Posts Tagged ‘domestic services’
Written by HomeMaid on 09 June 2010
Safe Trader
One of our clients suggested we become a “Safe Trader” – which initially confused me, I have to confess. HomeMaid have always been “safe”, professionally insured and only use CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) cleared staff.
I went away to do some more research and it transpires that Trading Standards operate an approval scheme for local traders, funded by Lancashire County Council. The purpose of the scheme is to promote to Lancashire consumers reliable local traders with which to do business. This means you can support your local business community without worrying about cowboy or rogue traders.
Safe Trader Code of Practice
All traders who complete the approval process, must operate within the schemes “Code of Practice”, designed to minimise the risk to potential customers when purchasing goods and services.
You can read more on the Safe Trader website but a couple of things are worth highlighting quickly here.
All traders must possess public liability insurance covering a minimum of £2 million pounds liability. Where applicable, businesses must also possess employers’ liability insurance covering a minimum of £5 million pounds liability.
HomeMaid Domestic Cleaning are the only local company (so far as we are aware) that also have the added protection of “Fidelity Bonding” an extra level of insurance to protect clients and give them real peace of mind.
All Businesses approved under this scheme have a responsibility to trade fairly and provide good quality customer service. Here at HomeMaid we have always offered guaranteed cleaning services, believing that our operating methods and quality control measures give a high level of service.
Enhanced Listing
We will be pursuing an enhanced listing in the coming weeks, watch out for that announcement. Meanwhile why not get a free cleaning quote for your home? Free Domestic Cleaning Quote, you can rely on HomeMaid, a quality cleaning company.
Tags: cleaning companies, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic cleaning quote, domestic cleaning rawtenstall, domestic services, eco house cleaning, safe trader, trading standards approved
Posted in HomeMaid | 1 Comment »
Written by HomeMaid on 27 April 2010
We have now installed to wonderful technology that posts our blog straight to both our Twitter account and onto our Facebook page! We need everyones help to increase our followers so please visit and subscribe to the blog – there will be a growing list of things to help you around the home, such as “Stain Removal Tips” and “Eco-Cleaning Tips” to name but a few. We’re not suggest you read every post we make, but come back when you need some advice with a cleaning problem.
If you can find the answer, let us know, we probably know someone who can help or we’ll do some extra research on your behalf if we can.
Tags: cleaning blog, domestic services, house cleaning
Posted in General News | 1 Comment »
Written by HomeMaid on 16 April 2010
The headline reflects the most commonly asked question when someone calls us to discuss our service – ” how much an hour do you charge?”. Of course that would seem the most logical but then did you stop to think about what it is your buying? Have you considered the safety of your home, your family and who might have to foot the bill in the event of an accident?
Choosing A Cleaning Service
There are dozens of cleaning “companies” to choose from, search the web, pick up the local paper or ask a friend, there is no shortage of potential cleaning services. However would you know the implications of each service and how that might affect you, your family and your home?
Individuals As Cleaners
This can be the best solution for many, if you have a neighbour or friend who you get along with can help you out and it will always be cheaper than any company. However if you dont know them personally it can be a real minefield of problems.
Insurance; Are You Protected?
Let me explain, whilst any registered company is legally required to have a minimum of Public Liability Insurance, however there is no such requirement for individuals and that’s just the start of the potential problems.
Your home insurance generally doesnt for accidents to employees, e.g. Mrs Bloggs, your cleaner falls downstairs and breaks her leg. Who is she going to pursue for compensation? It might concern you to know, that its you who will be sued and without insurance and legal protection, could be a financial disaster for your family.
Fidelity Bonding Explained
What happens if your cleaner is dishonest? Most companies and almost certainly no individuals will have the correct insurance cover to protect you. You need to ask if they have something called “Fidelity Bonding”, which is a specialist insurance for cleaning companies and the like. It protects you against misuse of phones, identity theft and so on. The number of companies with this added protection are surprisingly few. Just be sure to ask your prospective cleaner if they have this, or you might have a bigger bill than you ever imagined.
You, The Employer
If you employ an individual you then become the employer and responsible for filing details with HMRC, holiday pay, sick pay, health and safety amongst other things. Its around now you might be thinking that £11 an hour isn’t cheap any more?
