Hello there! As you can see from the answers we have given below we mean the very best for you.  All of our policies are written with our clients’ and cleaners best interests at heart.  If there is a query you were thinking of that we have not answered for you below – please do not hesitate, just call us and ask and we will be happy to advise on any matter.

Click on any question below to reveal the answers:

What kind of service do you provide?

We are a dedicated and detailed domestic cleaning service. We do not provide any other cleaning services other than quality regular domestic cleanings. The reason for that is that, with this system, we can train our cleaners to provide this service to the premium level we expect to provide for you. We do not want to distract from the quality of our domestic cleaning for which we are known, by attempting to train out other services too, we are not a ‘Jack of all trades’ type of service. Demand for this service is always high and we believe is specialising in what we are good at. Other professionals are available for carpet cleaning, oven cleaning ironing etc. We stick to what we do the best – which is to provide you with a good solid and reliable domestic cleaning service.

How does the service work?

Professionals Cleaning Service only offer weekly or fortnightly domestic cleaning. This streamlines our service and allows us to be better at what we do. We specialise in regular domestic cleaning work.

You can book an initial deep clean with us to get the service off to a great start and give us a clean base to then maintain, and you can choose either weekly or fortnightly regular maintenance cleans. We can also build in certain additional domestic services such as bedding change or cleaning out the fridge if these are booked and priced in too. If you are on a budget, as long as the service meets our minimum change of £36 plus VAT then we can arrange to leave out areas and tailor the clean towards your budget. We will add everything that is arranged onto your client notes and then our cleaner will visit and deliver the service that we have quote for, no more and no less. All our services are tailored to your requirements and will be priced according to the areas shown to us and the scope of the work discussed.

This is not an hourly rate service, it is our intention to provide you with a premium level of service and since we have found staff to be variable in what they can each achieve within the same time frame, due to human factors such as age, fitness and other variables like that, we price on the scope of the work  rather than just time spent on the property, this way we can make sure we are getting the agreed work right for you every time no matter who attends you.

What time will you arrive each visit?

Although you will be allocated your cleaning day, we cannot indicate specific times of arrival, we can let you know of an expected time  ‘window’ of arrival upon request, ie morning’, mid morning, early afternoon or late afternoon to give a rough indication of a time we will arrive. We cannot give a set appointment time for arrival as there can be no way to know how a day will pan out when providing a detailed, cleaning service and travelling to and from various accounts. There are so many variables at play, such as traffic, how each home is left for us (please see ‘preparation of home’ item), last minute cancellations, and as we are human, even hot weather can slow down our cleaning. We usually find we can reasonably aim for a ‘time window’ and if you would like a similar ‘window’ each week we will try hard to provide this for you upon request.  We believe in keeping promises and we would not promise a specific time as that is not viable for our company for the above reasons.

What are your office opening hours?

Our office is open from 9 am – 4 pm Monday to Friday. If you contact us outside of these hours then please do leave a message for us and we will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible.

Will I be tied into a contract?

No – absolutely not, we do not have you sign a contract as we strongly believe that offering a good quality of service creates loyalty on it’s own and has no need to tie customers into the service by making them sign. This has proved to be the case for as many years as we have been in this business – and that is over 20 so we know this works! We are flexible to your needs and service can be cancelled at any time. We just ask that you respectfully give us a few days notice to cancel any booking so that we can use the space to fit in other work. This means that if we do not have at least two working days’ notice of a cancellation we will still need to charge the full service price as we will not have enough time to book other work into the spot and yet the cleaner will still need to be paid for her scheduled hours plus business costs involved, but at the same time, there are absolutely never any ties involved forcing you to retain our services for any time longer than you would love to have us.

How do I pay for my cleaning service?

Payment is due for each service on the day of the visit.

Our clients set up a regular standing order to pay for their service. Payment should leave your bank account on the day of your clean. Otherwise you can also pay with cash. You should leave this out for our cleaning team to collect on the day of your clean. If it’s easier for you, we can collect payments from you via our Go Cardless direct debit facility.

If you forget to pay us or to leave cash out, please leave enough to cover two visits next time. If you forget again, don’t worry we will call to arrange payment and to set up a standing order with Go Cardless to make it easier for you.

Do I have to provide anything for you?

No you don’t need to provide a thing! Not a sausage! As a fully-equipped service we have everything we need to do the best job for you.  All we need from you is a home ready for our cleaning service to  clean and a key for access, plus any alarm codes. We supply all the materials we need to deliver a beautifully cleaned home for you! We just need your house and we will do our magic in it!

What products and equipment will you use?

We use the best products that we have found to be most effective and safe for your surfaces and items. We use Miele vacuums to ensure the best cleaning power that is also light-weight for the cleaners to handle safely and allows for less wear and tear on their bodies as full-time cleaners sometimes suffer repetitive strain type injuries with the wrong equipment.

We also supply all the fresh cloths and mop-heads that the cleaners require for the homes on the schedule for the day.

What scope of work does your minimum price cover?

Our minimum priced regular service of £36 plus VAT covers a weekly visit in a one or two bedroomed property with few occupants that is being kept in good and tidy condition. We price up from there to quote larger properties and properties which require more labour. If you have a budget to stick to we can often tailor a lower quote for a larger home by leaving out some of the areas and just including your priority rooms in the cleans.

How do I book additional services to add to a cleaning visit?

Just call us or email the request at least  a couple of days in advance of the cleaning visit and we will be able to price up and schedule in any additional services such as bedding changed or fridge cleaned out etc. Please remember the cleaning staff are not authorised to book in work or add to the scope of the service in any way, they are not office based and will often forget to pass on these messages, which is understandable, so please do always book additionals in advance via the office.

Can I book a deep clean on occasion?

