Merry Maids of Knoxville, TN

They were excellent.

From bad to worse. Starting with non-response to request for quote. One month later when we finally got a quote I found the franchisee/owner to be rigid and best understanding only that which makes him a profit, and not at all understanding some basic things about cleaning. Part of the issue no doubt is the corporate framework affecting both what they can do and the price - which was ridiculous. But that does not excuse what seemed to me to be an authoritarian attitude on his part. The coup de gras was when I explained to him that his quote was unacceptable and that we would not consider his service, and he went on to say that we would be calling him to clean up the mess another cleaner made. Sorry, with that I not only won't use Merry Maids in Knoxville (ever) but I also won't use any other location should we move.

They lost things. I found half of a coffee pot. I had an espresso pot that they lost the bottom of. I don't know how you do that, but they did. They did do the cleaning for three months. It was just not working. They had a hard time with it. They were losing stuff and things getting broken. They were always moving around on me. I would not use them again.

They come every other week. We have had them for many years. They are very very reliable. They always send somebody. The cleaning itself is uneven. Some are much thorough than others. I'm not going to complain about it, because I just want the basic stuff done.They do that just fine. Ordinarily, there is one worker. Sometimes two come. The same woman comes. When she has a conflict, or she is training someone, or they are training someone, that is when you get two people. The work takes about two and a half, to three hours. The area is satisfactory. Its not the way I would do it. They don't earn tons of money. They do ok. They show up. They are totally reliable. The woman who does the house can't show up on Monday. Something happens on the weekend. The people and the manager call and say she is out. They would send someone else out, or she can come the day after tomorrow. They are great about their service. They have never not called.

unknown

I like when someone can come in and clean my house. They always do a good job. However, there is always a different person each time.

Made the mistake of signing a contract.....never do that again. Sales woman stated "we always try to send the same crew" well that happened once. Only had them clean three times because they do not clean. Nothing is picked up to dust, only dust around things, I wrote my name in the yuk on my range hood after they cleaned. Called the office and complained, sent cleaner back, supposedly with a list of things I had complained about, including the range hood. Still did not clean the range hood or move anything to dust. Called again, had to wait until the following week, so their we'll keep cleaning until we get it right guarantee is not true. When items in your home are missing after they clean, they say not their people. So I would just stay away from this business.

I didn't like anything about this company. They are not consistent. When the girl comes out to give you your estimate, I think she inflates some of the things that the girls are going to do each time thay are here to clean. It got to the point to where I stopped calling to complain, because I did not want to call every time they came out. They have always been willing to send someone out to do the job again, but I don't feel like I should have to continue to call to complain. They're only coming out twice more, and then we will switch services.

I hired them to do an initial cleaning and organization then continue every other week.  The bedroom and living room was good but the kitchen was mostly cosmetic.  It initially looked very good. I asked if there were things that they needed as I could go to Home Depot and get whatever (boxes, etc).  They declined.
   After being frustrated for over a month about not finding things and things just shoved in a corner, I wrote an email.  I got a response with questions  of which I answered.  It has now been weeks and I have not heard anything.  They are very unprofessional when it comes to scheduling, communications and general business etiquette.- I had one lady come for about 3 weeks and I liked her.  She was very honest and thorough.  The next thing I know there was another couple of ladies come in.  One was a trainee.   I saw them once and never again. 
  I asked about the original one and they said she was on a long cleaning that day. I think they fired her because she did a good job and was very customer oriented, not just trying to get to the next job.   Never saw her again.  I have had the same one for two weeks  She cleans very well and is very friendly.  She asks if there is anything special that I would like to have done.  I have not asked yet.  She did make my bed when I left sheets out.   I would like to have one person regularly so I can get to know them and and a good feel for how trustworthy they are.  I am a very good judge of character.
  They expect the job to be done quickly so they can do as many a day as possible.  They also require you sign a contract with a monetary release.  At first I did not complain as my house was a mess in the beginning - I had been sick for over a year and not able to do much..  Everything looked good.  I was not able to examine everything at first and just started using things.  There is dead space in the back of the cabinets that I did not use.  It was unusable space and not very easy to access.  I had it empty.  They filled it up and I cannot reach anything in that area without two steps on a ladder.  Balance and coordination is part of my ailments.  I have fallen a lot (not because of the space) and have hurt myself enough to go to the hospital a few times.  I may not have relayed this but assumed they would not fill that space up.  They also did nothing to a cabinet that was an add-on for more space.  It was not organized at all.  It was just stuffed in boxes and put back in the space.  There is a box next to it that they put anything they thought was not needed.  I have went through it and it has things that should be part of the kitchen but stuffed in there.  I put a lot of things in boxes and put them in a back room.  They were going to help me sort paperwork and other things that did not occur.  I do not feel that I was adequately organized in the beginning and I now have a lot to do to get back on my feet.  I am cosmetically clean but underneath everything,  I still have a mess.  Be aware.

