HOW THE ESTIMATE PROCESS WORKS

Getting an estimate, or direct pricing is very easy!  While each property is unique, 99% of the time, it not always, accurate pricing can be established online or on the phone in the matter of minutes.  Nearly 100% of residential homes can be assessed immediately, even in less than 60 seconds!  For very unique properties, commercial properties, or for special situations, often texting a few photos or even a walk-through video will solve the problem.  That means you don’t have to set up an estimate walk through, which means less time on one more thing!  We recently did such an estimate, and it took 3-4 minutes for the introduction, outline of the situation, passing photos, and to get pricing that we can stick by.  If there is ever a mystery situation, it’s very easy to sort out as well 😊

To get a pricing estimate:

Method 1:  Just give us a call!  A very kind person will answer the phone and in a few short seconds, we will discuss the needs for your cleaning service.  We can even set up the pricing as an official quote, emailed directly to you, which can be booked from directly, with a simple click.  These quotes stay in our system for up to 30 days, so if you are planning for a clean in the near future, or trying to figure out exactly what you need, you can just click in, and access the booking form, make any changes you need, choose a date and time, and book immediately!  This is very convenient.

Method 2:  Get an estimate and even book online.  By filling out the simple estimate form on our website, you access the pricing form.  Just enter in the basic details about your property – namely bedroom and bathroom count, keeping overall square footage parameter in mind (in the case of super-sized houses).  It’s very easy to find out the size of your project this way.  Then you can choose from a number of extras, such as window cleaning, or fridge and oven interior cleaning.  Scrolling down, you will find simple details to fill out, such as how you if you will be home to let your cleaner in, or let them in by another method.  Then just choose a date, time, and book directly.  The pricing will always be available on that form to see as you add or remove service choices!

Method 3:  You can also text message us, or email us.  If you just want a quick reply of basic pricing, just drop us a line the easiest way possible!  If you tell us how many bedrooms/bathrooms you have and whether a deep scrub is necessary (the house hasn’t been cleaned in well over a month)  - then we can get you basic pricing.  You can then call or jump onto our online booking form to get more details.

Getting pricing and determining service is so easy, it’s really good to take a look and see how affordable an appointment is!  Then you’ll know for the future, and also, see how much Lexi Maids can offer.

EXTRA SERVICES

Here are some of the extra services we offer:

1. Deep Clean: this gives us extra time to get into the details of places like kitchens, bathrooms, and heavy traffic rooms.  It also lets us get at dustier places with a more careful approach!
2. Fridge Interior: over time, fridges accumulate debris, thawed liquids, and spills.  There are usually a few stains that need scrubbed.  A refreshed fridge interior has a special shine to it, and makes your food seem better and cleaner, which is very satisfying.  Scrubbing your own fridge could take over an hour, especially when there’s all sorts of things in it.  Also, when the time comes to move out of a place, it’s a lot of extra scrubbing that you can pass on to a pro cleaner, instead of leaning in there and spending an afternoon detailing shelves!
3. Interior Oven: when spills happen in the oven, the stuff gets further cooked onto the surface, and an interior that has not been cleaned in a while often needs a special type of scrub.  We bring the stuff for the job and take care of that special need with a smile!
4. Interior windows: interior glass and trim around the window area can pick up dust, stains, fingerprints, and calcium deposits.  While we don’t need to clean every week, per say, every now and then windows just need to get treated.  We can help out with that task, which not many people really enjoy doing!
5. Window tracks: when the window is open, often times the tracks actually get quite dirty, sometimes collecting bugs, dust, or a layer of dirt over time.  These are tricky to clean by yourself, so passing it on to a pro is often a great choice.
6. Cabinet interiors: letting a maid handle this task means you can move into your property, or out, and know that the inner cabinets will be in good shape.  If you have lots of stuff in the cabinets, we can work around it and do a pretty good job, but this option was created for move-in / move-out cleans when cabinets are usually empty.  Either way, it’s another thing off the list of personal duties, and it feels pretty good having this done.

For other addon options, just jump into our pricing form and you’ll see them easily by scrolling down.  You can also call us to ask about pricing for these services, and how they fit together with our standard house cleaning service!

