FAQ
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General
- House Cleans - Regular
- House Cleans - One-offs
- Carpets
- Windows
- Mattress
- Ovens
- Keyholding
- Special Packages
- Mmmarvellous Gift Vouchers
- Guarantees
- Network of Trust
General
Q. But who can you trust to clean your home at least as well as you • possibly better than?
A. Hopefully Mmmarvellous can! There are many reputable companies • large and small, who could clean your home competently. However one key thing to look for when choosing your provider is how they recruit their staff and how much of the money actually goes to the housekeepers. This should be equitable and transparent. After all, if the people doing the work are badly paid, turnover rates will be high, possibly resulting in disruption to your service.
Q. Do you go for a private cleaner, or a cleaning company or cleaning agency?
A. It depends on your circumstances and needs. Some feel a private cleaner is easier to create a relationship with and knowing that, in theory, only one person will ever have access to their home is an advantage. A cleaning company usually give you fixed services at intervals using a team and in most cases clean by their programmed rota not necessarily yours. A cleaning agency will find, vet and sometimes provide insurance for your personal housekeeper who will be obliged to clean by your rota • usually more flexible and you have more control of what happens in your home.
Mmmarvellous provides you with the best of everything. As an agency we provide you with your own housekeeper minus the hassle of managing the relationship. With our one-off and spring cleaning services you can have a team give you an occasional blitz at intervals that suits you.
Q. What are the differences between them anyway?
A. With private cleaners you get the one-to-one relationship (not always an advantage). Usually they are not insured unless you provide it yourself. The relationship is more difficult to manage especially if selection doesn’t work out. Usually not much redress to be had if items are damaged, broken or stolen.
A cleaning company usually has a team of employed cleaners who bring their own material and equipment to clean their client’s home on a fixed rota. One common problem encountered is that as team members may vary from week to week clean standards can be inconsistent.
Usually less expensive that a cleaning company, a cleaning agency finds and vets housekeepers that are employed by you. Some will manage the relationship for you, providing cover if your housekeeper is ill or on holidays as well as replacement in the event of your housekeeper leaving. They should provide insurance cover for your housekeeper while she works on your property on your behalf. Usually they use your material and equipment.
Q. How do you tell a good cleaning provider from a bad one?
A. At first meeting it’s difficult to tell good providers from the bad. Recommendation is usually the strongest and best indicator of a good provider. If you find one out of the YP or other medium you can still look for certain things to reassure you.
Other key indicators to look for are:
1) Transparency of payment fees.
2) The after care procedures in place
3) Can easily prove insurance cover available
4) How they recruit and treat their staff - affect retention and turnover rates.
At Mmmarvellous we get 40% of our new business from recommendations. Our costing structure is totally transparent. We even take copies of our insurance certificate on interviews just in case a potential client wants to see it.
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Q. What kinds of people are willing to clean homes anyway?
A. We’ve found that there isn’t a stereotypical image to present. Our housekeepers come from all walks of life and countries and are at different stages in they’re lives. Some clean out of necessity while many more do cleaning because they’re good at it and enjoy doing it and it offers the flexibility they need. Mmmarvellous actively recruit housekeepers who have a family and/or run their own home as this usually demonstrates that they should understand the needs of their clients and usually offer more stability. We consider each applicant individually however, and will take on a housekeeper that doesn’t fit that mold if they pass our capability and suitability tests.
Q. Is it more cost effective to have regular cleans or a one-off clean or a spring clean periodically?
A. Cleans that take place at greater than a month or more is considered a one-off clean. One off cleans are usually priced at higher rates than regular clean. So this question can only be answered by comparing your total cost of regular cleans (no. of cleans x hrs x hrly rate) vs total cost of one-off cleans (no. one-off clean X costs) over a specified period.
Q. Do I really need to have regular cleans?
A. Regular cleans not just help keep your house clean but organised too. Most of us are usually forced to do some tidying up if you know the housekeeper is coming to clean.
