Merry Maids

I called them and the lady said they charged $99 per hour for 2 women, that's $50 per hour for a cleaning woman? They are insane! The going rate here is $15-20 per hour!

We contacted Merry Maids in Mesa, AZ to do a move-out clean for a condo. They insisted on coming out to give us a price/quote. They quoted us $160 because they quoted for 2 hours to clean an empty condo. That quote included cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning counters and appliances, and cleaning the windows in the living room, dining area, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We then called Shaya (spelling may be incorrect) and instructed them not to clean the guest bathroom and bedroom. She specifically said, "Oh, that will save you even more money! " Well, we agreed to the $160 quote and they ended up coming to clean.

However, they claim a worker was dealing will a sick child so they only sent one maid when it was agreed to be 2 maids cleaning. So, they claim another maid eventually showed up to finish helping. At the end of the cleaning, they attempted to be fraudulent and tried to charge us over $300.00. I said, "Absolutely not" and they said the lowest they could go was $220.00 (for a total empty condo). The cleaning was maybe worth $100.00. All window seals were covered in dust. I would never recommend anyone to hire them. These are completely unfair business practices and I hope one day that they get sued and put out of business because they are very unethical! Mary, who is the supervisor (supposedly) has a serious attitude when you try to explain how unprofessional the company handled things.

I originally met with the sales rep Mary and was told that since my apartment was so small, she was going to send only one person for an hour and a half. We went over the specific things that I needed done and it was noted in the appointment. She also told me that for the $120.00 I was paying, they would clean "all" the baseboards and ceilings, etc. When I arrived home, the only thing that had been cleaned was my bathtub and the bathroom floor. I have never been so aggravated.

I called and spoke to "Sammy", who apologized for the lack of concern for my apartment and the fact that they sent two people out and cleaned nothing. She would have a different team come out to clean from top to bottom for my satisfaction. I, of course, sadly reported that the new team only came out to vacuum my couch! I contacted them and left a message that I wanted a refund. I received a call stating that they sent someone out to vacuum the couch since it had not been done originally. I am going to complain to the Better Business Bureau and I plan to dispute this payment that I made with my bank.

My jewelries were stolen from our home. Items lost were my wedding band, engagement ring, another gold ring with faux diamonds, amethyst bracelet, amethyst necklace, and gold with diamonds earring. This happened on Sept. 14th and we are still trying to get this settled. We were told by Merry Maids, we would have only one girl cleaning but there was a different one every time. We now have to get our lawyer to help settle this case.

The maid's position:

If you are not happy with Merry Maids of Shreveport your experience is normal. The actual maids earn less than minimum wages, if you factor in they must use their own car to get from job to job and are anything but "merry". They put up with that because 100% of them, carefully picked and hired, literally could not find employment elsewhere, cleaning or otherwise at the time. They accept the week after week explanations of their should-be wages, etc.

MM's owner can not make weekly payroll and instruct the maids to cash their checks not at the bank it's drawn on, but she can pay hundreds of dollars for her dogs to get groomed. She promises the moon upon hire and delivers nothing but lies. She charges each maid weekly for a uniform "rental", drug testing which has never been done on maids, but still it's taken out of each check and "B/G check fees" too. Claims that towels were not returned, $1.00 is deducted for each. "Things were broken in the home", but never has proof of it to show, and anything to keep dipping into the already minimum wage salary. All of these come off the top of their weekly check - which isn't even a check for the first many weeks because they are under the heading of "maids in training", but the customer still gets billed $400-$500 a pop regardless! Work orders claim payroll is 2/3 of the fee yet the actual maid never sees that money.

If you use Shreveport MM please never leave your maid a tip on the check because the one doing your cleaning will not get it, which is why they care nothing about doing your house to any real satisfaction. And if it gets back to the office that a cash tip was given it's explained that the client wasn't fully charged, so that tip has to be surrendered to the boss. At last count, they don't even have a business license. So they say, when they come right into the building, that it had been expired for some time with no response given to repeated letters sent.

Is Shreveport Merry Maids even a real Merry Maids franchise? A dishonest and greedy employer AKA Leona **.

I was going to have company; while busy preparing I had Merry Maids come to the house to clean before the guests arrived. I have three dogs, and I clean my house every day. Most rooms in the house are not used, so very light cleaning would be needed for most parts in the house. Months earlier, I had the first visit, I paid the $325; the house was cleaned, and I was happy. The second time I called, I said that I would like the same cleaning, and I paid the $325 for the visit. This time the floors were not cleaned, the wood surfaces, had been cleaned with some type of water solution, which left water marks over all of my furniture.

The staff even placed a magazine on the wet surface, so when it dried the magazine cover stuck to the surface of my coffee table leaving a huge portion of the paper glued to my table. The family room end table, which I had for many years, was cleaned with some type of cleaner that took the finish off the wood. Window sills were not cleaned. The young woman said she cleaned over the kitchen cabinets, and upon further inspection, I found that she only moved the items so that it looked like she cleaned. I had to re-clean the house before my evening guests arrived. Then I called the next day to complain of the damage to my furniture. The man came to my house said nothing about the damage. He just kept on repeating that I should have called to have them re-do whatever I was dissatisfied with. I had company coming; there was no time for neither re-do nor did he addressed any of the damages.

I am now using another cleaning service that charges appropriately, and does a much better job. I am not concerned about the cost, if they continued with the service I received the first time, I would gladly continue to pay them the $325 for their services. However, between the damages to my furniture, the devil may care attitude from the manager, the sloppy cleaning job from the staff, and the time it takes me to re-clean the house-- it is not worth the trouble.

My husband hired Merry Maids to clean my house so I would have more free time. Merry Maids cleaned my house for about 6 months. I found out that while the cleaning crew cleaned my house, they also cleaned my jewelry boxes out. Yes! One of the employees was stealing my jewelry (wedding ring, necklaces, diamond earrings, mother's ring and a lot more), they ended up taking about 19 separate pieces. When I called the owner, he told me his employees do not steal things. Merry Maids is a company I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy. Beware for those who still use Merry Maids services. Look at your jewelry boxes and if you are missing anything, call the police and turn them in. Don't call Merry Maids, they do not care!

I looked for a cleaning service and called Merry Maids in Covington. They promised to deep clean the first time for $350, to be charged to my credit card. After that, my house would be cleaned regularly every other week for $155. It was explained to me that if I did not find the cleaning satisfactory, as long as I called within 24 hours, my complaint(s) would be corrected.

My understanding was that two people would clean and stay the whole day. I returned early from work, I saw only one cleaner and she was ready to leave; it was only 3 p.m.

