"jmcquown" wrote in message ...

(This is a long rant; I apologize in advance.) You know I want to sell this
house. The realtor I'm working with is very knowledgeable about the housing
market where I live. He said I would need to have it completely cleaned,
including the carpets. Get it in "showing condition" so he can list it for
top dollar.

I contracted with Merry Maids to do a whole house cleaning. On June 25th,
the Field Service Manager, Yon, came over, looked at everything and gave me
a quote. The only caveat she mentioned was I'd need to vacuum the kitty
litter off the tile floor in the master bathroom the day they arrived
(Monday, July 9th). That morning I completely cleaned and washed the litter
box. I took the small bath mat it sits on outside and beat it out any
excess kitty litter with a broom. I vacuumed the bathroom floor.

Around 9:30 the maid, Tiffany, arrived. (Last time I used Merry Maids,
shortly after my dad died in 2008, they sent a team. They did a wonderful
job.) This is a 1700 sq. ft. house. It's a huge job, so I was very
surprised. She said someone had called in sick. Anyway, Tiffany cleaned
the toilet and the tub in the master bath. She cleaned the sinks and the
vanity. I noticed she kept going outside. Then she went to lunch! When
she returned she said Yon would be coming over to help her out. Yon arrived
around 12:30. She cleaned the kitchen countertops and appliances. Then Yon
told me because of the cat litter they couldn't mop the master bathroom
floor. Uh... okay.

But wait! Then Yon said they were leaving! She said because of the cat
litter they couldn't finish the job. Excuse me?! What about the rest of
the house? She said according to the owner, Bob, the cat litter "issue" was
a violation of OSHA regulations and they couldn't finish. (For
non-Americans, OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.)
Well dammit, I already paid you people to clean the entire house!

I got the number for the owner (he's in Charleston where he just opened a
new location). He gave me the OSHA song and dance. I explained what I'd
done that morning in the master bath. He said, "Oh, they're talking about
the cat feces all over the house." WHAT?! Good lord! I'm not the neatest
person in the world; when it comes to cleaning I'll admit I'm downright
lackadaisical about it. (This house is way too big for one, or even two,
people.) But I couldn't, *wouldn't*, live with cat feces all over my house!
That's absurd! He said sorry, he was getting conflicting stories. Oh, so
the customer is always wrong?!

Here's what I think happened. I think Tiffany was overwhelmed by the size
of the house and the size of the job. So she called her pal Yon for help.
Together they fabricated an excuse which turned from "kitty litter on the
master bathroom floor" to [when Yon talked to Bob] "cat feces all over the
house". Bull****! Persia doesn't poop all over the house. Persia *has*
thrown up on the low-pile white carpet, which is in every room of the house
(except the two bathrooms). Those stains are impossible to get out. But
they're not all over the house! (I hate this carpet. I remember Mom asking
me what on earth possessed her to have white carpet installed?) Anyway, I
specifically pointed those stains out to Yon before I even got the maid
service quote. She even gave me a separate quote for carpet cleaning!

So, how does this prevent them from dusting and running the vacuum in all
the other rooms? Or cleaning the second bathroom? (No litter box in there,
nope.) And what does ANY of this have to do with not mopping the kitchen
floor? No, they just wanted to leave. So they concocted a ridiculous story
for the owner. Before they left, Yon suggested I call Serv-Pro, which is an
affiliated company. She said they are equipped to handle these "bigger
jobs". Oh fer cryin' out loud! If you google Serv-Pro you'll find they're
a disaster recovery company. The do cleanups after floods, fire, etc. Give
me a freaking break!

Fortunately, their accounting person hadn't cashed my check yet. When we
spoke I had her write VOID across the check face and email me a copy. She,
too, tried to get me to call Serv-Pro. Nope, not going to happen. I'm
still so angry I could scream. Now I have to find another cleaning service
to finish the job. I had to cancel the carpet cleaning appointment I had
scheduled for today (Stanley Steemer). I wanted the house to be completely
clean before they tackled the carpets. Merry Maids really screwed things up
for me. (I wrote a very negative review about this particular Merry Maids
on Yelp.)

OB Cats: I never updated about Persia not eating her kibble. I didn't take
her to the vet. It was just like when your car is making a funny noise.
You take it to a mechanic and it doesn't make that noise anymore. Persia
must have known I was planning to take her to the vet. She started eating
her kibble right away I'm still going to switch her to the wet R/x food.
I'll keep an eye on her.

Jill

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That is ridiculous. A 1,700 sq. ft. house is not a particularly large job
for a cleaning service. My house is 2,732 sq. ft., and I have a woman
(note: one person!) who cleans the entire house for me every two weeks.
That is a different type of cleaning since she does it on a regular basis,
but Merry Maids should not have had any problem at all. If they thought it
was "too big" a job, they should have sent a team (with backup if someone
did not show up).

Do you know any people in the area who you could talk to about cleaning?
There surely are other people in your community who have their homes cleaned
on a regular basis, and that could be a good source for references. The
woman I use has a regular cleaning schedule, including some homes much
larger than mine, but she is a one-person cleaning service. She is
reliable, efficient and trustworthy. I use ChemDry to clean my carpets
about twice a year.

MaryL