Cleaning Products, The Hidden Costs
Most cleaning companies will include all the products used in their price, whereas individuals and most cleaning agencies provide the manpower and you provide the products. Its a massive hidden cost that most forget to factor in to their decision. Here at HomeMaid we buy in bulk from specialist suppliers and its vastly cheaper than buying from a supermarket. Still think £11 an hour is good value?
The Added Value
We at HomeMaid pride ourselves on going the extra mile both with the service but also the investment in technology; we routinely use HEPA-Flo filtered vacuums, a real boon for 25% of the population of allergy sufferers, but for those non-sufferers the knowledge that your home is hygienically cleaner. The comprehensive use of micro-fibre cloths helps reduce both the visible and invisible dirt (bacteria) and all of this, is part of the HomeMaid service.
The Price Per Hour
The hourly rate is only of interest when you compare the value and what you get for every pound spent. We’re not the cheapest but that was never the intention, there is always someone prepared to cut corners and cut the price. When you understand the hidden costs it makes hiring at £11 an hour not only quite expensive, but your are taking huge risks with your home and family. Failing to notify HMRC that you have employed someone is serious, whilst being uninsured in the event of an accident or dishonesty could be catastrophic for you.
We prefer the principals of quality, peace of mind for our clients and a loyal, happy band of customers. We are neither the cheapest, not the most expensive, but we are the most focused on customer satisfaction.
You can get a FREE HomeMaid Home Cleaning quote now!
Tags: cleaning companies, cleaning quotes, cleaning rates, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic cleaning quote, domestic cleaning rawtenstall, domestic services, HomeMaid, house cleaning, house cleaning price, house cleaning quote
Posted in General News, HomeMaid | 8 Comments »
Written by HomeMaid on 11 April 2010
Over the past couple of years we have met a variety of tradesmen, self employed tradesmen and business owners, many of whom share our “quality ethos” and sense of pride in our work. After all, it goes without saying, the better your work, the more people refer you, the busier you are. Simple really, shame people like BT dont have the same thoughts!
New Web Page
We’ve created a new web page on our website, specifically for “Services We Like”, to share this information with everyone who visits our site. Previously you will have had to rely on meeting us in person and me in particular having my memory switched on! Something that cant always be guaranteed these days!
Selected Few
This wont be a free-for-all with everyone adding names and businesses, it will be restricted to services or people we know personally or that we have had a strong recommendation from an established customer. We simply want to promote those services or products that we know are of a high standard so you don’t have take pot luck when buying in other services or products.
Be sure to check back regularly as the list will grow…services we like
Tags: domestic services, home services, HomeMaid
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Written by HomeMaid on 13 December 2009
No this isnt one of those US style motivational sales systems, its much more fundamental than that. I used to work in IT sales and I’ve endured many a motivational(?) speaker about this system and that system and how to use this “close” and that “close”, however much of it was common sense! It seems common sense to me that the best sales force any company can have is its customers. They are the people that have tried your service and are regular clients. They know your service, your staff and so on and rely on you to provide a product or service.
The Customer Is King
It is often forgotten by many companies that the customer is king, listen to their needs and desires and if you can fulfill them you will have a loyal happy customer. Easy right? No, not by a long way, it takes committment, energy and patience to turn customer wants into viable products and services. Your customer has a choice, a choice to buy from you or someone else.
I like to think at HomeMaid we listen, sure we have our systems and ExpertMaid methods, but we always visit a potential new client at home. We listen to them and talk to them about whats important, what rooms have priorities, pets, kids and even watering plants! When we have cleaned we welcome feedback, its the best quality control system in the world – just let your customers feel comfortable about communicating with you.
Customer Referrals & Testimonials
If you give a customer a good service or provide a great product, they will remember for sure. Provide that service many times and they will be amazed with your consistency and reliability. They will gladly give you a testimonial to show other potential clients. A business that can show many testimonials absolutely demonstrates that it provides a high quality AND consistent service.
We publish our testimonials on our website for everyone to see. Obviously we dont publish all their information but the originals are there for inspection. However, the words are all theirs, as they come to us.
Our Best Salespeople
Actually we dont employ any salespeople, our salesforce works for free. They spread the word by telling their friends, neighbours and colleagues about our service. They write testimonials for you to read and rely on. We know we do a great job, because our customers tell us we do; read our home cleaning testimonials for proof.