 

Yes you can! Regulars only are entitled to our special of a deep clean for just double the cost of your maintenance cleaning price. On this deep clean well get behind and under all the areas we usually rotate and clean all of the rotational tasks such as window interiors and paintwork wiped down – ALL in one visit! In the ‘olden days’ this was called ‘bottoming the house’.

Of course, as these cleans take much longer than regular maintenance cleans, deep cleans are subject to availability and need to be booked a few weeks in advance to avoid disappointment as sometimes all our staff  are all fully booked with regular maintenance cleans.

Who will you provide to clean my home?

All our cleaners are trained to represent our service level. We are ALL the Professionals Cleaning Service and as verified by our lovely testimonials our clients do love the cleaners that we have hired and trained.

Our cleaners are fully trained and under contract to represent us correctly and our service is fully managed for your peace of mind. All new team members are to work alongside a senior member of staff  during their training period to ensure they understand and can deliver the quality and consistency required, they will not be signed off by her until she is sure they are fully capable of understanding and delivering the scope of the service,  their performance is closely monitored when they first go out alone. No cleaner is forced to leave training until they and we feel they are ready to deliver high standards and represent us correctly also no cleaner is allowed to leave training until they can meet our standards. Cleaners with a poor attitude towards the job will not be hired and if client feedback tells us that a cleaner is not following our training we are here to fully manage the situation for you until you have the satisfaction you deserve . The procedures we have in place ensure you will only be attended by cleaners who are fully able to represent us correctly in your home.

Will it be the same cleaner every visit?

Although this is our aim as this is always in everyone’s best interests, and it does usually work out that way, we cannot absolutely guarantee the same cleaner every single visit, due to variables beyond control such as sickness or holiday leave and also on occasion, even with our low staff turnover, members of staff do leave us, however to manage this for you we do always ensure that your individual client notes are kept to supply to any cleaner that attends you to maintain consistency and routine. We always ask for clients to communicate their needs to us as we understand that no two clients are the same. This ensures that all notes stay up to date and any cleaner covering for your regular cleaner is on the same page and will be getting it right for you.

What if I’m not happy with the cleaning?

If you feel in any way dissatisfied with our service, then please tell us within 2 working days from the visit in order that we can rectify the situation. We will return or make sure to rectify the missed area next visit if necessary at no charge.

How do you maintain standards every time?

At the time when we come round to provide a quote for your service, we create personalised client notes for your home with information about special surfaces, pets, etc and with a section to keep a note of any special requests that are not within the standard service but that we have priced into your cleans for you, etc. Our office is also available during our ‘open hours’ to support the cleaning team to ensure they have everything they need and to make sure that they are alright.

We also all need to know that we are getting it right for you. and therefore we very much encourage your honest feedback, not just the lovely comments, that we do very much appreciate btw :)  but we also NEED to know if anything is going wrong as well, we encourage this open communication ensure that staff are performing duties correctly and that all of your job notes are being acknowledged. If not then tell us straight away and we promise to fully manage the situation for you.

How do I prepare the home? Do I need to tidy up before you come?

Good question! We would always advise that you store away personal items, important items and valuables, as things will have to be moved during a thorough clean and we cannot not assume liability if these are lost if they have been left out. If you have a valuable, breakable item which is out on display (ie an expensive vase for example), we cannot not assume liability for any breakage if we have been instructed to clean such an item.

Excess clutter should be kept to a minimum on cleaning day. This enables us to clean areas more effectively and lessens confusion. We will clean accessible areas only. Excessive clutter and pick-up time incurs extra fees so please ensure the floors and surfaces are mainly clear of items and ready for the cleaning service. Although we are a ‘cleaning service’ and not a ‘housekeeping service’ we will allow teams to wash just a few pots at their own discretion and if time allows. The sink area will mainly need to be clear of washing up before we arrive as of course we do  need to use the sink to prepare our cleaning water and chemicals.

We absolutely know and understand that clients are so busy, but if the house is not picked up and left ready for our service when teams arrive then we will not be able to deliver the level of service we have promised without a price increase to cover additional labour costs and you will not get the best value for money.  If teams arrive to find that a house has not been picked up and requires a large amount of tidying before they can get to the clean they will do what they can within the usual time-frame but then they will need to leave to get to the next client scheduled without getting to all the cleaning, they would rather complete the clean to the level of detail that is usual for our service level and we know that clients would usually prefer the higher level of cleaning than have our teams spend the bulk of the time tidying up first. We CAN help with this kind of work for you but will need to price it into the service.

Please ensure all wardrobes, cupboards, shelves, blinds, etc are securely fixed so we can be sure our team are working in a safe environment. We cannot accept liability for any damage or accident due to unsecured fixtures.

Shall I go out during service to allow access to the areas you'll need to clean?

It is not necessary to be out during service but it is something we do recommend for very best results and for best value for money for you, alternatively, if you can stay in a room that we don’t need to clean or can maybe clean last – that can work well too!  Of course we cannot detail clean an area which is being heavily used by clients and we will not be able to guarantee quality of work where client activity is taking place at the same time. It is not good value for your money and also is frustrating for staff who came with the intention of providing a full and detailed service for you.

We cannot take on any liability for breakages  or accidents caused as a result of client activity around the cleaning staff.

Most clients tell us that they know this is all just common sense really – and it is! We always say that kind consideration of one another will lead to best interests of both parties being met and this always proves to be the case.

Will you move the furniture to clean?

Where possible, we will move furniture to clean as far as we can remove without causing ourselves strain or injury, but of course we may not move everything we can at every single visit, unless a deep clean has been booked. Also safety must come first and We will not move furniture that cannot be easily be pulled out without undue strain on a person’s body.  We also will not be able to move furniture that is likely to cause scratches on certain types of flooring. We will move any items that we safely can within a rotating schedule.

Will you clean the windows too?

Yes!! Unlike some other cleaning companies, we do include interior windows within our standard service! We will clean the interior windows that we can safely reach on a rotational basis. The cleaner who attends you will choose a couple of the windows to clean per visit and they will know where they are up to within her window cleaning schedule.