HOW MANAGING A SERVICE WORKS

There are a few options:

1. Weekly
2. Bi-Weekly
3. Tri-Weekly
4. Monthly

For these types of scheduling, especially tri-weekly and monthly, it’s important to know that our booking software calculates three or four weeks away, and then chooses the nearest day of the week you have chosen.  For example, the software will find out the Tuesday morning four weeks away.  Sometimes people want to schedule by “the first and third” Friday of the month, but this currently is not available as those dates shift around too much and make it more difficult to schedule our many reoccurring clients!  By scheduling it the way we do, it makes it easy to stack appointments through the month, and also, reschedule you, if your plans change in the future.

Another option is to just schedule when you need it.  Sometimes people travel a lot, and it’s hard to pre-determine when the home is ready for a clean.  Just keep an eye on how long it has been, to determine if a deep clean is necessary.  We can always assess that in person, and add it if necessary, with your approval, but it would be good to schedule an afternoon appointment if the service could be extended in that way, since our morning appointment commonly has a solid schedule end, for the other afternoon appointments to end.

If you ever need to reschedule or cancel, just call or jump onto your online account.  Doing so with more than 36 hours before the appointment gives us time to schedule other work during your cancelled reservation, so it will avoid any fees!

CLIENT PORTAL

Once you book with Lexi Maids, you get access to our client portal where amazing things can happen quickly!  Simply create an account in just a couple easy steps, and then you can login and do things like:

1. Re-book the same appointment as before with a couple clicks. You can just update the new time slot in the future, and even make changes like adding extra add-ons, or removing them.  You can shift your schedule, to increase or decrease appointments, reschedule if you have to go out of town or anything like that.  Of course, you can always just call us and do the same, we have very friendly help on the phones!
2. You can buy a gift certificate. Sometimes you want to give someone else a break and it’s easy to do this way.  Trying to give someone money for a house cleaning service might not lead to the results you want, especially if your goal is to guarantee they freshen up their place 😉  By gifting them an appointment, they can book on their own, and even increase the service if they want something extra!
3. Create a new booking: You can also skip the re-book and just jump in and create a new appointment from scratch – yet it’s even better this way because most of your details are filled in!

Using the client portal is super easy, and if you forget your password its no big deal, because you just reset it and keep on moving!  Using great technology to make things easier and more convenient is a lot of fun, and it makes life easier!

HAVING A REGULAR SERVICE – WHAT PEOPLE SAY

Clients that maintain scheduled appointments find their lives revitalized.  They can get out more, worry less, and spend their energy and focus on their career which means – they can progressively earn more!  This means the cost of a maid begins to cover itself and eventually disappear.  Have you ever noticed how much calmer and relaxed people are who have one or more people covering some of their most common, repetitive tasks?  The best way to begin hiring another for help is to get rid of the most recurring and even annoying tasks.  Undoubtedly most people agree that constantly having to scrub and vacuum is pretty high on the list of things that could, and should, be erased from your life!

Whether you live solo or have a whole family with kids, everyone who gets regular house cleaning service finds themselves happier, feeling better about their home and environment, and often ends up impressing others with how incredible their home looks.  Since we only hire cleaners who really have that intrinsic need to get things clean, you can feel good knowing that even your own attention to detail can be met!

Some people love that weekly appointment because their house stays in unbelievably good condition.  Anytime a friend or relative drops by, it looks like they just did work on the entire home.  It’s an impressive quality to show off.  Every two weeks might be the sweet spot though, and even a tri-weekly or monthly clean can lead to deep satisfaction.  The consensus is clear across all appointment timings – no matter the time frame… everyone loves it!

Always a Great Worker Ready to Go!

It’s very easy to get a maid service, once you screen for a good company you have little to worry about.  While some people try to hire someone directly to just clean their house, they really can’t offer the person the hours they need to sustain an income.  This means the gig will eventually wind down, as we all have to earn to make it in this economy.  By going with a good company, no matter what happens with your cleaner… vacation, family event, or a personal issue that requires time off work – you will have an equally awesome person show up and handle the tasks you don’t want to deal with anymore!  The better the company, the more reliable they are, and the less you have to think about.

What are some things I should know?