Result: Floor boards, window sills not cleaned throughout the house. Under the beds, sofa, chairs, hard-to-reach corners not cleaned. Laundry room (very small) not even touched. Cobwebs still there. Video recorder, storage shelves for CDs not dusted. Floor still dirty. Merry Maids makes a big deal about cleaning floor boards, but obviously this did not happen.

Discrepancy between manager's cleaning method and cleaner. I wondered why my floor still was not clean and asked if they mopped kitchen floor and why it was not shiny. Cleaner suggested to use a little linseed oil to put into mop water and wet mop floor. This would not only clean, but give it a shine. Manager did not go for this at all and stated flatly that they only swiffer. If anything else was to be done, this would cost extra.

I was so astonished, because I thought wet mopping would be a matter of routine. I complained again within 24 hours that the issues were still not resolved. This time, I was told the correction would happen with the regular cleaning visit. Well, naturally, there won't be a next visit.

I also wanted a price regarding garage cleaning, but did not receive one despite being promised that I would be called. Very disappointed in the service. Highly unprofessional. Do not recommend at all.

I was charged a $88 lock-out fee by the Merry Maid at 20331 Lake Forest Drive, Suite C14, Lake Forest, CA even though they showed up at my house 3 hours early. I had an 11am-3pm appointment and they showed up at 8am, while I was getting dressed for a morning appointment. I told them to come back at the scheduled time, and they said they would. They never showed up after I waited around all day, and when I called to complain, they claimed I had an 8am appointment, which was a total lie, and they refused to clean my house, and they charged me a lockout fee, even though I was at home. This is a total rip-off. I was going to sign up for a monthly service, but I am appalled for being charged for their mistake.

Called Merry Maids to inquire about floor cleaning. I hurt my back and could no longer mop or vacuum. Was told by MM that I would have to contract for thorough cleaning of my entire house for $200, then they could give me a price for floor cleaning only. The maids broke items, dust that fell from ceiling fans was not cleaned so stained carpet, dust from fan over bed - they just put sheets over it!

But the worst is my laminate floors. Don't know what they cleaned them with, but now have streaks, spots that won't come up. Have done extensive research to find out how to strip the floors and it cannot be done. Called MM several times to complain; once they said they would refund part of the money I paid, but they never did. I am more concerned about my floors which looks like a disaster and do not know any other way to take care of other than replacing the flooring. laminate floors are ruined. Will take approximately $2000 to replace.

June 1, 2010 - First Day of Service - My initial cleaning that is to get my home up to par so that it can receive regular bi-weekly cleanings. Quoted price $245.00 The first thing that I noticed when I walked into my house is that the Window box was not cleaned. I had removed all of the items that I kept in the window box so that it could be cleaned. It was not touched and I had to clean it myself. When I went into the bedroom I noticed that the baseboards had not been dusted and the vacuuming was only in the general walking path. The edges of the carpet were not vacuumed and I was able to pull large amounts of dog hair from this edge.

I also noticed in the master bathroom that my sliding mirror doors for my closet were not windexed and my TV and lamp shade was not dusted. Later in the evening I noticed that the floor behind my toilet was not swept or mopped, the sides of my TV were not dusted and the trash cans in my kitchen were not pulled out for sweeping under or behind. In addition the wall and cabinets in this area were not wiped down. When I found the note that was left by the Merry Maids representative and these items were listed as complete in the "special attention rooms" I was very upset.

When Gail contacted me about my service she was very put off that I was not satisfied with the services because the representative had cleaned my floors on her hands and knees. I explained to her that if I was just paying for my floors to be cleaned then I wouldn't have a compliant, but I wanted my home to be cleaned. She requested the opportunity for someone to come out and clean my home to my liking. I agreed because it is very important to me to find someone to provide this service. I explained that I would be out of town the following week but it would be fine if they came out again to redo the initial cleaning.

June 8, 2010 Make up cleaning, no charge. 1st Attempt. As I am traveling I am contacted by Gail. She states to me that she will not be able to have someone clean my home as agreed because I did not leave a key. I replied that I was not given my key back. It was explained to me at the time of our initial meeting on 05/20/10 that once I left the key for the representative that they would take it back with them to the office where it would be secured until the dates of my cleaning. This is not what happened with my key, the last rep had left the key on my kitchen counter. My husband and I both knew that was not true but could do nothing since we were several states away trying to enjoy a vacation.

When we returned home I notice as a stood at the front door of my home that there was a lump under my foot. The key was left under my doormat during my travels! The representative did not leave my key on the counter as she had said before; she did not take it back with her as I was promised. She left it under my doormat for any intruder that would come to my door. I was extremely displeased with this and conveyed my husbands and I trust issue to Gail, she didn't seem sympathetic or apologetic at all. It seemed like an annoyance to her. I was hoping these where beginning jitters and it would be worked out. I desperately wanted this relationship to work out; I need a trustworthy responsible person to clean my home. I agreed to the second cleaning to be scheduled, obviously at no charge. I would have thought that at this time with the issues at hand Merry Maids would have put their best foot forward. That was not the case.

June 15, 2010 - Make up cleaning - Part 2. When I returned to my home that night after the 2nd cleaning I noticed a few things that were missed. Dust under my radio, food under the table and a ring around my bathtub. I decided that I would just leave a note next time that says "please be sure to clean these areas." I was tired and just sick of dealing with something that was suppose to be stress free. The next night I had a spill in one of the rooms and when I shut the door to clean up behind it I found a hand full of dog hair to be swept up. It was obvious that this area had not been swept either time.

I decided to look into the cleaning more carefully and referenced the note that was left from the cleaning. The list did not make sense to me. It noted my special attention rooms and what was suppose to be cleaned. First was the lamp shade in the dinning area the ceiling fan in my kitchen and sweeping under small furniture. I have attached photos so you can see just how clean these areas were! The same thing! This is disgraceful. All they are doing is sweeping my floors and not evening do a good job of that.

June 16, 2010- I called Gail to express my wishes to terminate. I was advised that she was out until the following week. June 23, 2010 I called again to terminate the services which she was glad to do, but once I stated that I would expect a partial reimbursement for the incomplete services she disagreed. She said that they had come out to clean my house twice. Unfortunately the two times that they had cleaned still didn't add up to an adequate first cleaning. I am very frustrated with this experience and I have discussed with several of my friends. They are all shocked since Merry Maids is supposed to be an outstanding service. Gail has come down to $200.00 for the fee but I am still very dissatisfied with this resolution. I have a 2 story home and only one floor was in the contract. One of the rooms is for my dogs and only needed swept and it wasn't.

Then to add insult to injury, when I began to prepare this formal written complaint I scanned a copy of the original contract. It stated that the initial cleaning was to be done at 245. My credit card was charged 320. It is obvious that the "second" cleaning that was to be free and make up for the poor services was not free. I was charged an additional $75. (06/02/10 320.00 MERRY MAIDS 759- MO 88373580 -line from card statement) $320.00 for nothing.