Are you insured?

We are insured up to £1,000,000 for public liability, employer’s liability, key holding, product use and items being worked on. For any claim falling into these categories we will meet any policy excess for you to ensure total peace of mind.

All our team are fully trained and each will endeavour to treat your home and possessions with the greatest care, however in moving many items in your home, including the operation of blinds, etc there is an element of risk that items may be damaged. Our accidental damage insurance is subject to an excess of £250 and we do not provide cover for accidental damage for the first £250 of any loss. Your household insurance will usually have a smaller excess so it’s usually better to claim on this if necessary. You will always be informed if anything is ever damaged by our cleaning team. Please inform us of any items that are irreplaceable, so that we can make special arrangements.

I assume you are closed for bank holidays, Christmas etc?

That’s right. Here are our closure times:

We are closed during weekends and public bank holidays. If your clean falls on a bank holiday we can on some occasions offer a re-schedule upon early request but this depends upon availability as we are often running a full schedule which means this is not always possible but we will always help where we can.

We are also closed for the two weeks of the Christmas holidays so that our staff can use some of their annual leave to enjoy time with their families at Christmas.

What about when I go on holiday?

If you would prefer to cancel whilst you are away we can do that, however most clients use the booking to have a deep clean or sometimes for additional tasks such as fridge and kitchen cupboards cleaned out, also clients feel it’s great for to have someone checking in on the home and picking up the post, water the plants etc whilst we are there too. Of course, if you do have us in, please make sure to supply any additional access details such as alarm codes etc.

If you would like to cancel your spot please give us two week’s notice so that we can use the spot to book/re-schedule other work and not just waste the place. We are usually running a full schedule and need to know about free spots in advance for bookings.

What if it snows and roads are unsafe so that you cannot get to me?

Safety must always come first. If we can’t get to you because access is too dangerous due to ice and snow, etc then you will not be charged for your normal visit. We will return at your next scheduled clean as long as the roads are then clear and safe.

Do you have a Privacy Policy to protect my data in compliance with GDPR?

Privacy Policy:

Although we have not had to alter our policies or procedures in any way to comply with GDPR guidelines, we have never shared any of the data we hold unnecessarily or stored any data unsafely, we would like to let you know how we are compliant with the  legislation coming to pass 25th May 2018 as follows:
When services are cancelled by either party your details will be deleted off our databases with immediate effect of notification of termination unless you instruct us otherwise. At the same time, we will also be deleted you from our accountancy software too.
 
If however services are asked to be suspended indefinitely, ie due to a house move or financial situation, we will continue to hold details on our systems for up to 24 months but you will be contacted after every 6 month period after services were suspended, to ask permission to still be holding your details or if these should now be removed or when you would next like to be contacted about this.
 
Contact details are for office personnel to access only. We do not supply these details to any cleaning staff or route managers as all contacts are always made via Sandra Ormson at our office or her assistant office staff only. Likewise, contact details of our staff are not handed out to clients, as a fully managed service this is not at all necessary and would contravene data-protection legislation. The two numbers we use for our business are both office phones only, no clients’ phone numbers or emails addresses are able to be accessed by non-office staff. We do not use your data for any marketing purposes.
 
Also TPCS never sell your data to third parties. Only the members of TPCS will be supplied with the required data needed at any time to perform the work in hand correctly, our staff contracts are bound by confidentially clauses to ensure that nothing with regard to client or company information can be discussed with parties outside of the company.
 
The Professionals Cleaning Service are also making sure that all other companies used by us, such as the Go Cardless payment facility and the accountancy software we use are also compliant with the new GDPR regulations.
 

I'm so happy with my cleaner, will I be able to ask her to work directly for me?

We are so happy that you do love your cleaner, we do too! It’s great to know that she is following our training and procedures correctly and making you so happy! However we know you will understand that during the provision of our service and for a period of 6 months after any cancellation, you cannot hire any staff that are or have been contracted to us. The Professionals Cleaning Service reserves the right to claim any damages, loss of earnings, advertising costs, recruitment costs, training costs and any court costs where appropriate, subject to a minimum of £450.

Can I Read Your Full Terms and Conditions of Service?

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

These terms and conditions form a contract of service agreement, using our services means agreement with these terms and conditions.

To our valued customers:-

Quality of service is of the utmost importance to The Professionals Cleaning Service (TPCS), as is professionalism in our work. These are the values that set us apart from other cleaning services and it is our intention to continue to deliver the very best as a quality, detailed cleaning service coupled with the best in customer service that we can possibly provide. We must also honour our duty of care towards the staff we entrust to make delivery of this level of service possible for your ultimate satisfaction. For these aims to be viable, we need your compliance with the following terms and conditions:-

INSURANCE COVER:-

As a premium level, professional service, unlike an uninsured, unregistered ‘cleaning lady‘ who can prove to be a hefty liability for a client to hire in the long run, we are fully insured for up to £1,000,000 of damages, employer’s liability, plus key-holding insurance for your peace of mind. We would never agree to undertake any work not covered by our public liability policy, including:-

Heavy lifting – as individuals we will decide which items we can and can’t lift as only we can know our personal strength, previous injuries etc and judge effectively what is safe for us to do. Heavy lifting frequently when working in the field full-time is too much wear and tear on a body and can lead to back/knee injuries later in life, therefore lifting must not be requested of our staff within general maintenance cleaning, lifting will only be undertaken at the cleaners’ discretion.

No climbing at all may be undertaken by staff during service, we have a duty of care towards our staff and will not allow any clambering or climbing for health and safety reasons.

No exterior work is covered within our insurance. If we were to fall when cleaning an outside step or window the homeowner would be liable for our injuries or any damage to the property therefore these services are not provided.

