House cleaning, FAQ!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I am surprised at how affordable your rates are at £8.50ph, is this inclusive of everything?
1. Yes, is the answer. Even though we are a local, established and affordable service, we are every bit professional and ethical. We guarantee you will not pay more than £8.50 per hour for our weekly cleaning service in the Peterborough area.
2. We make sure our housekeepers are the best paid in the area. By over paying them the industry average, our housekeepers stay with us longer and take more pride in their work. This 'positive vibe' also reflects in our own statistics which prove we have excellent client retention.
3. Our trading template is very different to convential cleaning companies who may charge double our hourly rate. Why not download our free e-book (the consumers guide to hiring a domestic cleaner) which explains how our industry works. See the bottom left of the domestic cleaning page for download instructions.
Q: i Have not heard of you before?
1: That's understandable. We operate a 'low profile' business, we find that most of our clients would prefer their neighbours not knowing they are using a housekeeping service. For this reason all vehicles are deliberately not sign-written. This is probably why you havn't heard or seen of us unitl now!
2: We have a constant stream of new clients coming on board from other marketing sources. Word of mouth brings in the most new clients, therefore, we do not need to 'shout from the roof tops.' to attract new clients. (Our clients like the fact that their housekeeper turns up quitely and anonoumously in unmarked private cars.)
Q: Have you got an information pack i can have?
1. Of course. Please call us now, our information pack is very detailed and contains template forms, press release's and lots, lots more! All we require are a few details from yourself.
Q: Do we need a visit from you?
1: This is up to you really, we are more than happy to pop round and discuss our service with you and answer any queries you may have. However, It is possible to guide you on everthing you need to know over the phone.
2: If you decide to proceed with our service, you will recieve a visit from your allocated housekeeper prior to them starting the job with you. This is so they can understand exactly what your needs are!
Q: What jobs will your housekeeper undertake for us?
1. Our housekeepers will undertake most general cleaning tasks around your home including but not limited to, inside windows, vacuuming, floor mopping, dusting, changing bed sheets, ironing, skirting boards, polishing, tidying up, washing up and lots lots more!
Q: Will your housekeepers clean my oven?
1. If your oven needs more than a quick wipe, then we politely request you to contact us. We will refer our specialist oven cleaning operator to you. The results our specialist oven cleaner achieve's will supercede the finish our housekeeper could possibly get. Our operator will also have a tailored insurance policy for working specifically on your oven, hob and extractor.
Q: What background checks are made on your housekeepers?
1. Every housekeeper comes with references from former employers, which we check. We also accumulate additional references from their existing Home Fresh clients once they have been with us a while.
2. Some housekeepers also have Criminal Record Bureau certificates (also known as a CRB certificate) from previous employment. All housekeepers have acknowledged that they are more than happy for clients to carry out a police check should they so wish to.
3. We also carry out a final interivew of all applicants in their own home. This enables us to aquire proof of address, such as a gas or telephone bill, so we know they do live at the address we are interviewing them at as well as proof of identity by requiring a passport, birth certificate, so that we know they are who they say they are.
4. By interviewing them in their own home, it gives us an insight to how they live and how they clean. We can then see if they understand the high expectations that our clients expect.
Q: How soon can I have a housekeeper start?
1. We will supply you with a housekeeper ASAP, sometimes immediately. We are in a demand economy, and some months demand out-stretches our resources, therefore your patience is appreciated whilst we are working on matching you up with a housekeeper.
Q: What is the procedure with Key handling if i am out at work?
1. All of our housekeepers can be trusted with your house keys. In our information pack is a key security form which your housekeeper will sign.
2: On the key security form is a confidentiality agreement which our housekeepers will also adhere to for your peace of mind.
Q: Do I still have to pay the agency fee if my housekeeper is on holiday or off sick?
1. If you miss any cleaning, say due to changeovers periods when you or your housekeeper is on holiday, or on account of your housekeeper being ill, you can claim a No Charge Period for the time missed.
2. We provide you with Worker Earnings Receipts to record the hours worked and money paid to your housekeeper. If there are gaps, please send us the receipts and we'll adjust your account to reflect any time missed.
Q: What do I do if the housekeeper is not up to my standard or our personalities clash?
