The following guide will help make hiring a local domestic cleaner much easier but you will still need to do some work before you can actually make a decision. Start the process by identifying all of the companies in your area that offer cleaning services, simple search terms like local cleaners should do the trick. After you have the list created then you will need to roll up your sleeves and get dirty (pun intended).

Qualities to Look for in a Local Domestic Cleaner

There are a few important qualities you will need to be on the lookout for when trying to select a suitable local cleaner, this is just a framework to run with.

• Does the local cleaning company have a website? The days of advertising in the phonebook are long gone, in order to compete a company will need to be online and have a professional looking website. Go to the website belonging to the cleaner and ask yourself whether it looks like a professional website, if it does not then you can remove that local cleaning company from your list of candidates.
• Try to avoid freelancing local cleaners. These are individuals that post on social networking websites, they do not have an official business but try to clean as a sideline source of income. There is nothing wrong with a person trying to supplement their income but there are potential drawbacks. One of the drawbacks is since this is a private citizen offering their services they do not have to be licensed, bonded or insured. This allows them to quote a lower price but you are making yourself vulnerable to potential lawsuits and a host of other legal problems.
• Is the cleaner licensed, bonded and insured? As a continuation from our previous point confirm whether the cleaner is licensed bonded and insured. Licensed means they have met the requirements set by the local government which gives them the right to offer these cleaning services. The process of “bonding” means the company does not employ any person that has a criminal record and the insurance aspect covers the cleaner and their employees if they get hurt on the job you are protected.

After you have run through these qualities your list of prospective local cleaners should have dropped considerably. What you have to do now is begin assessing these cleaners based on some intangible qualities that are also very important.

Start by finding out how long the local cleaner has been actively offering their services in the community. You should gravitate towards those that have been cleaning for a considerable number of years. The benefit of dealing with people who have been doing this work for quite some time is they will be more productive with their time than someone who is just starting out.

When you have established which of these domestic local cleaners have the most experience the next thing you will need to investigate is what kind of customer satisfaction track record these firms have which is not always easy to establish but we will give you a few tips.

Establishing the Reputation of a Local Cleaner

Go to the website of the local cleaner and click on testimonials to find out what people are saying about these local cleaners. The testimonials are going to be biased but it is a starting point and you can go from there. After you have established which of these local cleaners actually have a large number of testimonials on their website you should look for feedback that was left on the popular social networking websites. While reading over the testimonials that these individuals left it is going to become clear to you which of these local cleaners are going to be suitable and which you are not reliable.

When you have determined which of these local cleaners are reliable based on the reviews posted online you will need to start looking at the fee structure being quoted by each of them. There are some cleaners that are going to bill by the job and others by the hour, both have merit but you have to compile as many quotes as possible by all of the local cleaners before you can start the final leg of this review process.

Things to Consider When Reviewing Quotes from Local Cleaners

There are some things you will need to pay attention to when reading over the quotes being presented by the local cleaners. Start by finding out whether the local cleaner is asking you to sign a long term contract or will it be on an “as needed” basis. Every cleaner will naturally want a long term contract because it gives them a predictable cash flow that may not be in your best interest. If you do require a long term cleaner, then what you should do is ask the local cleaner to give you a better discount since you are giving them a commitment. The more established local cleaners will gladly give you a discounted rate for the commitment but you have to be proactive and ask for it.

The last thing you should look at is how the local cleaner takes care of their employees. This is a step that many individuals overlook but you want to deal with ethical business people. Look on the Internet for feedback that was left by individuals who used to work with the local cleaner, if the cleaner does not take good care of their employees then the quality and consistency of the cleaning work will suffer. Thanks to the outline we have prepared for you there should be no major challenges when you are trying to select the right local cleaner for your needs.