No cleaning can be done on the premises if other trades are working there or anyone is performing DIY on the home in the areas we need to access, this voids our insurance.  If  we have been asked to clean when other trades are around the home we will not take liability for any damage on that visit.

Any health and safety issues will be handled as per company policy and not superseded by client request. We will always be acting in the best interests of our valued staff with regards to health and safety as this in turn is always in the best interests of the customer and the company too. We will no longer serve any client who is not supportive of our health and safety policies towards staff.

All chemicals, equipment and cloths must be supplied by ourselves, so we can ensure that, as per health and safety and insurance requirements, they are ergonomically sound to use, safe to use according to our training and hygienic to use. We have no material safety data sheets for other chemicals!

Our insurance has an excess of £250 as is the norm with most comprehensive policies within the industry so therefore small items damaged cannot be covered or therefore be replaced. If any such small damage takes place we may be able to replace these as a gesture of goodwill in certain circumstances.

ACCESS TO HOME:-

TPCS must have access to the home and all areas to be serviced on the agreed day of cleaning. Please make sure if you change locks we get an up-to-date key and the alarm code we hold is still correct and please communicate any special access arrangements that differ from the norm PRIOR to the day of cleaning, it is far too late to re-schedule on the day when teams are already out for the day. If access to the home is not available when TPCS arrive to clean a lock-out fee of the full price of service may apply, in order to pay our staff the wages for the work that was booked in good faith, and if we cannot reschedule, unfortunately then your cleaning will have to wait until your next scheduled service.

Please note if we are not issued with a key TPCS are not liable for any loss arising from the key being left or hidden for us around the property as this kind of arrangement is not encouraged by our company as is felt to not be the safest practice and our insurance only covers keys held by us, not keys left out for us, also if the key is not to be found in the agreed place a lock out charge will be applied for the wasted journey and time of staff who still need to be paid for the visit.

PREPARATION OF HOME:-

We would respectfully ask that the house must be made ready for our cleaning service in the following ways:

Please remember to make sure to have all the areas of the home which are to be serviced fully accessible to the cleaning team and make sure no one is using these areas during service. Please vacate the house if at all possible (particularly  the kitchen, bathrooms and living areas).  If anyone forgets to vacate the rooms and is cooking in/using the kitchen then that room is out of bounds for cleaning (which is to nobody’s satisfaction!)  The kitchen cannot be the ‘one room’ the client chooses to use whilst the cleaning service takes place as too much detailed work needs to be done in there and because we are a cleaning service and not a housekeeping service we just have the one opportunity to clean in your designated slot.  We are not there all day and  cannot wait to complete service at the expense of the next client. Detailed cleaning is focussed work and we cannot accept complaints which were caused by client activity in the home during the service.

Please store away personal items, important items and valuables, as things will have to be moved during a thorough clean and we will not assume liability if these are lost if they have been left out. If you have a valuable, breakable item which is out on display (ie an expensive vase for example), we will not assume liability for any breakage if we have been instructed to clean such an item.

Excess clutter should be kept to a minimum on cleaning day. This enables us to clean areas more effectively and lessens confusion. We will clean accessible areas only. Excessive clutter and pick-up time incurs extra fees so please ensure the floors and surfaces are clear of items and ready for the cleaning service. Although we are not a ‘housekeeping service’ we will allow teams to wash just a few pots at their own discretion and if time allows. The sink will mainly need to be clear of washing up before we arrive as we will need to use the sink to prepare our cleaning water and chemicals.

If the house is not picked up and left ready for our service when teams arrive we will not be able to deliver the level of service we have promised without a price increase to cover additional labour costs, if teams arrive to find that a house has not been picked up and requires a large amount of tidying before they can get to the clean they will do what they can within the usual time-frame but then they will need to leave to get to the next client scheduled without getting to all the cleaning, they would rather complete the clean to the level of detail that is usual for TPCS and we know that clients would usually prefer the higher level of cleaning than have our teams spend the bulk of the time tidying up first.

ANNUAL PRICE REVIEW:-

As  an established company it is always our aim to be able to stay around and serve you for the long term, as we know you would like, we must always keep an eye on our prices and make sure that these are still workable  in order to ‘keep the lights on’ within the business as we know you’ll understand.

With this in mind we will assess all clients prices yearly to make sure the scope of the work is still working out at the price we set at the original quote or if increases in costs mean we would need a new price for the service.

RESCHEDULING – NOTICE REQUIRED:-

The same as many other cleaning services, TPCS have no facility for same-day re-scheduling, many services require two weeks’ notice for a rescheduling arrangement, however TPCS always endeavour to provide outstanding customer service and in many circumstances we can accommodate a change if given a few days’ notice. Sometimes it is not possible at all if no client can swap to your allocated day since we always run a full schedule but, given due notice, in some cases we can help with this. We will always help where we can.

All communications and information relevant to the next visit, (except emergency cancellations, of course), must be conducted at very latest the day before the clean so that we can successfully plan the route teams will take to service all accounts efficiently for the days ahead, however TPCS understand emergencies do occur in normal family life and, unlike other companies, will not be charging a fee for cancellations unless on the same day. In the case of non-emergency cancellations, these will attract no fee, but please give as much notice as you can thus we can possible utilise the spot for another clients reschedule. Additional requests cannot be made on the same day of service, we will need to book these in advance.

Therefore, although emergency cancellations are deemed acceptable, and indeed unavoidable, we have no facility for last minute swapping and rescheduling, we are usually running a full schedule, therefore in the case of a cancellation, the client will usually have to wait until their next scheduled visit, unless of course another cancellation comes up.

Additional requests will need to be booked  in advance as we will need to schedule these in and arrange payment for the additional work.

ARE YOU TIED INTO A PERIOD OF SERVICE BY A CONTRACT?:

No absolutely not, we do not have you sign up for a period of time in a contract as we strongly believe that offering a good quality of service creates loyalty on it’s own and has no need to tie customers into service by making them sign. This has proved to be the case for as many years as we have been in this business – and that is over 24 so we know for sure that this works! We are flexible to your needs and service can be cancelled at any time.

