Thank You "20/20" For Your Report On Independent Cleaners

(Thursday, February 11, 1999) - Legitimate maid service franchises have been fighting this battle since the industry blossomed in the early 1980’s. Independent cleaners taint the industry for the honest, hard working, dedicated maids and cleaning personnel who work daily providing a much needed service to the public.

At Maid to Perfection®, an international maid franchise, maids are carefully screened then undergo in-house training prior to being issued a "coded" key to service customers. During this time, they are indoctrinated in the serious consequences associated with dishonesty and fully understand that the business owner will cooperate fully with authorities should there be a problem. Unlike the independents, we conduct random field checks to keep staff focused and serve as overseers maids must report to daily.

We provide all new customers with a detailed list of preparations and precautions they can take to make the servicing easier for all involved. We recommend that homeowners disarm alarms on cleaning days, and we do not send out our individual maids or two-maid teams in marked cars with company logos, which could alert criminals that alarms are turned off. Legitimate companies providing in-house service take as many precautions as possible to ensure customer protection. Maid franchises offer as much protection to the home owner as other services who provide child care, nursing care, renovations, installations, extermination and so on. The lesson learned is to deal with bonafide companies which provide insurance coverage and procedural guidelines.

Perhaps "20/20" can do a follow-up on the Worker’s Compensation and Tax Evasion issues associated with hiring independents. Consumers need to know that if their maid has no Workers’ Compensation coverage and trips down the stairs, that homeowner may very likely be stuck with medical and legal bills. Zoe Baird taught us all about homeowner liability when it comes to paying and declaring earnings and taxes. When independent maids evade taxes, we all wind up supporting them in retirement.

Consumers also need to know that paying a little more for consistency, quality and security is in their best interest in any industry. Again, on behalf of cleaning franchises, thank you "20/20", for exposing a group whose dishonesty not only harms the consumer public, but unfairly reflects on legitimate maid services.

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