Q. What level of service should I look for?
A. Do you want a basic clean, where they come in to do the same basic tasks each week? Or do you need some flexibility in your cleaning schedule to match the needs of your family. Do you prefer to let the cleaning provider supply equipment and material or do you wish to be in control of the products and material used to clean your home?
There are companies out there to match every need. So identify what you’re looking for in a cleaning provider and create a wish list or set of questions before you start looking.
Mmmarvellous use our clients equipment and materials on regular cleans as we think that you having control of what is being used in your home is important and that you shouldn’t have to pay extra for equipment and material you already possess. Usually we work to your schedule and we encourage our clients to take ownership of the structure of their cleaning plan.
When we do one-off cleans however, we will take in all the material and equipment needed to complete the job to our exacting standards.
Q. What should I expect my cleaning provider to do?
· Treat your home with due care and respect
· Do not steal time • e.g. housekeeper leaving earlier than time paid for
· Complete the tasks agreed at intervals agreed
· Guarantee their work
· Communicate regularly and when required
· Monitor the housekeepers regularly
· Quality services at reasonable prices
Q. How about when the carpets, the windows, your mattresses, your oven need cleaning? Is it better to find a provider for each cleaning service or a one that does them all?
A. If the services are of high quality then you better off with one provider as only you’ll need only one contact for all the services. You may save money overall as you can negotiate better rates if you require multiple services. Mmmarvellous’ regular cleaning customers automatically qualify for discounts on our one-off services.
Q. Will it truly make my home management easier?
A. If done properly you need to get a minimum of three quotes for each service when needed. That’s at least 15 telephone calls. Compare that with one call to Mmmarvellous to have access to 5 • 6 cleaning services. We’ll help you work out a cleaning structure for your home that match your budget and needs to give you hassle free cleaning. Leaving you free to do things you really enjoy.
Q. How do you measure true value for money?
A. Most people equate value for money with the cheapest option they find. But a truer measure is the quality of the service provided. Does the service exceed your expectation? Is the price comparable with at least three other similar companies? Is the after care good? Does the clean last?
Q. What makes our product different from our competitors?
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House Cleans - Regular
Q. Is there a minimum contract period?
A. No.
Q. What are your rates?
A. Area 1 £10.45 per hour
Area 2 £11.45 per hour
Q. How do recruit your housekeepers?
A. We have a multi-step recruitment process that helps us weed out undesirable applicants • leaving us with the best people to assign to our clients’ homes. We’re very proud of the fact that we’ve not had a single reported theft in our company’s history and firmly believe that this comes from our attention to detail and our recruitment structure.
Q. Can I book a specific time for my clean to take place?
A. Over 95% of our clients give keys to their housekeeper so start times is not an issue. In instances where it does matter we usually try to match the day and segment (a.m. or p.m.) you prefer. However, there are too many variables to guarantee a set start time for a job. Our housekeepers have to brave the traffic and other variables beyond their control so it’s really important that both parties are really straightforward with each other and us regarding the importance of start times and we will do our best t find a housekeeper that can reasonably meet those needs.
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House Cleans - One-offs
Q. What is the difference between a regular clean and a deep clean?
A. A regular clean takes care of those part of our homes that are regularly used • kitchen surfaces, floors, bathrooms, general dusting and vacuuming and is essential for the general cleanliness of your home. Deep cleans on the other hand should clean those parts of your home that would not normally be covered by a regular clean • the descaling, demarking and removal of built up dust and grease from all over your home.
Traditionally, homes would be deep cleaned before the winter sets in and then in the spring (hence the term spring cleaning) but with the busy lives we now lead it has become a really neglected part of our cleaning routine. It is my (PP) opinion that some of us have developed problems with our health or general well being because our over reliance on the quick fix ‘miracle’ cleaning products and changes to the way we use our homes have caused us to neglect basic cleaning routines.
Q. What are your rates?
A. We start our one-off cleaning rates from £17.95 per hour. If you are interested in our special packages (baby arrivals, etc) please call 020 8941 2791 for more details.