I'm making this complaint because the service I contracted for was not being performed by the Nashville, TN Merry Maids service for several months. So, I finally called the local office on 02-12-2010 (this was the day after our last cleaning service on 02-11-2010). I left a recorded message stating my complaint to the local office. I stated that I was not pleased with the service and gave specifics. Mr. Blackburn, the owner, responded by returning my call on 02-12-2010 and I was informed by him that he would deal with it.

He stated he would talk to that cleaning crew and inform them of the situation, and then he said he hoped I was pleased with the next cleaning service. I informed Mr. Blackburn that on two, possibly three occasions, me or my spouse left a list for the cleaning staff because I thought I could deal with the items in need of attention and not have to bring it to their employer's attention. I wanted to deal with this in a diplomatic manner to avoid conflict or embarrassment for the workers, Cheryl and Angela, but this obviously did not have its intended effect.

Merry Maids' answer to this situation was to replace the cleaning staff. Although we were not informed of this decision at all (Merry Maids called on 03-10-2010, the day previous to the scheduled clean to confirm service, but did not inform us about this change in staff) and we only knew of this change of cleaning staff when we were approximately 15 minutes from departure for a monthly doctor's appointment because of chronic pain I've dealt with for over 15 years. We didn't have time to deal with new people being in our home like this.

I am disabled. I was experiencing severe pain while leaving and as if that wasn't enough the below incident caused me and my spouse undue duress and extreme emotional disruption. Just as we were sitting down to dinner, we received a very disturbing and extremely disrupting call from the animal welfare agency P.A.W.S from Officer Farmer at approximately 5:30 pm on 03-11-2010. "Extreme" emotional duress, I am disabled and take a large and heavy regimen of narcotics because of chronic pain that I and my spouse have to deal with for over 15 years. We have an abundance of stressors in our lives and this was just way over the top, way over the top! This accusation was without foundation and caused us severe anguish.

The reason I write to you (I will also forward a copy of this correspondence to Mr. Blackburn, owner of Merry Maids of Nashville, TN) is to inform you that this new cleaning staff invaded our privacy, called Mr. Blackburn who actually called the animal welfare agency. Furthermore, this new team entered rooms they had no contract to enter (evidence of violation; doors were left unlocked and opened that were previously closed and locked, lights were left on and some off that were to be left on for the pups' sake!) This cleaning staff left a document stating that we needed to call about our service today! This had never happened previously! Merry Maids has cleaned for us for some time now.

Upon returning from the day's activity, I found a message on my phone (which I've saved), which states from Mr. Blackburn, owner of Merry Maids of Nashville, TN that because of animal feces and urine odor, they had to stop cleaning. This is totally absurd and absolutely false. I defy anyone to show me pictures of this condition and why did the previous cleaning staff never voice a concern after being here for so long? Mr. Blackburn conceded to me today (03-12-2010) in a phone conversation (at approximately 8:30 am) that his workers told him that there was animal feces and urine in the utility room, The problem with this Merry Maids was never contracted to enter that room, thus they had no business going in there (breach of contract and invasion of privacy).

There may have been a little animal waste on the puppy pads, or possibly on the floor if they missed the puppy pads, but this is absurd. The reason the pups were in there in the first place was because we were leaving for my doctor's appointment and this is where we keep them when we have to leave and somebody else (Merry Maids in this case) are in their home. Furthermore, this room along with the garage is cleaned twice a day everyday by my spouse and there is nothing more than normal amounts to clean considering they are animals and there are no laws stating we can't have our own animals where we want, Merry Maids had absolutely no reasonable merit for calling the animal welfare agency, period!

Obviously, our major complaint is that these Merry Maids employees, while in my home, called Mr. Blackburn who called the animal welfare agency stating our dogs were not being cared for properly, that they had fur matted on their eyes, etc. This is a bold faced lie with malicious intent. It's malicious because it's not true and has no basis in reality! As stated, Merry Maids has cleaned for us for some time now. (We have all the correspondence papers left after every cleaning and they have never stated anything even close to this nature! We have on file every Merry Maids of Nashville, TN cleaning dates of service which can be verified according our documentation of cleaning explanation left after each service.

The original contract is also on file. Merry Maids has never complained previously because there was nothing to complain about. Note: Mr. Blackburn stated to me in the voice mail he left on 03-11-2010 that his cleaning staff had to leave because of the alleged problem. Oh, really? Question, why did Mr. Blackburn state that they left without finishing the job because of the alleged problem and also stated that the previous staff refused to come back because of this same problem (this is an absolute farce, total prefabrication!) the only reason he would state such a bold faced lie is because I already complained about that very cleaning staff not doing their job even after I'd left several notes for them asking them to please complete the job in its entirety and they just would not do it! Mr. Blackburn was also trying to cover up the fact that he called animal welfare agency P.A.W.S.

Continuing, why would Mr. Blackburn, owner of Merry Maids of Nashville, TN send another crew staff if this was actually a problem, after all he also stated to me when I complained of the first cleaning staff not doing their job, that according to OSHA regulations, the cleaning staff was not allowed to handle or dispose of animal waste. Why on earth? If this were a real problem, would he agree to send out another cleaning staff team? My complaint about the first staff team culminated.

After they were supposedly finished cleaning, I found a small piece of animal feces in front of the master bedroom which was not there beforehand and this was after they wet moped that floor. How could something just show up like that after it was cleaned and wet moped? Mr. Blackburn was very defensive about this issue. He asked me if I thought they put it there. I stated this, "All I know is that it was not there before they cleaned and afterwards it was. Draw your own conclusions!"

Because of the new Merry Maids' staff calling the local animal welfare agency, they are now demanding an inspection of our home, invading our privacy and the right to live peaceable undisturbed and without interference which Merry Maids has directly caused to happen and with malicious intent. Reiterating, it's malicious because it's not true and has no basis in reality! Ask Officer Farmer from the animal welfare agency who stated that this complaint had no foundation! Reiterating, there was only animal waste were the animals were being kept which Merry Maids had no contract to enter the utility room or the garage. The original contract reads this as well, stating specifically what rooms where to be cleaned and the rooms that were excluded which were the three bedrooms, the utility room, etc.

I concede malicious intent because after I complained about Merry Maids not doing the job I was paying for, Mr. Blackburn sent a staff here and this happens after their first time cleaning. BTW, the kitchen was cleaned, the kitchen floor cleaned, the living room and front hall carpet was vacuumed, front bathroom was cleaned or I should say they were attempted to be. At what time did these two think it was right to call Mr. Blackburn who called the animal welfare agency based on their accusations! If as Mr. Blackburn states in his voicemail that the smell of animal feces and urine was so bad they had to stop cleaning, why would they wait so long and do this much work if this really was an issue?