Why not find out for yourself the difference a high quality cleaning company can make to your life, restore the work/life balance in your life in just a few clicks. Give me a FREE Home Cleaning Quote
Tags: cleaning companies, cleaning quotes, cleaning rates, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning quote, domestic services, HomeMaid
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Written by HomeMaid on 30 January 2009
Beautiful, black . shiny ceramic hobs are becoming increasingly popular in many of our clients homes, including our own. They are brilliant to cook on, look fantastic but can be a pain to clean. It was an area we were having trouble bringing some ceramic hobs upto the “HomeMaid Clean” standard.
Ceramic Hob Cleaners Tested
Having researched the products available we are going to trial four of the best. These products should be similar in the ‘end result’ but their prices range from £1.90 to a staggering £7.20, it doesn’t always follow that the more expensive is naturally the best but, always keen to get the best product, we’ll give it a go, we want to be able to provide the very best cleaning solution for our clients.
Ceramic Hob Trials
This was an interesting trial, all the products had some good points and some bad ones too, one didn’t work at all no matter how many times I read the instructions and used the cleaner exactly as instructed, this one went in the bin immediately!! Its worth noting having just fitted a lovely shiny ceramic hob at home, the initial trials were done in our own kitchen.
Ceramic Hobs Cleaned
The other three were pretty much on par. After using all three on separate occassions it became clear that one was harder to remove the residue and left a white powdery smear on the ceramic, a lot of polishing with one of our Microfibre cloths did the trick but it was time consuming and hard work!
The Winner
So that left two and the clear winner was Hob Brite, it does exactly what it says on the tin, it can be used on ceramic, electric, halogen and induction hobs. Hob Brite is also recommended by some of the top brands such as Baumatic, Zannussi, Creda, Belling and Neff amongst others. I guess this should’ve have been our one and only choice, but hey, if you don’t try you don’t know for sure!
No wonder it is already billed as the UK’s No 1 hob cleaner, the powerful formula cuts through the toughest burnt on food leaving the hob sparkling clean. If used regularly it even builds up an invisible film that protects against staining.
There it is then if it’s good enough to be the UK’s No 1 then its good enough for HomeMaid’s clients!
Tags: domestic cleaning, domestic services, home cleaning tips, home services, HomeMaid, house cleaning, house cleaning products
Posted in Domestic Service Updates | Comments Off
Written by HomeMaid on 05 September 2008
The Downside of Cylinder Vacuums
We have always found that a cylinder vacuum cleaner is far more effective than an upright vacuum cleaner for HomeMaid’s purposes, being generally lighter and more maneuverable than an upright. However, one of the downsides is the actual floor brush itself, its generally just a flat inactive “slider” design which requires a lot of physical effort to make it work. Our cleaners found that for things like long hair, pet hair and threads the standard brush just didnt pick up even though the suction was still 100%. We needed something that didn’t need “Popeye” arms to make it work well!
Improved Carpet Cleaning Power
We found an alternative brush, the ‘Airo Brush’ that is widely advertised at being able to achieve the high standards that HomeMaid require.
The Airo Brush is described as ‘an exceptional floor nozzle developed to provide quick and efficient carpet care. It grooms the whole carpet and will allow power brush results where uprights can rarely go.’
Excellent Performance
We had excellent results for the Airo Brush in trials, fast, effective and easy to use, much improved performance and most importantly, improvements noticed by our customers! It picked up human hair and pet hair easily without losing any suction, whilst cotton thread etc just disappeared. The staff in the trials reported cleaning faster and easier over large areas. It was much less effort to use with a huge improvement in cleaning power. Perfect!
Insist on Airo Brushes
The Airo Brush by Numatic is a terrific product that will extend the capabilities of HomeMaids vacuum cleaners, and certainly closes the performance gap between cylinders and a good upright when it comes to vacuuming carpets. It’s a durable and well-engineered addition to HomeMaid’s toolkit, which gives outstanding results.
A truly high performance brush, make sure your cleaning service includes these in their kit list!
Tags: airo brush, cylinder vacuums, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning in accrington, domestic cleaning in blackburn, domestic cleaning in burnley, domestic cleaning in clitheroe, domestic services, house cleaning products, numatic
Posted in Domestic Service Updates | Comments Off
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