1. Please tell us at once and we will offer re-training or allocate a replacement housekeeper if you are not comfortable with each other.
1. Yes, we have one million pounds cover for major accidental damage caused by our housekeepers. However there is a £100 excess which is your liability. (it does not cover for minor breakages.)
2. Our Insurance certificate can be viewed upon request.
Q: How do I terminate my agreement with you?
1. Your initial agreement with us is for three months, thereafter our agreement will be on a rolling month to month basis.
2. If you wish to cancel your agreement with us you can do so at any time but you must do so in writing, giving us one months notice, you must cancel your mandate direct with your own bank!
Q: I have had cleaners in before from other companies, but they never clean to my high standard, why should i try you?
1: We have many clients who had previously used a competitor and felt let down by the poor standard. We fully appreciate that everyone lives to a different standard and so this reflects in our training of housekeepers. Our experience of client needs and expectations enables us to match you with the correct houskeeper
2: As we have a very close working relationship with our housekeepers, we know their individual strengths and weakeness, we will find the right match for you!
3: Your custom is very important to us, and so we shall always work with you throughout the entire duration that you have one our housekeepers in your home. 1st class Customer service and a caring attitude enable us to diplomaticly resolve any issue's that do arise.
Q: What training do you give your housekeepers?
1. Housekeepers are trained in colour coding & hygiene; which involves the use of different colour cloths to differentiate between toilet areas, kitchen areas and food preparation zones.
Red cloth = WC only
Yellow cloth = Bath, sink & shower
Green cloth = Kitchen area only
Blue cloth = Damp Dusting furniture
More importantly though, we guide them on the use of solvent, caustic and other extremely hazardous household chemicals, avoiding mixing chemicals so they avoid breathing in dangerous fumes, and/or contaminating your indoor environment.
3. If you haven’t yet considered “Going Green” or “Eco Friendly”, then maybe now is a time to think about the many benefits of using safe and environmentally friendly cleaning products which are readily available in the marketplace. Please ask us for more information. (Free booklets are available if you require from us.)
4. When your housekeeper starts work for you, you will need to train them in the use of your own equipment (e.g. emptying vacuum cleaner) and make sure they are familiar with your particular requirements.
1. You direct them in what you would like to have cleaned each week. (For example, maybe the kitchen cupboards need emptying and cleaning one week and the following week all the skirting boards need cleaning). However we also provide you with client task sheets, you tick the jobs that you require undertaking in the time allocated and the housekeeper works with your list and ticks off each task as they are completed. These task sheets are downloadable from our member’s only section of our website.
Q: Can I specify the day my housekeeper comes?
Yes, you can, but almost everyone wants a clean on a Friday ready for the weekend. If you are only prepared to accept a Friday, it may take us longer to find someone suitable. The more flexible you are, the quicker we should be able to allocate you a housekeeper.
Q: Who is Home Fresh?
1. Home Fresh is a domestic services company and has been trading from
2: Due to the success of our local business, we are currently franchising our business model to like-minded entrepreneurs across the country.
Q: Who supplies the cleaning products?
1. We find most of our clients prefer to use their own cleaning products and vacuum cleaners. From a cleaning point of view it is much more hygienic than our housekeepers using cloths, products and vacuums in other people’s houses and cross-contaminating germs with them in your home!
2. We can however supply a cleaning kit just for your home if you require, at a further cost. Colour coded Microfibre cloths are availble at trade cost plus postage & Packing direct from us.
Q: Can I meet a housekeeper before they actually start working for me?
1. Yes, in fact we insist on this, it is of paramount importance that you feel comfortable with whom ever it is that will be coming into your home on a weekly basis.
2. A quick meeting prior to agreeing to any cleaning schedule will give you and the housekeeper an opportunity to make sure you are both happy with the arrangements you plan to set in place.
Q. How many hours will I need?
1. The minimum requirement to engage our service is two hours weekly or four hours fortnightly.
2: The average time booked is 3.5 hours, this seems to be sufficient for many people.
2. There are industry standards to how long cleaning private dwellings should take, please call us now so we can guide you.
Q: How can I contact you to get started?
Please call James on our free-phone number