Why didn't they say something to us before we left? I even asked the older lady if there were any questions she had and she replied, "No, I think we got it." They both had already walked around the house before we departed and still no questions, but after we left, they did something so malicious and downright egregious. This action is absolutely hateful, hurtful, malicious, mean spirited, outright prefabricated lies, extremely egregious and downright evil!

I also firmly believe this cleaning staff looked at the job and the time allotted to finish (one hour according to Mr. Blackburn in our phone conversation on 02-12-2010) and simply looked at everything that was to be completed and concluded it could not be done, and took this action to avoid being complained about if they did not also meet the standard of cleaning I contracted for. The previous staff could not finish this job in the one hour given to them to complete it, so they would skip items such as all the kitchen cabinets, several times they missed the base cabinets in the bathrooms as well. Not to mention the time I had to call them to come back and Finish the job because the entire places were missed, overhead light fixtures, entire cabinets with stemware that were supposed to be dusted were completely ignored, as well as many other items.

There is no other motive for them to take such malicious action against us! These two cannot deny this action. Either we've lived here for over five years no one has ever made a complaint about us in any way, especially about our animals! Reiterating, the first time a new staff team from Merry Maids comes to clean, the animal welfare is contacted and this staff team just happens to stop their work and leave supposedly because of offensive animal odors and they left a document stating to call about today's cleaning.

The owner calls and states why he's terminating our service. Absolutely, no coincidence here at all! Furthermore, they entered rooms they had absolutely no reason to enter, such as my spouse's dressing room, our utility room, and our garage. The fact is the reason we know they were snooping around is because they left doors opened that were previously closed and unlocked doors that were locked and left lights on in rooms that were not on prior to their arrival and turned off the lights were our pups were staying leaving them in the dark! How mean and ignorant was that!

For the first time, a document stating we needed to call about our service today was left by the new cleaning staff! Also, they did not finish the cleaning service. Again, breaching our contract. The cleaning policy guarantee is clearly stated on their Internet site, the one that lead me to their service originally. Mr. Blackburn owner of Merry Maids of Nashville, TN has caused my spouse and I deep emotional disruption and extreme metal anguish because of the absurdity and mean spirited nature of his accusations! There are absolutely no circumstances that existed or that exist that warranted this action being taken by Mr. Blackburn, owner of Merry Maids of Nashville, TN. Calling the Animal welfare agency! This is totally without merit or cause of action! I reiterate Officer Farmer's report stating this complaint is without foundation, after his personal inspection, this speaks for itself!

This house is in the same condition now as it was when Merry Maids originally contracted with us to clean. If there was a problem, the representative did not make it known and in fact made contract with us for service, which speaks for itself! We had the dogs at that time and their names are on the contract as the walk around was completed. Our pups are small Pomeranians and PomaPoos, none weigh over nine or ten pounds. They are house broken and we use puppy pads which I might add are expensive to purchase for nothing more than a pup doing its business on and trashing it! This goes to the kind of care we give to our pups! This also shows the high level of personal hygiene we choose for them! Reiterating, there has never been a complaint made or service threatened to cancel do to any conditions in this home by Merry Maids previously.

Our neighbors have visited with us unannounced (which we have never minded, we love our neighbors!) and have never stated anything of this nature and this is something that if it was really the problem, Merry Maids say it was anybody walking in here would notice this alleged condition, period! It just does NOT exist! Additionally, I wholeheartedly believe the first workers spoke to these workers and said things about us because we complained about their lack of work ethics and this has spilled over to the incident at hand. I would implore someone of responsibility to inquire of this incident and take the appropriate action. We may contact an attorney to investigate our rights and proceed with litigation in this incident. These are extremely egregious unfounded allegations as well as character defamation. Please govern yourselves accordingly.

Merry Maids charged me $150 to clean my 3-bedroom condo once a month. The salesperson talked about how they deep cleaned, scrubbed floors by hands, etc. I thought it was steep but I would have been happy to pay the money if they had done half as good a job as they advertised. They just didn't clean things. My place is small and not difficult to clean and they would not dust, not vacuum and left cobwebs. Even worse they used the wrong cleaning products on my refrigerator and permanently stained it. They broke things and left dirt on my carpet.

When I called customer service, they said they were too busy to come out and fix things that they had missed the first time around and they would pay for things they broke only if I could provide a receipt and like most people, I don't have receipts for every little thing in my house. Taking money for services that you fail to perform is against the law in this country. Merry Maids is more of a scam artist than it is a cleaning company. They are a disgrace. The office I used is in Marlton, NJ and they are absolutely terrible.

I entered into a twice monthly cleaning contract with Merry Maids. The owner of the business came out and went through the entire home with me, taking additional notes on the standard form and noting anything additional that I wanted done in cleaning my home. There were immediate problems with the cleaning of my home. The floors, particularly the bathroom, were not cleaned. I contacted the company and spoke with Amanda, who told me she would have the crew return to re-clean my home in the areas that I found unsatisfactory.

As the weeks continued to pass, I found that I was either calling back to request that the cleaning be re-done or doing it myself. The "maids" broke a candleholder (of sentimental value) and knocked two framed pieces off my walls in our pool room. I contacted Amanda and was told that she would replace the candleholder, which never happened.

After numerous times of calling to complain or re-cleaning the house myself, the "maids" came again to clean. My husband was home, and when they discovered he was, they quickly left after about 20 minutes. (The team of two was scheduled to be there for approximately 90 minutes on average). When I called Amanda to report that they had not cleaned, she stated that the crew was "very angry and upset" at my phone calls. She offered to come out and personally inspect my home. I told her not to bother and that I would be canceling my contract and not paying for the last and previous cleaning, due to them not performing the job as required in the contract.

When Amanda became rude, I asked to speak to the owner of the business. I was told that I could not speak to him, because he did not take customer calls. I continued to ask, and she continued to refuse. She did acknowledge that the "maids" weren't there for the full cleaning time and that they "lie all the time" about how long a job takes or how long they have been at a job.

When I continued to receive bills from Merry Maids, I contacted Amanda again and told her that I was not paying for the last and previous cleaning, which she herself stated that they "had not been there the requisite time, in accordance to the contract." She stated that I was responsible for the bill. I turned to the regional Better Business Bureau office in Des Moines, Iowa. After much negotiation and my agreeing to pay for one-half of the cost of one cleaning and to not hold them responsible for the broken property, Amanda and Merry Maids would not agree. I called the corporate office to complain and was told I would get a call back. I never did. The bill was sent to collections.

Because I have excellent credit and do not desire a blemish on my credit report, I am forced to pay for two cleanings that did not happen plus interest. I will never hire Merry Maids again, and I will tell anyone and everyone I know about this experience. Amanda and Merry Maids in Sioux City do not respect their customers nor do they understand customer service.

