Merry Maids of Eugene

The quality of work was good.

This was the WORST cleaning service I have EVER used. I should have known after the first "deep clean" that they had a skewed sense of what the word clean meant.  I called Patty O'Neal, who was the scheduler/contact person. I will deviate to say I found her to be very professional and responsive. However, I tried MANY crews and combinations thereof and was always sorely disappointed. Yes, I have high standards for cleanliness....so perhaps I am to blame here. I took pictures and always contacted Patty after the MANY MANY bad clean jobs. It was ALWAYS substandard. I am at the end of my services and have given up on trying to get a good clean job from them.  They are lazy and always take short cuts. Patty always sends the crew back to 'guarantee' the work, but it is awkward and quite frankly, they couldn't do it right the first time.....so I have very little hope for the same crew returning. Anyhow, I have had dirty toilets (with pictures), floors where they claimed to have mopped that had easily removed debris and dirt when I passed a wipe over it, Countless items....really too many to list. When they come, they supposedly make beds. This is hit or miss. When they do make them, it looks like my 8yr old son made it (while half asleep). It really is a pathetic attempt at cleaning that these ladies do.  
I signed up for the 6mo service because Patty was so professional and seemed very competent and sure of the work the crews could provide. Unfortunately, she was wrong and I was foolish to trust. I am eager to find a better cleaning crew. I know it's possible because I have had excellent cleaning crews before. I feel like I am wasting 218/week every time they show up. They come and do as little as possible....I have just grown tired of reminding them or having them come back every time to do it right. It is an inconvenience and I should not have to go out of my way for them to do a good job.
Please, if you have any standards for a clean home...DO NOT hire Merry Maids.

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Merry Maids did an excellent job cleaning our house. They really performed a deep cleaning, getting all dust, cob webs, scrubbing the bathrooms and kitchen, thoroughly cleaning our furniture, including under couch cushions, cleaning windows including the outside of glass doors, cleaning inside lamp shades, and so on. Basically everything you could possibly need to have done in a house except dishes, laundry and litter boxes.
Total time taken: Team of 3 people spent about 6-7 hours here.
We found Merry Maids' housekeepers to be very punctual, professional, friendly, outgoing, and trustworthy. After speaking to them for 10 minutes or so and showing them around, we felt confident that we could leave them alone in our house for the day. They did a great job, were very meticulous, and went over everything twice to make sure all the work was done to perfection. We were very pleased with their work, and can highly recommend them on the basis of their cleaners.
In fact, if we could hire their cleaners directly, we would, because the organization around it is a little over the top. We've dealt with them before, and though they are very responsive, on time, and will never keep you waiting, I simply dislike the whole process of having someone come inspect the house, then go over their business spiel with you, and then after the cleaning come back and do a check up and such, especially when we told them several times that we were only hiring them for a single cleaning. I want to be able to say: I want [x] number of cleaners to come to our house, on this day, and to clean for [x] number of hours. Because I have a certain amount of time that I have available in my schedule to deal with people around my house, and I just want to pay people by the hour so I have a clear rate.
The amount they charge is actually the only part that we have a serious problem with, and I suspect it is the sole reason they are not the best cleaners in town, because the work is good. Even though our house is only 5 years old, and has had regular cleaning until recently, they charged us $829 for a deep cleaning (basically just getting us 'up to date' for a regular cleaning lady to start coming in again, after a few months of not having one). Note that our old housekeeper, who retired, charged us only $75 every two weeks, for 4-5 hours, and kept our house perfectly clean.
I calculated afterwards what Merry Maids' hourly rate seems to be, based on the number of people they brought over and how long they stayed, and found it to be around $40 (!!) per hour. That is extremely high for Eugene, where cheap housekeepers are $10-15, and expensive ones $20-25. They did a great job, and a lot of work needed to be done for a deep cleaning, but I still don't see why I should pay $40/hour for that. I can just hire a single regular cleaning lady, or a team of two as you can easily find in Eugene, and get them to stay a little longer. The only major advantages at Merry Maids are that someone comes to inspect their work (though really, I can do that myself), and that they bring their own materials (but so did my last housekeeper for $15/hour). They did give me a maintenance estimate, for a biweekly cleaning, which was much lower, but at around $170, it's still more than TWICE what my last housekeeper charged, and it's still around $35-40/hour.
In short, outstanding service, great housekeepers, we were very satisfied with the work, but $40/hour is just too much. I would probably hire them again if I needed a major move-out cleaning or something done, but for regular housekeeping services I will find someone else.