We just ask that you respectfully give us a few days notice to cancel any booking so that we can use the space to fit in other work for your cleaner. This means that if we do not have two working day’s notice of a cancellation we will still need to charge the full service price as we will not have enough time to book other work into the spot and yet the cleaner will still need to be paid for her scheduled hours plus the business costs involved, but at the same time, there are never any ties involved forcing you to retain our services for any time longer than you would love to have us we want it to be that you are with us because we are making you happy and not enforced by a contract.

These terms and conditions form a contract of service agreement, using our services means agreement with these terms and conditions, but customers can cancel services whenever they need with due notice.

 

TIMES OF SERVICE ARE VARIABLE:-

Each client will be allocated their own day for service (unless other arrangements are made with due notice!) The service will be taking place at some point between 9.00am and 5.30pm unless indication has been given that the house may be available outside these hours in which case we may occasionally work outside these parameters. There is no facility for a specific timed appointments however we can supply time ‘windows’ of estimated arrival on request, obviously requests to know when teams may arrive must be put in before the day of the clean and will be accommodated where at all possible. Where no request has been put in before the day we will assume any time is fine to arrive and schedule accordingly. It will be too late to contact us on the day as we will all have left for the day.

We will never be able to predict how long a clean can take as it depends upon numerous variables such as how many are on a team and which staff are on this team, how the house has been left etc, and because our business model is designed to provide a quality clean at every home, unlike ‘hourly rate’ services, but we can arrange for a message to be sent to you when we are nearly finished if you are waiting to use your home again as we understand that detailed cleaning in a home can be an intrusive service – but well worth it, we think! J

Although we cannot indicate specific times of arrival, we can sometimes arrange a time ‘window’ upon request, ie morning’, mid morning, midday, afternoon or late afternoon to give a rough indication of a time we will arrive. If we are asked for the exact time that we will most likely arrive, there can be no way to know how a day will pan out when providing a detailed, cleaning service and travelling to and from various accounts. There are so many variables at play, such as traffic, how many we have on the team, how each home is left for us (see ‘preparation of home’ item!), last minute cancellations, even hot weather or feeling unwell can slow down our cleaning. We usually find we can reasonably aim for a ‘time window’ and if you would like a similar ‘window’ each week we will try hard to provide this for you. We would not promise a specific time as that is not viable for our company for the above reasons, as is the norm within our industry.

PAYMENT TERMS:-

In common with most cleaning companies, payment is expected on day of service unless another arrangement has been implemented in an individual case, which must be requested and agreed to in the first instance. We now take payments via ‘Go Cardless’ so we can take care of these for you, just ask for the link and we will send it within an email, a payment button is also to be found embedded within the first page of our website. Repeated late payments are detrimental to cash flow and will result in withdrawal of service until the arrears are cleared and regular payments set up either by yourself or via ‘Go Cardless where we can set them up for you. It is too costly to repeatedly service an account without payment and to repeatedly chase arrears, therefore please make sure prompt payment is forthcoming on the same day as service. In the event a payment is not settled before the following clean service will be suspended until payment is received and then service may be rescheduled at our discretion usually we would need a regular payment to be set up at this point. In the event of more than two cleaning cycles without payment or without any communication re payment we may have no choice but to replace a client on the schedule. After more than one payment has been forgotten by the same client, we will then require a regular payment to be set up via standing order or direct debit, which we can help you with via our ‘Go Cardless’ facility If after a late payment, this arrangement is then not implemented upon our request we will need to reconsider the client’s place on the schedule. Repeated late payments cause detrimental cash flow issues and under no circumstances will credit be extended beyond a couple of days after service has taken place unless we have agreed such an arrangement beforehand. Late payments are regarded very seriously due to the detrimental effect this has on cashflow.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES/SPECIAL REQUESTS:-

As it is our aim to offer the most detailed maintenance cleaning service at the most affordable price we can offer, we have only built in our ‘standard service’ items at the price quoted for your regular maintenance cleanings. (Items included are on your service list list, new service lists with prices are available upon request and will be sent to you from time to time) Those are the items included within the agreed maintenance price. We do not offer substitutions or swaps, if any area that was quoted for at our original meeting when I walked through the house is not available for any reason it cannot be swapped for another area that was not covered in the original quote. This is because regular maintenance cleaning relies on certain rotas and systems of work to keep an area in the ‘maintenance’ phase of the service. New areas require a new quote and to be filtered into the system. It is not a fair swap to suddenly decide jobs which we have got in our systems and rotas can be left in order to do a complete initial clean of another area. We would never be able to run the schedule if this were allowed. New areas of the home require to be booked ahead.

Additional extras are available and prices will be listed on your price list (new copies available upon request!). Prices may change as with general price increases or because we have upgraded a certain additional service or where the scope of the work has altered in any way. Please make all bookings for extra services in advance through TPCS office and not via notes for the cleaning staff unless it is meant as a booking for the following visit and we are also made aware of the booking.

Special requests can sometimes be accommodated such as the deep cleaning of a specific room, given due notice, but will attract an additional charge related to additional time taken in order to keep our business viable. Any special requests must be within the scope of our service, please do not attempt to alter the job parameters of the regular maintenance service sold to you without due notice and request for a price. Please do not decide yourself what the price should be for any given service.