I contacted Merry Maids in Lantana, Florida for a house cleaning for my new house. I researched many cleaning services in our area and even though other cleaning services were cheaper, I went with Merry Maids because they were supposedly the best. I have an empty 2300 sq ft house and the woman over the phone quoted me $195 for three hours if I paid in cash. I agreed. They were scheduled to come out on 1/5/10 between 10:30 and 11:30 AM. First of all, the maids were not in uniform. The website said that they would be. During the cleaning, I was at work and the supervisor contacted me to let me know they needed an extra hour. If I did not agree to the extra hour, they would not have been able to finish. I agreed and I left work to give them the additional money for the extra hour. The next morning, I went to inspect the house and the cleaning was not up to par. The kitchen floor was sticky, the bathroom fixtures had water spots on them, the master bathroom had dust on the sink and the hallway bathroom even had hair on the toilet.

I contacted Karen, the owner of Merry Maids in Lantana, Florida, and she informed me that if I am unsatisfied with the service she would schedule someone to come out for an hour but for an additional fee. I was surprised by this because the work was not up to par and when I told her about this, she said that the supervisor was the one who cleaned my house and she had been working there for 4 years. So I thought what that means to me and my still dirty house that I paid $260 cash to have cleaned. I cannot believe that 2 people who have been working for the company for years were unable to clean an empty house in the allotted time. And furthermore, I am so surprised that after a paying customer brings this to the attention of the owner of a franchise that I would be told that I would have to pay more for them to come back out and re-clean what I paid them to do in the first place.

This is what the website says: "Dependable Cleaning Services, The Merry Maids Guarantee Worry-free service you can count on time and time again. One thing done completely the way you want it to be done. At Merry Maids, we guarantee it. If you are not completely satisfied, we gladly return and re-clean whatever is in question at no additional charge. And, if you see something that's not up to your standards, just let us know within one business day after the cleaning. We promise to correct it by returning at the earliest possible moment, without a bit of hassle. That describes the Merry Maids guarantee completely. No fine print. No asterisks. No worries."

I work for the local news station and I am writing to let you know that everyone in the area will know of the kind of rip off company Merry Maids is and the horrible services they provide. You do not fulfill your guarantee, you are unprofessional, you are the biggest rip off I have ever encountered and you have just earned yourself bad advertising. The work in my house is unacceptable and the way I was treated when I brought this to the attention of the owner is just outright rude. Thank you for your attention.

On Tuesday December 30th 2008 I called Merry Maids and spoke with Amanda the manager about coming and cleaning my new home said she would have to come out to say what it would cost she came out that day at 3 told her what I wanted done the main floor of the house bathroom mud room kitchen laundry room lining area and bedroom. I told her I wanted floors cleaned in all but living room since it was carpet. I told her I wanted the cupboards in kitchen cleaned inside and out. Wanted register vents cleaned. I told her cupboard in bathroom and mud room needed to be cleaned out. The bathroom sink and shower/bathtub needed to be cleaned. Ceiling fan in kitchen and living room cleaned. I told her wanted everything cleaned. She gave me estimate of $207 for it to be cleaned I said ok gave her a $50 cash deposit to hold my spot she told me that they would be able to come and clean 12-31 they would come at 9am. I said ok.

Got an call from Amanda 12-31 the cleaning people were having car problems would be late they got to my house at 9:45am Kelly was the lady along with a male. I showed her were to clean and what I wanted done she said ok. I left them there and she told me she would call me when she was done I said ok. She called me at 11:35 and said they were done and they were leaving. I went back to my house and when I went to the kitchen the floor, outside or inside of the cupboards vents windows stove dishwasher outside the ceiling fans woodwork and bathroom and mudroom cupboards were not cleaned I was very upset I called back and I did yell at Amanda and told her I was upset and they didnt do what they were suppose to do. Told her I wanted my money back that I wasnt paying for this because they didnt do what they were suppose to. She said they dont give refunds told her they were going to she said they would have them come back out and clean I said no she told me I needed to talk to owner Greg told her to have him call me.

He called me back told him everything that happened and that I was very upset I wanted my money back he said they dont do that told him he is because they didnt do their job. He said he would have them come and clean the house again I said no I want my $$ back. He said he needed to call and talk to Amanda the manger told him I already spoke to her and she told me I needed to talk to you. we hung up then. Amanda called me back she had Kelly come back out showed Kelly everything that wanst done. She said that they could clean then I told her that i had to go to work didnt have time. I called Amanda back and setup for her to come and look at the house 1-2 at 10am. The next morning I got a call from Kelly saying Amanda was sick, called her back no one answered left message for them to call me back.

Kelly called me back around 2 that afternoon said they could come and clean wanted to know when, I said no. I told her they had their chance to clean my house once why do they need to come out 2 times to get the job done. She wanted to get a time rescheduled when they could come out and clean. I told her if Amanda wasnt able to come then Greg should have come out she said he doesnt do that. Told her if customer is upset he should. We setup a another apt for Amanda to come back out 1-5 at 9:30 am. Kelly called me 1-5 and said Amanda was sick again. I didnt call her back I felt that I gave them 2 chances to come and look at what was going on and they didnt do it.

I feel that I dont owe this bill Merry Maids was to come and do a service and they didnt do what they were suppose to do. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau they have sent Merry Maids two notices and they have not responded to either. I called the Iowa Attorney Generals office and plan to file a complaint with them as well. I called and spoke with Amanda 2-10 at Merry Maids and she said I ose this bill and they are not taking out of collections said to her that I don't ose them they didn't do their job. She said this isn't going to be resolved until I pay.

I scheduled a cleaning with Merry Maids for Dec. 19, 2008. The only thing I was asked on the phone was whether they had ever cleaned my home, to which I answered no. I was told that the cost would be $180 for a MINIMUM of 2 hours, and I made the mistake of assuming that the cleaning staff would thoroughly clean until finished and that I might have to pay more than $180. I wasn't too worried because our house was relatively clean, although dusty, and I had a previous cleaning lady who easily finished within 2 hours. My husband was home on the day of the cleaning and did not follow the women around while they cleaned as we expected a professional cleaning service. They left after 2 hours. My husband then noticed that one room looked like it had not been cleaned at all.

I arrived home shortly after they left, and we went through the areas to be cleaned. I was horrified by the sloppiness! It was true that one whole room had not been touched except for some dusting around pictures. I compiled a list of about 20 things that had not been done and called to complain early the next morning since it was after hours on Friday. To this day, I have never received a call back.

