Merry Maids, Gibiser Poor cleaning and service, damaged furniture Emmaus Pennsylvania

Not sure why this report is no longer listed when I look up Merry Maids.  It too important to remove.

Merry Maids must be some kind of cult.  Whenever they do something wrong or don't provide the services they promise, they declare that the miscreant wants something for nothing.  It really is the reverse, Merry Maids wants something (their fee) for doing nothing, (bad cleaning and damage).  You need to come up with a new excuse.

To be clear to those that think I don't want to pay for my service.  I paid a total of $5,991.30 to Merry Maids over a period of 22 months for cleaning services every other week.  This does not include tips which averaged around 20%, so another $1k at least.  We did not have trouble with Merry Maids until they switched us to Friday because it was more convenient for them.  This was for the last couple of months.  It was obvious that they were not spending enough time in the house to get it clean.

Instead of having them do the entire house, 3700 square feet, we thought maybe doing only the first floor would allow them to be thorough.  So they only cleaned about 2200 square feet.

We were very nice about discrepencies.  We left notes or called their office.  Each time they said they would do better.  Again this was just the last couple of months (2 or 3). We were happy for the other 19 months lest you think we just couldn't be satisfied.  Basically, they sent 2 people each time and they spent less than 1 hour.  Thats cool if you can get the house clean.

The stuff they missed, aside from the damage, was obvious.  Only 2/3 of the dining room table would be dusted, obvious.  Every other time, one of the two toilets was not cleaned, obvious.  The bottom of our shower stall developed black grime on it and it was there right after they cleaned, obvious.  When we walked in the door, the floor was gritty after they just cleaned it.  We would vacuum immediately and you could here the grit going into the vacuum, obvious.  On and on.

When we had enough, we simply said, clean one more time and if these things can't be corrected we will drop you.  We think that is fair after about $7,000 in payments.  It is the fact that they didn't come out to inspect the cleaning and damage when they said they would that made their ineptitude intolerable and led to all this.  They could have come out, they could have called me and appologized or asked for an explanation, there are many things they could have done and chose not to.  The door is still open. 

It is funny how people without first-hand knowledge of this situation think they can make some kind of reasonable comment.  You don't know and it is laughable and makes you look foolish.

While it is nice that employees of Merry Maids respond to this, I have only an issue with this franchise and never intended it to be an overall criticism of other Merry Maids operations.  I am sure that other Merry Maids franchises do an adequate job.

I offered to let Merry Maids inspect both the poor cleaning and the damage they caused and they refused.  Well, actually they said they would come and didn't show up.  I mentioned both the cleaning and the damage in the notes (the ones that came with the tip) that I provided every time they came to do cleaning.  In my opinion, they knew that they did a poor job and caused damage.  Its hard to not see that you pull an electrical socket out of the wall and the note of apology for the broken vase is probably proof that they knew they did it.

There are all types of excuses why they didn't do a good job, but the bottom line is there is a list of items to clean that they agree to and if they don't clean those items they are nothing more than common thieves, taking money for services they do not provide.  I paid for the service I was supposed to receive not what I actually received which was much less.  If there is an issue about not paying for the last service, the franchise and the national group agreed with me that I didn't have to pay, so how can that be wrong?

This franchise thought I was threatening because I asked who the owner was and the receptionist refused, so I looked it up on the internet (duh) and the next time I spoke to them I told them the owner's name.  Welcome to the internet age.

I stand by my comments regardless of what uninformed people have to say.  It is funny that the rebuttals only come from people with a financial interest in Merry Maids.

 

 

First of all, I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience with Merry Maids. Since I am part of Merry Maids I can assure you that your experience is not the norm. We always try to do our utmost to please our customers and in many instances go way beyond what is expected. We deal with all kinds of people, and most are very happy with the service they receive. We have the same customers for years, and if we were such an unprofessional service ( like you suggested) we could not keep our longtime customers.

However, there are people who expect something for nothing, or are such impossible customers to please that no matter what we do they will not be happy. Some of those we had to let go, but only after the situation becomes impossible, or the cleaners are abused ( verbally) by the customer.
Our company has been voted the #1 cleaning service in my area, and people are begging us to clean their houses.

Our employees are well trained before they ever go into a home, and the new ones go only with an experienced cleaner. I find it hard to believe the damage done to your home...and then 4 times in a row!! ( and you said very little)....
I have been in business for myself before, not in cleaning but in other service related endevours. I KNOW what people try to do....I let you guess what that might involve.

You might not believe this, but our customers do come first, and we make every effort to keep them happy. We have a long track record of happy and satisfied homeowners, and we really can't worry about the ones who want something for nothing. Those should clean their own homes.

Karin w/Merry Maids

I find it interesting that the person that wrote the rebuttal indicated that I was a crook and didn't want to pay for service that was "given" to me. In any posting prior to "his" rebuttal, I never mentioned that I put a stop payment on the last check I wrote to them. I only mentioned that I asked them to pay for damage they did. How would he know more than I posted? He must know the Merry Maids people at the franchise, or perhaps he works there. He probably is the guy that came out to give us the initial quote.

Listen up! People that take your money and don't provide you with the service they contracted to provide you are stealing plain and simple. Failure to acknowledge what you are doing is worse.

Just to be clear, Merry Maids agreed to me stopping payment on the check. Both the local franchise and the national group agreed to this. I don't want anything from Merry Maids except acknowledgement of the situation, which they refuse. Even though we called and left messages and invited them to our home after cleanings, they wanted to remain ignorant. So be it.

You should always read the report before you make a senseless rebuttal. We stopped payment on the check and said we will pay them when they come back to clean. I get tired of people who promise to provide a service, don't provide the service you pay for and keep the money. If they give you a chceklist of items they will clean each visit, then that is what they should clean. If they can't, make a new contract. Apparently breaking a vase, pulling sockets out of the wall, ruining paint and chipping furniture is "good cleaning". We worked with them for several weeks to get the situation resolved and they failed. We even invited then to the house to review what needs to be cleaned and to show them what was not cleaned. They said they would come, then didn't show up

Its not about ruining a business, its about informing others of poor service. If they are truely as good as others think, so be it. But this was our experience.

This "gentleman" is just like every other crook out there that just does not want to pay for a service that was given to them. It is unbelievable how far a person will stoop just so they don't have to pay for anything that is given to them. I have been a consumer with this franchise and never have had any problem like this guy has. People will go as far as ruining a business so they don't have to pay a bill. Can't get any worsr than people like him.

If you use a cleaning service that is as bad as this particular Merry Maids franchise and their vacuum cleaners leave marks on your furniture, use some naphtha to clean the marks. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowe's. With a little rubbing you can get the marks off.