Maid to order for busy lifestyles

Cleaning services save time and keeping things sparkling.
By REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
These days, busy working parents barely have time to make a cup of coffee, let alone scrub the bathtubs and toilets in their brand-new, four-bedroom, three-bathroom homes.
But just as certain as death and taxes are mold and mildew, and there's no escaping their dirty stronghold, no matter how busy you happen to be.
So when the dust settles at the end of a hectic day, many busy people find themselves reaching for the telephone and calling a cleaning service.
Cathy Taylor, part owner of Molly Maid of Trumbull and Mahoning counties, based in Youngstown, said never before have cleaning services been in such demand.
"People are pressed for time and need someone else to do their cleaning. The bulk of our clientele are two-income families with parents that just don't have the time to clean their big houses," Taylor said.
"People want the nice house and they want it to be clean, but they would rather spend time with their kids in the evenings after work than they would dusting and sweeping."
Taylor said the needs of clientele vary, but most desire general cleaning.
"Dusting, sweeping, cleaning and sanitizing the bathrooms and kitchens -- those are the most common requests," she said.
Flexible: Most cleaning services allow the client to decide on the frequency of cleaning.
"Some people want us to come once a week, while some prefer twice a week. Others want us every other week, and some want us to come just once a month. We don't require people to sign a contract. If they just want us to come one time, that is OK," Taylor said.
Unlike some services that charge by the hour, Molly Maid charges customers by the job. Prospective clients are given home estimates before hiring the service.
"We have an employee go to the client's home and give a cost estimate based on the size of the home and what the client wants done," Taylor said. "The lowest rate we have is $53, an amount that includes sales tax."
Taylor said people often forget sales tax will be involved.
"We are a business with insurance, workers' compensation and, yes, sales tax," she said. "If you have a person come into your home who is not working under these terms, you run the risk of being at fault if that person were to get injured while cleaning your home."
Taylor said most clients in Trumbull and Mahoning counties end up paying about $80 to have their homes cleaned.
"That seems to be the average figure in this area. It would probably be higher if you were living elsewhere because we live in a low-priced area compared to the rest of the country," she said.
Two Molly Maid employees are assigned to clean one house. Taylor said having two people work together makes the job less tiring because partners can alternate chores. A Molly Maid team usually cleans four to six houses in one day.
Currently Taylor employs about 15 people. Her employees are paid a percentage of the designated rate.
Taylor and her sister, Judy DeCamp, have owned Molly Maid, which is a franchise business, for eight years. Taylor and DeCamp do not do any of the cleaning.
Besides busy working parents, Taylor said the next largest group of Molly Maid clientele is senior citizens.
"We clean for a lot of seniors, but lots of them only want us to come once a month because they are on a fixed income and because their homes do not get as dirty," she said.
Molly Maid serves clientele in Trumbull and Mahoning counties, but the service does not send workers to homes in rural areas of the counties.
"It's too far of a drive for it to be profitable," Taylor said. "The bulk of our customers are in areas like Boardman, Poland, Canfield, Struthers, Warren, Cortland and Howland."
Spring Clean Maids of Cortland also serves customers inTrumbull County, but unlike Molly Maids, Spring Clean Maids will clean homes in rural areas and charges clients by the hour.
"Our rates start at $35 to $40 an hour and go up from there," said Cindy Smith, daughter of Janet Mackey, an office manager for Spring Clean Maids.
Like Molly Maids, Spring Clean Maids will visit a client's home as often as twice a week or as little as once a year, but unlike Molly Maids, Spring Clean Maids work on weekends and during the evening.
"We also do a lot of office cleaning, so we do work evenings and weekends. It just depends on what the customer wants. Some people just want us to come in once a year and spring-clean a few rooms," Smith said.
Smith said senior citizens and busy, two-income families are also the most common clientele of Spring Clean Maids.
"What it boils down to is that working parents are too busy to do cleaning and senior citizens can't do their housecleaning themselves," Smith said.
What it also boils down to is keeping the customer happy.
"That is what keeps a cleaning service successful," Smith said. "You have to do what the client wants. Spring Clean Maids has been in business for about 10 years and employs about 15 or 16 people. There are all sorts of new cleaning services popping up out there all the time, but a lot of them don't last."
Hints: Taylor said customers should communicate their needs clearly to the service before the first cleaning and should consider the first two or three times they have their homes cleaned as an adjustment period.
"Sometimes there is a misunderstanding about what the client wants. After a few cleanings, the cleaning service usually has a pretty good idea of what the client wants. I tell customers the first few times are time to get used to each other," Taylor said.