Hiring A Maid Service

Today's busy lifestyles leave little free time, causing many to look into hiring a maid service to take care of important yet time consuming household cleaning. However, before you call and make an appointment, you should be clear about who is coming to your home.

Issues to be mindful of:

Bonding: Ensure that the maid service is bonded for the house cleaning clientele it keeps. If something is stolen, you will need to have protection. Some companies, even those that are bonded, protect themselves but not their clients.

Insurance: Be certain that the company you choose insures its workers. Accidents happen, and if a maid is hurt while cleaning your house, it might not by covered by your homeowner's policy. Liability and employee accident insurance should be provided by the maid service and should cover your home in addition to the housecleaner(s) and the company.

Equipment: Find out what your home cleaning will include. Some maid services and independent housekeepers require you to purchase the cleaning supplies and equipment. If the equipment is being supplied by the maid service, make sure you know how efficient the vacuum and its filtration system are.

Satisfaction: Inquire about how the maid service measures the satisfaction of their customers, including the method they use to gather the feedback. Is there a survey that is completed on a paper form or online? Will a supervisor call you after the house cleaning to ensure that your needs were met or exceeded? What a company will do to ensure customer satisfaction is often equal to how important their customers are to them.

Quality Assurance: What are the procedures for the service's quality assurance? What steps are taken to ensure and confirm that a high quality of service is upheld? Check to see that the maid service has procedures in place to make sure that the quality of their cleaning consistently meets high standards. Be sure that the company provides quality control by having managers inspect the cleaning.

Guarantee: Ask how the maid service deals with customer complaints and be sure that the service includes a satisfaction guarantee in writing. Before the house cleaning takes place, you should be familiar with the guarantee and with what you need to do to call in the guarantee if you need to.

Taxes: Be sure that you are not violating any tax laws. If you are paying a maid or a housekeeper a given amount yearly, federal law may require you to pay for certain taxes and social security for him or her. In addition, some states require that state taxes be withheld on payments under $1,000. As a rule, maid services will withhold taxes for their employees, but be sure to verify that. You will be required to pay social security and other taxes on an individual who earns at least $1200 per year from you as your housekeeper or maid. Call the IRS to learn more about taxes on household employees.