Please see below for cleaning after work has been done in your home:-

POST-CONSTRUCTION CLEANS (within regular service):-

If any work has been done within the home which has created additional construction dust you will require a post construction clean for your next service, this requires at least a double spot to be booked as the usual regular maintenance clean will not suffice, these cleans need to be booked in advanced so that we can price, staff and schedule them accordingly. If staff arrive to find construction dust within a home with no post construction clean booked they will be given instruction to clean as many rooms as they can within a usual time-frame and leave the rest of the home for the next visit so that they can still take care of all the clients on their schedule that day, this is to nobody’s satisfaction so please remember to book a post-construction clean in advance. TPCS will accept no complaint for incomplete service if we find a post-construction clean is required but has not been booked in. It is not enough to leave notes to the cleaners apologising for the extra workload, it is only fair that we do pay them for any additional labour. Our business model and payment structure requires that they are paid for all work done on behalf of the company. And this is why additional work requires an additional charge.

 

FiXTURES AND LIABILITY:

 TPCS must be informed of any fittings or fixtures of the home which are not fitted securely which could result in damage to these fittings or injury to staff during the cleaning process. No liability will be taken by TPCS for any issues caused by fittings or fixtures which are not secured correctly within the home. Please make sure no candles or burners are lit before service, ensuring the safety of our staff and your items which may get damaged if candles etc were left burning or recently put out before service. TPCS will not undertake any liability for either injury to staff or damage to property in these instances where the home was not left safely prepared for our service to take place.

TPCS will also not be accountable for any accidental damage or injury resulting from or related to any home maintenance issues at the property being cleaned. If you have older or faulty fittings which potentially cause leaks or showers not correctly sealed, shower doors which come off during normal cleaning pressure applied when scrubbed, plugs that get stuck down plug holes when used to fill the sink, items not attached to walls properly, items coming lose which could fall upon cleaning  we must be informed of these before we agree to undertake the work so that we avoid these areas. We will not undertake any liability for damage caused by home maintenance issues such as and not limited to those listed above.

We will not be liable for any damage to the home if we are allowed in to clean where other trades are present in the home or anyone is doing DIY within the areas of the home.

Any damage caused by the cleaning staff will be reported to us the same day. If the damage has not been noticed by the cleaning staff we will need this to be reported within 24 hours of the clean so that we can investigate if indeed our staff were responsible for the issue. If damage is reported in a timely manner and is found to be the fault of staff representing TPCS then an insurance claim may be made for any damage of value above £250 which is the excess on the insurance policy. Any amount above the £250 excess will be covered for you if reported to us correctly and if our staff are found to be responsible for this by the insurance company.

If other trades were in the home during the cleaning visit when damage occurred we will not take liability for any damage caused.

If there is client activity going on during the clean  we will not take liability for any damage.

END-OF TENANCY CLEANING:-

As many of you who are landlords know, TPCS are also End-of-Tenancy cleaning specialists, but these services are usually booked up at least three/four weeks in advance, so please arrange well in advance to avoid disappointment. Just for information, these services usually cost anything around £240-£1,440 inc VAT depending on the property (in common with other professional cleaning services) our standard is high and cost very reasonable hence the high demand. These services can take a team all day or more and will never be put before regular maintenance clients ,that is why they are subject to availability and booked well in advance with our company and must be booked early to reserve! Quotes will be given based on size/condition of property. Due to limited availability issues EOT cleans are ONLY available to our regulars who are landlords and then only when possible to schedule these subject to availability, these cleans are no longer available to the wider public due to lack of availability for one-off cleaning.

REGULAR MAINTENANCE CLEANING IS NON-TRANSFERABLE:-

Once you have had your ‘initial’ clean which, as you will remember, is a heavily discounted, deep clean on the first visit designed to bring the home up to our professional cleaning standards and to impress our clients with a ‘wow’ clean and win your loyalty, we will not take a client for whom we have not provided an ‘initial clean’ for these reasons!. You will then move into the ‘maintenance phase’ of the service, which is where we visit your home, weekly or fortnightly to ‘maintain’ the level of cleanliness in your home within our systems and rotas. Some companies charge in full for all the time taken to do the initial clean, we choose not to charge in full but to do the work at a loss that day to win a warm relationship with you, but regardless the ‘initial’ is a mutually beneficial effort as the client gets a beautifully clean home that makes them feel so comfortable and happy and we get a clean home to maintain from then on thus keeping our reputation for quality intact and serving the client to the best of our abilities.

This is the reason why our service is ‘non-transferable’. We cannot be sent to another property instead of your weekly maintenance slot (or to a part of your property we do not usually clean which is not maintained within our systems and rotas). A different property requires a meeting with myself to establish a price for that property, then a date to be implemented within the schedule for an initial clean (which, given how busy the schedule is, it can sometimes take us weeks to get a new client a date for their initial and thus get them on the schedule for following maintenance cleans!) For example, we cannot just ‘pop’ to a client’s friend or family in place of their own clean! We do not offer one-off cleans at anywhere near the price of regular maintenance cleans for all the reasons given, therefore please do not attempt to move our service to another property. If you move house a new quote and a new initial clean will be arranged for you then you will be back on the schedule. If a friend or relative would like to hire us themselves that is brilliant and we would endeavour to get them on the schedule at the earliest opportunity, but cannot promise a place immediately when fully-booked (although we wish we always could!).

WE CLEAN IT ONCE:-

Because our business model is ‘cleaning service’ not ‘housekeeping service’ we can only clean each area once, for example, if we mop a floor and a pet walks across it we cannot keep cleaning it, or if someone comes home early and walks on our newly mopped floor then makes a mess on a kitchen surface we have cleaned, our work has already been done. We cannot stay and clean again. We would have to charge a substantial amount more if we were to go over and over work already completed, therefore we clean it once only within the price supplied.

PETS:-

TPCS are not a bio-hazard cleaning service therefore will not clean excrement, vomit, blood or urine. This is to everyone’s benefit because it will avoid staff sickness and avoid cross contamination of harmful pathogens around the house., plus both we and you have a duty of care towards our cleaning staffs’ health and working conditions.

Please give us instruction on where your pet is allowed to go during cleaning and where he/she is to put after. We will try to make sure he is where you would like him to be! If he/she is not good with people or frightening to staff or likely to make a mess after we leave, please make sure he is contained during the service.