I used Merry Maids for quite a long period of time (over a year).  The work was always very good and I loved to come home on cleaning day.  However, we had lots of issues with scheduling.  First, it was almost impossible to have the housekeeper come on days later in the week.  My only hard-and-fast rule was that the housekeeper needed to be out of the house by 5 on whatever day they came.  (What good are mopped floors when your kids will mess them up).  They just kept coming later and later- even when I would call and express  my concern.  Then we had folks just not show up-- we understand that things can happen on occassion, but it just seemed like they didn't want our business.  We've changed services and are very happy.

They are horrible and don't know how to clean. They don't talk to each other in the office so the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. They lie through their teeth and I could never recommend them. You have to sign a contract which they did not live up to but my husband did not feel like fighting it so we canceled the contract and had to pay an additional $160 but it was worth it just to get rid of them. They do not know how to clean; when I am chasing dog hair down the hallway when they were just pulling out of the driveway after you have cleaned that tells me you do not know how to clean. Plus the fact that I have a plastic placemat that I put under the animals' water dish. One time when they did not come I picked it up to vacuum and wash the floor. They had put the mat down on a wet floor; that causes mold. They said I could call them back if something is wrong; if I did they would be living here; they just need to do it right the first time. Every time they came there would be something else different wrong.

The payment is automatic.  They do a good job.  I have never had any problems with them.  They are really thorough.  The price is a little on the high side, but it's worth it.

So to end this rating, we have only a few cleanings left on our contract and believe me we will NEVER RENEW with Merry Maids. We have interviewed several House Keepers in addition we have observed them cleaning and we have nothing but praise from the people they clean for. We have finally narrowed it down to one specific girl and we are really hoping we have picked the correct one but if not, we have several others to try.

MERRY MAIDS HAS HAD US TIED UP WITH THEM FOR NINE MONTHS AND WE BELIEVE THE CONTRACT DOESN'T END FOR ANOTHER MONTH, YOU ALL CAN REST ASSURED WE WILL NEVER USE THIS COMPANY FOR ANYTHING EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!

I signed a sixteen week agreement because I was so impressed with their cleaning service. At my house, we get our money's worth. They are very punctual. They call the day before to let you know that they are coming. You can leave a check for them and they will pick it up. I have two cats that are escape artists. They make sure my babies are here when I get home. I have referred them to a couple of the doctors that I work for.

As with other reviews, they were about 2-3 hours late with the office giving me different reasons. I also think they are overscheduled. It was late on a Friday when they finally did arrive and they were all probably worn out and seemed very rushed. There were some things that were not up to par compared to the $220 paid and some things they missed but the maids were nice and the lady in charge called to alert us to a plumbing leak that we were not aware of and might not have found that could have caused massive damage - VERY NICE of her to do that. I do like that they are bonded and insured. I did have to go around after them and redo some things that were about 75% clean - corners, etc. The window washing company I used through them was very nice though pretty expensive. They did make a real effort to get to some of the windows that were very hard to reach.

I have used the service a few times; the most recent was September 23, 2009. The service sometimes calls the day before with an estimated arrival time (sometimes there is no call). This time is nearly always wildly inaccurate (one time I was told the arrival would be between 8 and 10 AM, and the maids arrived at 3:30 PM). When I call to check up, I am usually told that the maids are "finishing up" at the previous house, and even then often they don't arrive for two or three hours. One time they didn't come at all on the scheduled day, even though repeated calls to the company were met with a "they'll be right over," even up until closing time. September 23 was a reschedule date, because on the previous day (9/22) of the original appointment, they did not show 4 hours after the latest estimated arrival time, and we could not put off the day's chores any longer. On September 23, they arrived 3 hours after the latest arrival time window, but my husband was home, so they cleaned. The job was done about on par with their other work (see below). I don't fault the women who clean the houses -- they seem overworked, and I know they are massively overscheduled. However, the consequences of the company cramming too many jobs into one day can be seen both in the inaccurate arrival times and the quality of work. The women clean very, very quickly in order to get to the next job, and while they clean the bathrooms and kitchen counters well, there are always dustballs or crumbs/grime left on the floor that the quick mop flourish did not clean up. I have no problem with the maids themselves, but the company's scheduling practices make it impossible for them to work well.

I had trouble getting them to do what they said they would do. I called the manager and nothing changed. They didn't move things to vacuum and I saw some girls on a cell phone while working. They weren't terrible just not good.

Services began in August, 2007. According to our notes from the initial visit we were told to expect 8-12 man-hours per visit. We acknowledge that number is unrealistic. However we did expect 4-6 man hrs. After the January cleaning we complained about quality and a supervisor inspected the results of the February cleaning. In March, 2 employees were in our home for 60 minutes, i.e., 2 man-hours. I saw them arrive and leave. Many things were missed, including the cleaning of the rim of 2 toilet bowls. We have discontinued our contract.

The crew arrived on time and worked hard. I thought the house looked quite nice when they finished.

I used to have a housekeeper who was absolutely marvelous so when I lost her the bar was pretty high. Merry Maids does an adequate job, dependable but not spectacular. Until something noticeably better comes my way Merry Maids will certainly do.

I really like using them because they are very dependable and I have had the same girl coming out for four years. We get along great and I trust her very much. I like knowing that it s the same person every time and they know how I like things done without me having to explain it over and over again to different people. She does an excellent job cleaning my house.