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House Cleaning Service Options
There are a number of home cleaning service options to consider, each offering a different mix of benefits and costs. Here are the most common options:
Housekeeper
Housekeepers are an affordable way to get light cleaning chores done. If you have a tight budget and are just looking for someone to do light cleaning, then a housekeeper might be a good fit for your needs.
Where to find: classified ads, craigslist, or on subscription sites such as sittercity.com and care.com.
Advantages: Lowest cost, generally charge by the hour at a rate of $10 to $20/hr
Disadvantages: Little training, no equipment, only very light cleaning, no incentive to work efficiently
Independent Home Cleaning Service
Independent cleaning services are generally small operations (0 to 10 employees), but unlike housekeepers, they charge on a per job basis. You should be wary that just because someone set up shop as a cleaning service provider, it does not mean that she has experience, the proper equipment or knows what she is doing. You should probe closely to determine the qualifications of the operator.
Where to find: yellow pages, online on Google, Yahoo, Superpages.com, Bing, etc.
Advantages: Have own equipment, can handle more and heavier cleaning tasks, higher efficiency
Disadvantages: Higher cost, not necessarily well trained or qualified
Franchise Home Cleaning Service
Franchises are generally bigger and better capitalized operations. Although they are locally owned, they count on the management and marketing support of their franchisor. Nevertheless, the success of their program still depends heavily on the abilities and expertise of the local operator. Franchises are less flexible than independents because they are constrained by the protocols of their franchise. They also have a higher cost structure because they pay out a percentage of their revenues in franchise fees.
Where to find: yellow pages, online on Google, Yahoo, Superpages.com, Bing, etc.
Advantages: Have own equipment, can handle more and heavier cleaning tasks, higher efficiency
Disadvantages: Highest cost, less flexibility due to the franchise program, not necessarily well trained or qualified
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