On the following Monday, 12/22, I sent an email to the owner. Her email response was that my house was no way a 2 hour job and that I was very specific when I scheduled that I only wanted 2 hours. Shouldn't her two cleaning women have said something to my husband that they couldn't complete the job in 2 hours rather than leaving with knowing they left an entire room untouched? The downside is that I had to do the cleaning myself because we were having family over on Sunday - I couldn't wait until Monday to see if Merry Maids could come back (they don't work on the weekends).

I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and the owner's response to the BBB was that she had called me and I refused no to her offer to return to my house. I couldn't believe that she just created lies to justify her ineptness. I have tried to get phone records to prove that she never called, but the phone company does not keep records of local calls. The only proof I have are the emails and a bag of dirty dust rags from doing the cleaning myself. I want my money back!

The other part that amazed me was that the owner was so willing to give up on a potential long term customer to defend poor customer service. In reading the complaints on this website, it is apparent that this type of poor service is typical of Merry Maids across the US. I am thinking of filing a small claims lawsuit, but I'm really stuck with a situation. I should have canceled the check to force the owner to deal with my complaint.

I gave away $180 to a company that had no intention of ever living up their guarantee of a thorough cleaning job.

I used Merry Maid in Washington DC for about 4 months. I needed to skip a scheduled cleaning so I called 3 days before to reschedule. Two weeks later the maids never showed up. I called and spoke to the franchise owner and he apologized and said he would have a crew out the next day but would have to charge me more. I explained he never told me that when I called two weeks prior. He became very ruse. I asked for the corporate number and he said that I could find it on my own. I advised him I would cancel my service if he did not give me the corporate number.

After he hung up on me I looked the number up on their website and left a message for a customer service rep to call me back. Nobody ever called me back. I left three messages before somone called back on a Friday afternoon. He promised to call me back on Monday after he spoke to the Franchise owner. A week later I still had not received a call back. I left another message and another and Fianl got a phone call from B. Cooper who promised to take care of me. He promised to call me back. A week later no return phone call.

I was so frustrated at this point I wanted to speak to the President of Merry Maids, L. Hendricks. After leaving two messages and almost a week later she finally called me back. She made a weak attempt at apologizing and put the complaint back on the local francise. The local francise called me back and was very rude. I advised them that since my house was not cleaned in 6 weeks due to the lack of urgency on Merry Maids corporate that they would need to do an intial clean again for free. They refused

$200.00 refund for an initial clean due to the fact that I will have to hire a new cleaning company. Merry Maids took over 6 weeks to try to get my customer complaint resolved and I am still not satisfied. I will have to hire another cleaning compnay an dthey will charge me an intial heavy clean before a bi monthy contract

I had Merry Maids come to my home three times and then stopped their service. They sent a team of two women each time. In the first team, one of the women had an arrogant and hostile attitude and I couldn't tell her what I wanted because she knew it all. With all three tems, I had specifically asked them to vacuum under the bed and udner the furniture, which could be vacuumed under. While they agreed to do it, they never did. The second team was agreeable but they did not vacuum under anything.

I specificaly requested that the women who came to my home would speak English. The third team consisted of one woman who spoke English and Spanish and the other woman spoke only Spanish. I happened to be talking on the phone when I saw the Spanishspeaking woman place a dirty cleaning rag on my new sofa, with light-colored upholstery, and then she climbed

on the sofa to clean the picture on the wall above th sofa. She was very primitive and had no standards for cleaning a home. They did not vacuum under any of the furniture. This occurred in approximately 2001. Obviously, from the entries in your blog, Merry Maids is not better today than they were back then.

Merry Maids just ripped me off for $341.00. The owner misrepresents his company, leading you to believe that by hiring 2 girls for 2.5 hours it's like getting 1 girl for 5 hours. I said, I just want to make sure the baseboards and the tile floors get done. He said, We have a system, we work from the top down,cobwebs,ceiling fans, then dusting on down. An hour and 1/2 into the cleaning the girls said that they could not get done what I needed done in the time frame,they needed more time. So I bought another hour.

I am now up to 3.5 hours of cleaning and 2 girls which would mean by his calculation I would be getting 7 hours of cleaning. All they got done was the kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a powder room. It cost me $341.00. I wrote the check.

Then I started walking around the house and realized the ceiling fans are full of dust, the cobwebs never got touched, my floors are sticky and not clean and the baseboards were never done.

I called the company to tell them that I was not happy. They told me earlier that they love to get calls and make their customers happy. I explained to the girl on the phone that I felt ripped off and also felt the owner misrepresents his services.Terry the owner later called me back and told me to stop cleaning and he and an inspector would be coming over. He was very cocky, condescending and was telling me that I must have misunderstood. I was now getting mad. Soon he and the inspector and one of the cleaning girls came over. You could tell she had been crying. I reminded him of what he had first said to me when we met. You said you work from the top down, right? I asked. He said, Yes. I said Look up there, the cobwebs have not been touched and look at the ceiling fan. I showed him the floor in the power room that I cleaned with a wet finger. I showed him the dust on the mantle and he said yes there was dust. He then informed me that, I told you we couldn't get all that done in the time frame you signed up for. I told him I bought another hour and the basics where still not done. He started to humiliate the young cleaning girl. I said Its not her fault, it's yours for misrepresenting your company and what you could really do.

He then said he did not have to be insulted like this. I said I am not insulting you. You have just ripped me off for $341.00 for bad service.

As he led his employees to the door, one of the cleaning girls whispered to me I am so sorry which I also replied to her. I asked him how he can live with himself, ripping off people and not making this right. He then got in my face to the point that I thought he was going to hit me. He called me a ***** and several other expletives as he walked down my path. You aren't going to make this right then I said. He replied F#!% you,*****and that was it. I feel that he is going to take it out on his cleaning girl and I am pretty sure he has done this before. He got very defensive too quickly.

I had to stop payment on the check I wrote and had to cancel my ATM card because he asked for a credit card deposit. I did send payment for the work that was done.

When I intially called the Merry Maids I was told they it would be $90 to clean my house. When I spoke with them the day of the service I was told it was $91.50 an hour for the service. I excepted that as a miscommunication.

Then they came to my house and apparently spent over an hour cleaning my one very small bathroom! There were two women there, my fiance and I can't fit in the bathroom together so I highly doubt that these 2 women were cleaning bathroom together for an hour! They then called me to tell me that they had been there for an hour and fifteen minutes and they just started the kitchen. So I decided that I needed to see what was going on at my home.

I left work to come to a house that looked exactly the same as it did when I left that morning. I called my local office, they said they were very sorry and they would have them clean the bathroom again and finish the kitchen. I explained how angry I was about this situition but excepted his offer.

I went back to work expecting to come to at least a clean bathroom and kitchen and found neither! So they were supposed to clean my whole but being as though it took them an hour to clean a bathroom I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars for them to do a bad job on the rest of my house. I came home that night and cleaned everything that they did again! I am furious with this company, I have put a stop payment on the check I wrote to them, I'm sure I will get a respone then.

