Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A. There are many things to consider when hiring someone to clean your home. Price is usually the top consideration but there are other more important factors besides price. Did you know that if you hire an independent house cleaner, and they get hurt in your home, that you could be sued? Did you know that some cleaning services try to skirt workers comp. and tax laws by claiming their staff are independent contractors? Many times these "independent contractors" are not insured and if something is damaged in your home you will often have no recourse. These are the dirty little secrets of the cleaning industry.
A legit service will have expenses such as office overhead, insurance and taxes to pay which is why the cost of hiring an legit service will be higher than hiring a cleaning lady off of Craigslist. Hiring a cleaning lady off of Craigslist, or hiring a service who misclassifies its staff, may be cheaper in the short term but can have consequences down the road. Be an informed consumer and do your homework. We've compiled a list of questions you should ask before making your final hiring decision. Remember...if the price seems so low it's too good to be true...there is a reason why.
Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?
A. That many of the people and companies advertising themselves as being a real business are actually running their "company" illegally. Especially those on sites Craigslist. Very few who advertise on these sites are legit businesses. Clients need to understand that these "companies" usually do not carry the proper insurance, they neglected to register their business with the state and they are often guilty of paying their workers "under the table" wages to avoid employer taxes. How else do you think they can undercut the prices of legit house cleaning services?
Buyer beware! Don't hire trunkslammers!
Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?
A. Ocean State House Cleaning believes that every successful company should give back to the community. With that in mind, we founded a non-profit organization called Cleaning for Heroes. Cleaning for Heroes provides no-cost cleaning and repair services to disabled and/or elderly veterans nationwide. Please see our website to learn more.
Ocean State House Cleaning also provides no-cost cleaning services to those fighting cancer or other life-threatening diseases. If you are fighting a life-threatening disease and cannot afford cleaning services, please give us a call. We'll be glad to help.
Ocean State House Cleaning has also helped to raise over $2,000 for local non-profit organizations including The Meeting Street School, Roger Williams Park Zoo and US Veterans Motorcycle Club.
Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A. Are you Insured? Bonded? Licensed?
Yes, Yes and No. We are not licensed because there is no licensing procedure for maid services in RI.
Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.
A. Our pricing structure is based upon the type and level of cleaning desired and the square footage of the home.