I had just finished with a biweekly cleaning person. I did not expect a thorough job, but I found they did very poor cleaning. The worst was that they did not run a dust mop under my bed. (I have 4 dogs and hardwood floors.) They have charts that list what they clean, they ask for feedback, but I got tired of the weekly reports.

I am not a very tidy housekeeper, I need help. Even though Merry Maids are a bit more expensive, it was well worth it. The house sparkles and it is easier for me to keep it clean until their next visit. The house cleaners just work, no talking, I saw no breaks, they just do it until they're done.
I would reccommend them to anybody.

I like that they are thorough and are here when they say they will be. The people who come are friendly, professional, and pleasant. They like my dog and are just really nice people.

This work is on going so I will just respond to the fact that it was the best decison I ever made to hire Merry Maids. THey are so professional and bonded. I am never home when they are here and they lock my house up perfectly when they leave. I would not be as happy as I am today without this service. It has really releived a huge burden for me. I have had 2 back surgeries in the past 5 years and doing housework was such a chore. Now I can just enjoy my beautiful home that is squeaky clean and always smells so good.

They spend about an hour and twenty minutes, and their charges are too much. That's why I don't use them anymore. They do a decent job of cleaning, but I don't think they are worth that much for an hour and twenty minutes.

For the cost, the cleaning was not at all thorough. It was a young grew and they worked slowly. They were here for six hours. They make you buy a very thorough cleaning the first time you use them but it wasn't a job well done or worth the money. They broke a plate on my wall and the company has not reimbursed me for its value.

The important thing to note about Merry Maids is that all of the service providers are bonded which is a nice comfort when you have someone working in your home. Because of this they will be more expensive than some of the others.

I have been using them for the past three and a half years. They do a very good job and they are punctual. They pay attention to everything. If they don't pay attention and I call them, then they would come immediately to fix it or send a new team. They address my concerns immediately. Their supervisor or manager comes and checks once in a while whether or not they are doing all their jobs. They are trustworthy and reliable. I don't have to pay any attention when the house gets cleaned as they do a good job and they know their profession. Hence, I have been their customer for more than three and a half years.

They did everything they said they would, but it wasn't the thoroughness I was expecting. $283 for a 1,000 sq. ft. place, I expected things to sparkle. I want every crevice cleaned out. I think whoever runs Merry Maids needs to worry less about the quantity of houses each team gets to in a day and more about the quality of work their employees are doing. (which I think comes down to not having enough time) One of the gals said each team cleans about 4 houses a day; that's just too many houses to "deep clean" like they advertise. I could tell by the end, the gals were rushing and were out of steam. I should also mention that my house is fairly easy to clean. i.e. they didn't have to waste time picking things up. We have a professional organizer who comes once a week to make sure everything stays tidy. I probably wouldn't hire Merry Maids again. I think I'd rather go with one or two individuals who devote an entire day to just my house.

They have not been easy to work with to change how much I need them to come. The contract was signed when I wasn't sure exactly what my needs were. Now that they have changed I have found that they have been hard to work with to change the terms of the contract. It seemed that they were more worried about getting their money than about my needs. I do feel guilty because I did sign the contract so it is not entirely their fault. The actual gals who came to do the work were wonderful. They were very thorough and did excellent work. They were actually very caring. In fairness they said that they liked working for merry maids because they manage their business very well. It is a very professional group, and I am very happy with the service I just couldn't quite afford them with my situation.