While we will be sure to take the best care to follow your instructions with regard to pets, we will not undertake any liability for the well-being of pets and responsibility for both pets themselves and health and safety of staff where pets are present remains that of the home-owner who undertook to have the work done around the pet.

CLINICAL WASTE AND HEALTH ISSUES:-

 Because both ourselves and the clients we serve have a duty of care towards our cleaning staff, our cleaners are instructed not to handle sanitary waste unless it is within a lined bin. Also we do not handle sharps under any circumstances, these must be disposed of in the correct manor and not by a cleaning service. We are not a bio-hazard cleaning operative therefore will not be handling dead animals, blood, faeces, urine or other bodily fluids which may harm the health of and impact on the working conditions of our valued staff. Also we will not be emptying bins which are not adequately lined nor will we be sorting through rubbish with our hands, we will help with taking rubbish to the bins but clients are responsible for making sure we do not come into direct contact with rubbish. Homes left for us to clean in a bio-hazardous condition will be taken off the schedule.

If anyone in the home has an infectious illness, please let us know and cancel the clean so that staff do not come into contact with these. Sickness absence is a huge drain on a cleaning service. If cleaning staff arrive to find someone is suffering from a contagious illness within the house we will ask them to leave service that day and return on your next scheduled visit. This will not incur a lockout fee in the first instance but repeated incidents will have to be reviewed.

The health and safety of our employees’ working environments is essential and the conditions TPCS provide for them is outlined as per government guidelines, the scope of our service is within these guidelines and staff must not be asked to include anything else outside of the services booked with us. They are not allowed to climb up and wipe high tiles or climb on furniture as injury for which we would not be covered by our insurance is likely, as another example, they are not allowed to lift anything they cannot easily pull with one hand as is usual within regular domestic cleaning terms, they are also advised not to clean any floor area ‘on hands and knees’ as too much wear and tear on their bodies leading to injuries later in life would be the likely result of such.. The equipment provided is to be used as trained to ensure due care of our staffs’ long term welfare.

 

REQUIRED NOTICE OF EVENTS WHICH COULD INTERFERE WITH THE CLEANING SERVICE:-

Please inform in advance if there is anything going on at the home which could interfere with the flow of service. If there were guests using the home during service, for example, that would be considered an automatic cancellation. Although we completely respect a client’s home (that is why we want to provide them with the freshest, cleanest environment to live in that we can!) when we arrive to work, the home is also our place of business and must be ready for such so that we can provide you with this level of service. If anyone is in the home, using the rooms we need to service we will not be able to deliver our service that week. If you have guests staying in your home for more than two cleaning cycles this will require a new price from us for the duration of their stay.

Also price adjustments may need to be implemented if any alterations to the home occur (extensions, conservatories etc) also for new additions to the family (pets, long-term guests, new babies etc!) If you move house, and wish us to clean the new property we will need to visit the new home to price up the scope of the work at the new home, and, as per our business model and in order to provide you with the best service, an initial clean will need to be booked before we can go forward with the usual standard maintenance cleans in the new property. As we usually run a full schedule, we will need to book the initial clean well in advance so that we can clear the necessary hours for a team to be able to provide this initial deep clean.

MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT:-

TPCS, in common with other professional companies, will only use our own equipment, supplies and cloths to ensure quality of service and to avoid cross contamination, since we know our own cloths are to be freshly laundered and disinfected each day, and we use separate ones for separate purposes – and obviously fresh ones at each client’s home. We will not put you at risk by using other cloths/chemicals than our own.

Products must be supplied by TPCS as we have professional understanding of the chemistry of cleaning and bring what we need to safely deliver our promise to do a fabulous job for you plus take good care of the materials of your home and care for our cleaners’ health. Other chemicals than our own will not usually be used by TPCS since our staff will have had no training as to how to use these correctly and safely and we not have the material safety data sheets for other chemicals. Our equipment is top range and ergonomically sound and we buy the things we know to perform outstanding service that are also comfortable for us to use five days of the week full time, we know it is because we’ve done it ourselves with the same! We will not risk injury to staff, damage to the surfaces of your home or lower standards of work by agreeing to use other equipment and if chemicals other than those we have provided are agreed to be used then you must take on all responsibility and liability for us using these items. 

PARKING:-

Please note TPCS have to bring heavy bags of supplies and equipment into your home (and several other homes) during the day of cleaning, so please be considerate and try to make sure there is a place to put our vehicle near to your door. We are liable for our cleaning staff and their health and safety and do not wish them to suffer back and joint injuries through repeated strain.

If there is no parking at all near a client’s home on the day (and we recognise that sometimes this is beyond the client’s control due to roadworks) we may then have to cancel the visit if it is too far to bring all the bags and the equipment on foot , there will be no fee for this if the client could not possibly have known and informed us of these conditions.

FEES:-

Unlike many other companies, TPCS do recognise that events can happen beyond a client’s control at times, therefore NO fees will be incurred with any genuine emergency cancellation or cancellations made two working days in advance of the booked spot.

In the event of any of our cleaners making a journey to a client’s home and have no access to the home in the usual way (example: due to obstructions, locks changed, alarm codes altered etc) and the client repeatedly forgets to inform us or give us alternative information/means to access property, or cancel us with good notice until the problem is rectified, then a fee of the usual price of service per wasted visit will be implemented depending on travel distance and our cleaner’s time wasted.

Equally, we do require two working days notice to make a cancellation in order for us to have fair opportunity to use the booking for other work and therefore allow the cleaner to receive the expected income for the booking. If we do not receive this fair notice we will need to charge the full service fee as the spot will then be wasted to us and the cleaner will still need to be paid her expected wage.