I have used Merry Maids services for the past eight years and have been happy with the work, in general. They clean monthly on Mondays, including on 8/18/08. On Monday, 8/18 I returned home to find the door to my house (the door used by Merry Maids) to be ajar. I also noticed about $30 in coins missing from a metal jar in which I place my change each night. The jar was full on 8/17, and went missing a portion of the change on my return on 8/18. No one has access to my house but Merry Maids (who has the key), and I live alone.

Christina at Towson Merry Maids did not believe that Rebecca would take that money... we do not have problems like that with our employees. When I asked if I could recover that $30, Christina volunteered that Merry Maids would be happy to cooperate with a police report if I were to file one. I am considering such right now.

In any event, I cancelled my service (after eight years) and will not likely have nice things to tell my neighbors and coworkers about the way Merry Maids handles the trust given them with one's house and personal property. Incidentally - the actual service has been declining over time as well (found a broken mirror and un-emptied wastepaper basket on 8/18).

See above. I will not likely file a police report and do not expect recovery.

We contracted with Merry Maids to clean our house since this past January. Supposedly, each time they come one room gets deep cleaned. Yeah, right. On a bi-weekly basis, a maid would come out and clean. The results were varied and sometimes it was not worth the $144.00 every two weeks.

In the last month, they sent Mary Jane. Mary Jane didn't bother to clean the downstairs bathroom. I know because the faucet to the sink was spotty and nothing had been moved to be cleaned around. The floors had not been swept or mopped. When I complained; Christina said if I wanted to request someone else, I would need to call two days before they came out.

This last week; I followed Christina's rules-- I called and told them NOT to send Mary Jane. Guess who showed up at my house ? And she did a poorer job than before. I called Merry Maids as soon as she showed up and was brushed off. When she was finished, I called Merry Maids and demanded that they send a supervisor out. Mary Jane had marked that she deep cleaned two rooms; however, there was dust on the baseboards of both rooms. She also marked that she vaccummed the stairs. She didn't do that either. The beds were made like a 3 year old had done it. She had not vaccummed under the end tables.

The supervisor showed up and looked at everything and left; promising to send Mary Jane back. I called the office -- I definitely didn't want her back. I've called the office and told them that because they didn't clean my house according to the contract; that they needed to tear up the check. They promptly went out and cashed it.

I also have called on four different occasions to speak to the manager, only to be turned away by Christina who is trying to save her and Brenda's jobs. She always has an excuse as to why he can't call me. She and Brenda have passed me back and forth and not let me speak to the manager. I called again yesterday and was told he had my message -- she didn't know why he hasn't called. I know why -- she didn't give it to him.

I was referred to Merry Maids by service magic for the West Des Moines, Ia. area. We were told that our charge would be $108.00 for however long it took the two cleaning ladies to finish. At first the cleaning job was pretty good, then one time I came home and was shocked by the lousy job that was done. Such as the floors not even swept, shower not cleaned, dusting was missed, rugs not vacuumed basically I had to do what they did not.

I called them and the manager was so sorry this happened and said they will come back for a re-do next time for half price. They did and it was ok that time. Then each consecutive time more things were missed and people changed. I never knew what time on Friday's they would come to clean. The last time was in July that two new girls were here and the whole cleaning job was again awful. I was not here when they left. Dusting went around objects on the furniture, rugs once again not vacuumed, floors not cleaned, sinks not washed properly.

Needless to say I called them after I had talked to my husband and told the manager once again how lousy the job was. She asked what can they do to keep my business? I had been told the first time it would never happen again and it did. I cancelled the service

No physical damage just wasted my money

My husband and I had just got back from an international trip. The house needed vacuum and dusting and since we were really tired from our trip we decided to call Merry Maids after rmembering their commercial on the TV. Merry maids sent 2 people for cleaning and though I insisted that we oversee their work my husband refused to do so. So we went on about with our work and they did with theirs - more than what we wanted them to do. After they left a day later I found that 3 of my best pairs of shoes were missing. All designer brands worth well over $400.

I was horrified. We kept searching in the house, tore it down from top to bottom but still no luck. We wanted to file a complaint with the Merry Maids but never got around to doing it. I mourned for a couple of days and then got over it.

If you think your house needs cleaning DO IT YOURSELF. Take a couple of days and do it slowly but DO NOT LET these thieves in the house. Remember you are paying them to clean but you may never know what went missing from your house. I am still not aware of what else is missing in my house.

Did not perform all the cleaning that we paid for. Said they would come back after I called them but I only expect that the job be done right the first time. And the said their director said she did a white glove inspecdtion afterwards. so if this is the kind of work they do we dont need them. pleas let them know. Thanks

About 8 months ago i was looking for a cleaning service to clean my house weekly. i found an add in the newspaper advertising $5 off your first cleaning. I had the service come out and give a quote. they came the following week to clean.

After they cleaned and it was time to pay the service fee I told the lady in charge i had the coupon from the newspaper. she said she could not take it.

I argued and demanded she call her boss. her Boss claimed that i needed to tell them at the time of the estimate that i had a coupon. this was not stated on the coupon so i argued. needless to say i told the manager to keep the $5 and never to come back to my house again. They lost reoccuring business over $5. This was clearly false advertisement. Till today i still see their ads and nowhere does it state you must let them know in advance you will be using a coupon.

They were here for two hours and I noticed that they had only cleaned two (living room and bedroom) of the five rooms in my place, and half of the bathroom. My fiance came home at that time and I needed to start dinner. He went to them and asked them to wrap it up. They continued to linger and say that they were almost done. We asked them three times total to leave. At 5:50, they stopped and started to collect the wine that I offered to them. This process took them almost a half hour.

I then went to settle up the payment with them. Louis said that I should only pay for two hours. Stating the vacuum didn't work and all the phone calls and everything. I agreed to pay for two and a half hours (start at 3:20 and ended at 5:50). Then I was told to add sales tax. I was very upset about that because I was told in the initial transaction that it was only $100 per hour. No tax was mentioned. I debated with them, so they called their supervisor, Gerry. She said, of course sweety, there is tax on everything. I was frustrated by that, but I included it in the amount of $250.00 plus 8.25% tax totaling $270.63. I had forgotten to deduct the $100 deposit. My mistake, but I contacted Gerry immediately once I realized. She said that she would refund the amount the next day.

I also told her that I was disappointed with my service. I had inspected the rooms that they cleaned after they left and nothing was done well. She said that I should have told them what they were doing wrong since I was there. I explained that I didn't inspect until after they left. Amongst many issues, there was dust still in the corners, the blinds which I saw Marie start cleaning were still caked with dirt and the carpets still had debris on them. I also mentioned that the vacuum wasn't working properly as Louis had stated to me. Gerry said that she would follow up with the workers when they returned to the office. She maid no amends for anything at that point.

