myself. And my genuine concern was whether they were allotting enough time to achieve the quality they promise. She said she'd talk to the team and she apologized. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I did not have a negative experience with Arlene and found her to be professional in dealing with me. I did not cancel at the time but have since decided to cancel the recurring service.
I understand that there may be times when one needs to give feedback to ensure the quality desired but I didn't expect it to go downhill so fast after just two visits and I just don't have time to deal with a housecleaning service that doesn't get it right the first time - especially for what seems like a reasonable chunk of money ($150 every two weeks). Part of the allure of The Maids was the recleaning policy, but since we had the service on a Friday, it really doesn't help me for when I'd need it most - which is usually on the weekends when we have company or entertain. I might consider using the Maids for one time cleanings or occasional cleanings when they do an hourly rate and really get the house clean. The house really did look fantastic after that first visit. But I will not use them for recurring biweekly service.
Sometimes they were a little outside of the time period the office said they would arrive in.
They scratched my stove, but I let it go because it's an easy mistake to make (pull the cast iron grate out onto the stainless steel).
Then, after almost a year of service, they scratched my floor in my living room, really badly. It was so bad that I called the office to complain, which, along with writing reviews is something I never do.
I called the office and spoke to Arlene, and she said she didn't "know how that could happen" and interrogated me about furniture placement and said she would send somebody by Monday to look at it.
All day Monday I waited and intentionally did not go out, but nobody showed. Later in the week I got a message from somebody in their office that they wanted to arrange a time to look at the scratches and how he can't "imagine that it's possible". At that point, I was annoyed nobody had come by Monday, and busy enough that I just wanted to let it go.
Next week rolls around and I get a message from Arlene confirming my appointment (she calls every time they come to confirm and usually no response is necessary) and she also mentions to give her a call about the scratches. I happen to be really busy, don't get a chance to return the call, and assume that The Maids are coming on Friday as usual.
On Friday, I realize I wasn't given a window for when they would be coming, so I call the office. I speak to Arlene, who gives me quite the attitude about not calling her back about the scratches, and I ask if The Maids were coming today and she said 'No' and so I told her they shouldn't ever come again.
Long story short:
Actual cleaning was ok with a few hiccups.
Office is awful to work with as soon as you have a problem. As soon as I complained about anything I felt I was instantly being accused of lying. NOT the right way to do business, especially as if they hadn't treated me that way, I would probably have remained a customer for years.
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