FAQ
Before you decide to hire a cleaning service, there are 6 important questions that you should ask the company.
First of all, you should ask if it is actual employees or independent contractors who will be cleaning your home. Secondly, you should ask what the company’s pre-employment screening consists of and if background checks are performed. You will also want to ask if it will be one person cleaning your home or if there is a team.
A fourth question should be what sort of training the employees have received and if there is a formal training program. You should also ask if there is a satisfaction guaranteed for your services and finally, you should get clarification as to what is and is not included in the cleaning price.
The following are some general questions and answers you may have about our service. Please review our client policies for specific answers on each topic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Touch of Europe takes great pride in hiring the most respectful, trustworthy and qualified employees. Our professionals are all bonded and insured and our workers’ compensation i
nsurance covers all of our employees. If the cleaning professional is injured while cleaning your home, you will not be liable for their medical bills. There are other cleaning companies who do not have this type of insurance.
Touch of Europe is not a franchise, but is a local company that offers affordable prices for our customers and we offer customized cleaning options to meet all of our clients’ needs.
You do not need to sign a contract and you have the option to cancel your cleaning services at any time. Touch of Europe also has the right to cancel your service at any time.
We provide all of the cleaning products and equipment for our clients.
How many cleaning professionals will be cleaning my home?
For the most part, there is a team of 2 cleaning professionals who will clean your home. We do our best to send the same team to your home for each cleaning.
We have team of two or three people. One member of the team is the lead and will ensure the workers done properly. The lead worker leaves a checklist for the client to fill out after each cleaning. Finally, the owner or manager goes to the client houses for spot checks or if there are specific concerns from the clients.
Our employees all receive training in proper cleaning techniques. New hires receive one-on-one training until they have hit our high cleaning standards. Employees are trained in the following areas: use of alarm systems, use of cleaning products, workplace safety, proper use and maintenance of cleaning equipment, communication skills, organizational and time management skills and knowledge of our company’s policies. Our cleaning professionals also attend monthly meetings where we provide them with continuing education on cleaning techniques.
Whether or not you are home during the cleaning is completely up to you. We do keep detailed information about any special cleaning instructions for our clients or any information about pets and alarm codes.
Many of our clients give us a key to their home or they will give us the code to their garage. If you do not want to leave a key or give your garage code and we are not able to get into your home for a scheduled cleaning, you will be charged a lockout fee for a full cleaning.
We mark each key with an identification code and we do not use the name or address of our client. All keys are kept locked in a safe when they are not being used for the cleaning. Only the top management staff at our company is able to access the safe.
We can absolutely clean homes that have a pet. We do ask that our clients tell us about any pets and tell us the pet’s name and if there are any special instructions. We do not feed or clean up after any pets, however.
We greatly appreciate if items are picked up off of the floors and if dressers and counters could be organized before our cleaning, we are able to do a more thorough cleaning. We also ask that valuables, cash and jewelry are put away. During the winter months, we appreciate if sidewalks and driveways are cleared so our professionals are able to get inside of your home safely.
We take customer satisfaction very seriously and if something was missed or not cleaned to your liking, please give us a call within 24 hours so that we can correct the oversight. We will return to your address without any questions asked.
Our cleaning professionals do everything to be as careful as possible, but in the unlikely event that something in your home gets damaged during the cleaning process, our employees know to contact our office right away and will leave you a note about the incident. Our office will then follow-up with a phone call to figure out what the best course of action is for the incident. If an item in your home is damaged or broken, we have the option of repairing the item or replacing it. Touch of Europe is not responsible for any damage that is the result of faulty or improper installation of items, such as broken or improperly installed tiles, shelves, loose carpet, blinds, curtain rods, etc. We assume that all surfaces are sealed and are ready to be cleaned without causing any harm.
We accept personal checks, cash that is sealed in an envelope with your name and address or we accept all major credit cards. If you are paying by check, please leave the payment on the counter. If a check is returned by the bank, a $35 fee will be assessed. We will email receipts when requested and all balances need to be cleared before the next cleaning.
Absolutely! If there are any specific or additional services or cleaning procedures that you would like, please contact our office prior to the cleaning and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Our cleaning professionals cannot climb higher than a two step stool, they cannot move furniture that contains any electronics, they cannot do work outside of your home, lift objects that are over 25 pounds, provide any children or pet-related services or prepare meals. They do not do laundry or folding clothes. They do not clean cat box or animals waste. They do not clean bio-hazards (mold, blood, bodily fluids). They do not do the dishes and put them away. They do not clean TV and computers monitors. They do not clean bulbs and glass fixtures.
Simply call our office and we are happy to get you scheduled.
For our clients who have regular cleaning, once the price has been set, the fee will be the same for each cleaning for up to one year. There may be instances in which the rate needs to be adjusted since it is challenging to predict the level of cleaning that needs to be performed each week.
We will begin our services with an initial deep cleaning of your home. Many different tasks will be performed during the clean that takes our cleaning professionals extra time and effort. Deep cleanings generally take 2-4 times longer than a regular cleaning.
We encourage you to keep your schedule appointment because it is important for ours employees and others clients however if you must cancel or re-schedule any appointment then you have to send us e-mail with a minimum of forty eight (48) hours. In the event less than forty eight hours notice is given, a full charge of cleaning, this fee will be charged to the credit card number on file. Cash and check paying customers will be billed for the fee. We cannot perform any additional services until this fee is paid. The 48 hours is not calculated on our business hours. Its 48 real time business hours.
Our cancellation policy also applies if we arrive to clean your home on your scheduled day and we are unable to clean your home due to a situation such as a locked door, changed alarm codes, a hostile pet or any other situation which endangers our employee.
Our office will contact you 2-4 weeks before the appointment to find an alternate day for that week. Our office observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas.
A tip is not required or expected by our cleaning professionals, but they always appreciate it. If you decide that you would like to leave a tip, our cleaning professionals prefer that you do so with cash and the tip will be shared equally by your cleaning team. Our professionals also appreciate a simple note letting them know that they have met or exceeded your expectations. Our employees get bonuses based off our client’ feedback.