We really hate to charge fees but sometimes it just costs too much for a wasted journey for cleaning staff who will still require payment for the booking if we then cannot access the home, or for a cleaner’s spot to be cancelled at short notice so becoming impossible to schedule other work into their booked spot and again, often they will have booked and paid for childcare and will be expecting the work booked onto their schedules, so in the interests of kindness and fairness, their expected payment is still required.

COMMUNICATIONS WITH OFFICE:

To avoid confusion, any requested re-schedules, cancellations or new work to be booked or changes to the scope of the service must be booked via TPCS office and not directly with the cleaning staff. 

The best way to communicate with  TPCS management regarding any issues or to give us any new information is to either call the office  Mon-Fri 9 am to 4 pm or via email in writing during these hours,  this allows for the fastest results  in resolution of issues or for faster implementation of any new work plans and/or prices for these. Please follow up any issues reported in a telephone call with an email to confirm the issues to make sure these are fully understood. Please attach any photographs you have too to help us manage these for you.

Any issues we need to take care of for you MUST be communicated within 2  working days of the cleaning visit.

Complaints can only be taken care of effectively and completely by following our Company Complaints Procedure which should come attached alongside this document:

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE:

The Professionals Cleaning Service do not expect many issues to arise with regards to the service we provide and given we are REALLY appreciating the most wonderful feedback you give to us daily, which tells us you are generally thrilled with us, it’s true that day to day we don’t seem to get many issues to resolve, and certainly very few compared to some similar cleaning  services which we know from our industry involvement, especially in relation to the volume of cleans performed per year, but although we’d all prefer that there were none, because we are all humans it means that on occasion something may be forgotten, should anything like this occur or any other issue causing dissatisfaction, the procedure to follow to report these is to be found within our  Complaints Procedure which should be sent alongside this document, and then we promise to take care of things for you as soon as we possibly can, please do not hesitate to give a detailed and specific account of any areas missed and it is essential for us to have these reported clearly, accurately and, for best practice, in writing within an email. In order to properly take care of any issued we do need the information in within two working days from when the visit took place.

We have the procedures in place to take care of these immediately if clients follow our complaints procedure. We promise that complaints are never normally a disciplinary issue for our staff, we will handle your issue with kind understanding since we know that issues arise for a reason or otherwise it is just a training issue and we can take action to care of these immediately if a client complains as per our guidelines. We are offering a fully managed service level and you are paying for this level of service so if you use our complaints procedure correctly and put any specific complaints to us in writing within an email, we can iron out any issues immediately for you.  Non-specific, vague complaints cause distress to all parties,  and cause dissatisfaction all round, we need the direct communication in writing to put these right for you. We prefer to regard ‘complaints’ as essential communications and as a positive, valuable information to work with rather than regard these negatively and this is how we maintain our reputation as a premium level service Also in some cases, it can highlight the need for us to manage expectations more effectively and sometimes we just need to adjust the price to accommodate some additional work which is beyond the scope of our standard service as sold to you in the first instance (see the service list provided, we can send out a new one upon request) and this additional work just needs to be priced in, our system all relies upon direct and specific communication to make it work for the benefit of all parties, after all, we all want the same results so we must work together to achieve this goal.

A standard maintenance cleaning service is not meant to provide ‘perfection’ as we are not charging for this and if we did we are sure nobody would pay for a team in for the full day it would take to achieve such ‘perfection’, however you are paying for our quality and detailed maintenance schedule to be completed within our usual systems and rotations for your ultimate satisfaction.  We care about your happiness with our service, we want you to be thrilled with us and that is our aim, not to just have nearly all our customers thrilled with our work but to have ALL of our customers delighted.

Never worry about raising issues with us, we have years of experience in managing staff in a kindly and proactive manner that will not cause upset, we all all a team and we all want what is best for you. Honest feedback is the kindest thing you could do for us all, it is in your best interests and all of ours too as it allows us to help our lovely cleaners to be the best that they can be and for our service to thrive and at the same time you get the service level you deserve.

We simply don’t have a way to  know if anything has gone wrong you don’t tell us, so please let us help you.

PENALTY FOR DIRECTLY HIRING ANY EMPLOYEEE OR ANY CLEANER CONTRACTED TO TPCS WITHOUT PERMISSION:-

We really hope you love your cleaner, however we love her too! We are sure you will understand that during the provision of your Professionals Cleaning Service and for a period of 12 months after any cancellation you may not employ any staff in any capacity that are or have contracted to Professional Cleaning Service. Professionals Cleaning Service reserve the right to claim any damages, loss of earnings, advertising costs, recruitment costs, training costs and any court costs where appropriate, subject to a minimum of £450.

Thank you for reading the updated terms and conditions. We hope this communication is understood and deemed to be reasonable by our clients. The intention of policy is always to encourage communications and actions we need from clients to fulfil our duties and be the best we can for you all plus to honour our duty of care towards our valued staff, we love how much you love our cleaning staff, the relationships which have formed are so heart warming. We are YOUR service, we love what we do and we really love that YOU love it too, our key aim is to continue to make you happy and take good care of your homes, we just need a little help with the above so that we can continue to stick around for the long haul and service your homes to your maximum satisfaction plus stay viable as our business grows.

We thank you wholeheartedly for your usual co-operation with all these items and for all the wonderful feedback and lovely messages of support we get from you plus the referrals to friends and family and amazing testimonials , without which we simply would not exist! TPCS have had a hugely successful year far exceeding all our expectations mainly thanks to the generosity of our clients in helping to spread the word. This huge assistance in our growth is, in turn, passed back to our clients in offering our lowest possible pricing within our business model and our commitment to continue to deliver the level of service upon which you have come to depend! The goodwill from you all has been overwhelming and amazing!!

Thank you for all these things and most of all thank you so much for your continued business! We really appreciate you too, your happiness is, as always, our happiness.

  • PCS Terms and Conditions are reviewed and update annually – last updated September 2018
  • Continued use of service is deemed full  acceptance of all Terms and Conditions