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Carpets
Q. How often should you have your carpets cleaned?
A. Depend on how your carpet is used and where its located in the home
- Homes with children and pets it's every 6-7 months
- Homes with children - every 8-9 months
- Homes with no children - every 10-11 months
- Homes with no children and little traffic every 12 months
Regular cleaning will extend the life of your carpets for many years. Protect your investment by setting up a regular cleaning programme with Mmmarvellous.
Q. How soon can we use the room after cleaning?
A. With our Mmmarvellous system your carpets are dry and useable 30 minutes after cleaning.
Q. How can I make the carpet clean last longer?
A. 1. Apply fibre protection with our Fiberite product which has been proven to be better than other fabric or fibre protectors on the market
2. Employ a “shoes-off� policy. Make slippers available for indoor use. I find using the spare semi-disposable slippers from hotel rooms we stay in really useful.
Q. Can you clean upholstery as well?
A. At the moment we don’t clean upholstery because our preferred operative is not available to do so. We will however be offering this option very soon. Giving you more great value on your cleaning costs!
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Windows
Q. How often should I have my windows cleaned?
A. Usually the regularity of your clean is affected by the following factors:
· Whether or not you live on or near a main road
· How much dust generating activities take place near your home
· The weather
Typically, most domestic windows are cleaned monthly, every six weeks or every other month. Commercial properties are cleaned as often as needed.
Q. I live on the second floor in a set of flats. Can you clean my windows?
A. We’ll take on domestic or commercial projects that are up to three storeys high with no balconies or rails in front of the windows. You may find that you could get even cheaper rates if we were able to clean all the windows in your compound. Let us know who your management company is and we’ll send them a proposal.
Q. How often should I clean the inside of my windows?
A. You should professionally clean the insides of your windows at least twice per year. Of course, your ideal intervals are affected by many factors such as kids, where you live, state of your heating system, etc. Our windows operative could advise you next time he visits or call us on 020 8941 2791 for advice.
Q. How can I arrange to have the insides of my windows cleaned?
A. Call the office on 020 8941 2791and make an appointment to have the insides cleaned. We do our regular outside cleans on a rota so booking an “inside clean� appointment in advance will help you get the slot you want.
Q. How does your ladderless system work?
A. We use a waterfed pole system that washes windows by pushing triple purified water through a long tube to a brush at the end of the pole. Since the water is purified it will not leave sediment (the stuff that causes streaking) on your windows so there is no need for drying. Additionally we clean your frames for free!
Q. Is there any type of window your system can’t clean?
A. The official answer is no there isn’t but Mmmarvellous have identified some conditions under which the perfect clean could elude us.
- If a window isn’t in good condition structurally (e.g. bowing, warping through weather or age) there may be some leakage. This can usually be fixed by not cleaning the frames. All the client needs to do is tell us which window it is.
- If the paintwork on the frame is peeling or flaky this may cause sediment to drip onto the window.
- Properties that have railings or false balconies in front of the windows can be difficult to clean with a pole system. Those with real balconies can be cleaned if access is allowed from the inside of the property.
Q. Can you clean my guttering and fascias?
A. We sure can, all using our poles and attachments! Call 020 8941 2791 or book an appointment to discuss your needs.
Q. Can you clean my conservatory roof or veluxes?
A. The waterfed pole system really comes into its own when needed to clean these items that are usually quite difficult to clean using traditional cleaning methods. We can safely reach these from the ground, protecting your property from (e.g. roof tiles) collateral damage
Q. How much do you charge to clean windows?
A. It’s difficult cost a job without seeing it because aside from the actual window sizes we have to look at access, parking, and other things. But just to give you an example we have clients who pay us as little £6 to clean their windows. We’re happy to come out and quote on your job no matter how big or small it is.
One tip we can pass on to getting lower prices is if you get friends or neighbors to have their windows also cleaned by us. Our earnings are mainly restricted by the time taken to complete a job plus driving to the next job. We therefore have even better rates for customers who come as a block (i.e. live on the same road and have the same cleaning interval)
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Mattress
Mmmarvellous has the licence to use the Mattress Doctor system • the
&l
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