1. Insurance: It’s very important to only bring workers into you home that carry their own insurance. This gives you a huge buffer and it means their presence and activity do not automatically fall on your responsibility or your home owner’s insurance.  By carrying insurance, a worker holds commitment and responsibility, and their trade is punctuated with one of the most important tools in their repertoire, which is insurance - a shield to protect themselves and you!  While it may be tempting to try and save five or ten dollars on a more random gig worker who does not hold a policy, it really is an unsettling choice to make, as with any trade, vigorous activity with various surfaces is not something you want to guarantee with your responsibility alone.
2. Dedication: The more focused and professional a worker becomes, the more efficient they are, the more driven, and the more reliable their work becomes.
3. Kindness: A customer service-oriented company always delivers the best experience, and day-in and day-out workloads can wear people down who don’t strive to hold positivity in professional settings.  It’s important to bring someone into your home that you like and can trust.  Friendliness is all a part of that.  Everyone has had an experience or two when someone spreads misery along the path of work, and even if it’s not outright, it can be felt.  That is not a good way to deliver a service in people’s homes!
4. Reliability and Accountability:  The highest goal is 100% reliability, but as we are all human, sometimes a few things can go to the wayside.  That’s when accountability plays a HUGE role.  Working to improve, staying focused, and remaining dedicated to providing what was promised is such an important thing with any local service business.  It often takes a team to get a third perspective, and make sure that quality is not slipping, and that overcoming obstacles is met with interest and perseverance.
5. Working for the Future: We work on building real and lasting relationships with our clients.  Simply, we want everyone involved with our work to feel good about it.  Our goal isn’t to land a job, get paid, and move on.  We want to be here for you any time you need a clean!  We treat our clients just like the people we care about in our lives, and that’s an outstanding difference and commitment to equality and well-being.
6. Trust: We only hire people we would feel comfortable sending to our own family member’s homes.  Bringing in workers with great character who love and respect a positive society is all part of serving our community.

Common Questions:

Q:  What day is best for our appointment to take place?

A:  We can find time slot that works for you.  Our online booking form lets you easily see which dates are available.  Also, a quick phone call with one of our friendly representatives will lead to easy scheduling

Q:  What if I need to shift my appointment for vacation?

A:  That is easy to do, either online through your client portal, or with a phone call as well!

Q:  Do I need to provide supplies or a vacuum?

A:  We have all the supplies for every visit.  Unless you have a special cleaning agent you really love, then just let us know and leave it out for us to use!

Q:  I have chemical sensitivity, are their eco options?

A:  Yes, we also have those supplies when needed, and again, if you have special stuff you want used, as long as it works well to prep the surface in question for scrubbing, we will gladly use it!

Q:  Do you work on homes with pets?

A:  Absolutely, we can perform a service appointment, or if it’s been a while and the pet hair has added up a lot, we can easily add a deep clean.

Q:  Is there any reason not to get a service?

A:  Really there are only good reasons to schedule with us!

Q:  What if I can’t make it to the appointment to let the worker in?

A:  Just make arrangements, or reschedule to a more convenient time – it may be more efficient to do so before the late-cancellation fee engages.  (see the booking terms at the bottom of the website, and also at the end of the booking form.)

Q:  Do I need to do anything special, or be home, or be absent when the appointment takes place?

A:  You are welcome to be present or leave the home, and no, you don’t have to do anything special at all.  Our workers know how to get in, greet you nicely, and get to work!

Q:  Can I pay with cash?

A:  Many companies, ours included, have gone to a digital payment system.  It’s just so easy, and reliable.  Also, our cleaners do not always visit a central office after the appointment is done, so putting a credit card on your account means you don’t have to endure additional text messages, emails, or phone calls to get the payment sorted out.  We use one of the most famous, reliable, and secure payment systems around called Stripe, which is almost as big as Paypal (even bigger for merchants)

Q:  Can I pay with check?

A:  Checks are being retired for most local business because credit cards have taken their place with ease and reliability.  Checks are going the way-side because unfortunately they are used to scam services a lot (intentional bad checks) and also, they are even more inconvenient than cash most of the time!

Q:  Do we need to book ahead, and if so, how far ahead?

A:  Booking ahead is always a good thing because it helps you get the exact time period you that is convenient to you.  Many companies do not do same-day appointments as well because cleaners need notice to arrange their schedule, and for our appointments to fit together in time blocks that make sense.

Q:  Should I tip my cleaner? Do others?

A:  That is completely up to you.  Cleaners do often get tipped, and anything is appreciated.  They often travel a lot around a large service area, and they work really hard.  If you are short on cash and can’t tip, please know that we pay our cleaners very well and they will still like you, and provide good service! Also, it’s possible to tip through the booking form!