The next day, Gerry phoned me to say that the workers stated that they were at my apartment for over three hours cleaning and that she was not going to refund my $100 deposit; that I forgot to deduct. I explaind to her that that was unacceptable. She then said that she would refund me $70.63 of the amount. I told her that was still not acceptable as I paid the full amount of the service regardless of the poor job that was done. I tried to explain that she should do the right thing and refund the full amount of the deposit. She told me that she had to pay her worker and that they said that they did a good job. She was very dismissive and told me she had to go because she had another customer on the line. I was left to feel un-important because she already had my money.

I would also like to note that Louis told me upon leaving that he is not a cleaner. He took the job to work in the office and that he was going to quit because she (Gerry) treats them like slave labor. He said that he was forced to come out and clean because another employee had quit that day. The Merry Maids website states that there is a 100% guarantee and that they provide professional skilled workers. Neither of those things were provided to me.

I immediately contacted my credit card company to put a stop payment on the $100 deposit. This is not a guarantee that I will receive the credit. So, I could still be out the extra $100. I then had to spend my own time to clean my apartment. This was problematic as I had intended to show my apartment to realtors the very next day; to where they were to take pictures for the realty listing. I was up to midnight and still had to cancel the realtors because I was not comfortable that the place was presentable. That could be in part due to my compulsive perfection. However, that is why I hired Merry Maids in the first place.

I immediately contacted my credit card company to put a stop payment on the $100 deposit. This is not a guarantee that I will receive the credit. So, I could still be out the extra $100. I then had to spend my own time to clean my apartment. This was problematic as I had intended to show my apartment to realtors the very next day; to where they were to take pictures for the realty listing. I was up to midnight and still had to cancel the realtors because I was not comfortable that the place was presentable. That could be in part due to my compulsive perfection. However, that is why I hired Merry Maids in the first place. There is no price to put on my aggrivation over this whole experience which I am still go through.

I called Merry Maids a week ago. A time was set up for today between 11:30 am and 12:00 noon. I was called this past Friday to confirm. At 1:45 I called and was told they would call the maids to see why they were late. I told them to cancel. My time is important also. They were only to be here two hours, and I guess they thought I wasn't worth their time. I live in a retirement community, and two people had already inquired about their services, and I was to let them know if I was satisfied. NOT! I'm sure a lot of business was lost here.

I have diabetes. My sugar reading went sky high as well as my blood pressure. I am having out of state company this weekend, and even though I am not physically able, will have to do this work myself.

On January 4, 2008, on the eve of my going in for surgery, I received a call from a supervisor in the Perth Amboy division of Merry Maids. I was expecting a team of workers to arrive at 9:00 and clean my house as they have been every week for the past several years. The call came in at 8:30, and at that time I was told that, because of animal feces and urine in our house I would be denied a cleaning that week.

I was taken aback because I knew of no urine or feces in the house. I thought they had called the wrong client. I explained that there was no animal waste that I knew of, and that if there was a problem in this regard I should have been given more than 30 minutes notice. The lack of adequate notice created logistical problems for me as my surgery was scheduled at Muhlenburg Hospital the next morning, and that no doubt there would be people visiting the house when I returned from the hospital. At that point there was not enough time to secure another service to clean the house.

The timing and manner of the denial of service came as a surprise to me. Heretofor I had a good working relationship with Merry Maids of Perth Amboy. They notified me in writing if they needed to change dates, and I gave them ample notice if we were going to be out of town. I rarely cancelled my appointment. The same was true of them. So what is going on?

My husband and I were particularly miffed at the accusation of animal waste in the house because we are both retired and are home when the women arrive to clean the house. Had there been a problem it would have made sense for someone to tell us about it at the time. We are reasonable people. And we most assuredly would not expect anyone to handle feces. That's just not right.

Why was it necessary to wait a week and call us as we were waiting for the service, at a time when we were in a tight spot? I suggested that someone come over to point out any problems to me. The manager/supervisor said that was not possible. I pointed out that we always clean up before the Maids arrive and then do a walk-through to check for problems. With the exception of the time the women arrived early (before 9:00) I was absolutely sure that things were in order.

I felt that anything my husband or I said was discounted, and there was no effort whatsoever to work with us despite our long standing responsible relationship with the company.

My wife and I employed Merry Maids to clean our home for approximatly 3 months on a weekly basis. They insisted they were insured and bonded so no worries if anything were ever damaged.

The initial cleanings were ok but the quality became worse each week. We have high expectations, but are also resonable and patient. However, they were unable to follow directions when we pointed out things we were dis-satisfied with such as the shower not being cleaned well.

Eventually I called to complain that they were not cleaning thoroughly anymore and they did a good job that week. They quickly reverted to the poor job the following week.

We were giving them one last try when I came home to find a big coffee colored stain on my white bedroom carpet. The stain was soaking wet and had appeared to have been scrubbed in an attempt to remove it. My wife and I were at work for 9 hours and did not cause this stain. No one at Merry Maids would admit to causing the stain. Michelle at the office advised me they would inspect. When I followed up with her she said they inspected and scrubbed it clean but insisted they didnt cause it. The stain was still there and when I told they should come steam clean they said no, they would try to scub again.The girl who cleaned would not admit to causing it so there was nothing they could do.

I am not sure why this would have any impact on them doing the right thing. 5 or 6 calls later they still wouldnt do anything. I was trying to be resonable and stopped short of asking for a brand new carpet, which I should have. I wanted them to attempt to steam clean first. During the 3 weeks this was going on I suspended my service. This didnt stop them from charging my credit card anyway. When I called for my credit they said this was policy to charge first then credit (never heard of doing this anywhere else but it happened 3 times despite my complaints)

Using a service like this is a convenience, not a hasel. I am worse off then before I used them and the management don't care one bit about doing the right thing. What good is the insurance if they refuse to use it. Why take an employee's word over a valued customer. Of course she will say she didnt spill something when the policy is for tehm not to be drinking beverages while working. If she didnt cause the stain and try to clean it then who did? I am not saying they should fire the girl for spilling something, but the implication is that I am the liar, not their employee. Needless to say I have discontinued service. It remains to been whether they get me my latest credit and return my key. I would tell anyone who will listen to avoid Merry Maids.

January the 29th untill February the 8th.I know thats not long but they will not give me my pay,I was told the first week i would get 9 dollars a hour then after that 20 percnt each house,that was almost a month ago they will not give me my pay.I said i was going to contact the.labor broad she laughed at me.

I had to tell them when their two hours were up, because someone wrote clean until done on the contract (that I NEVER got a copy of). I am extremely dissatisfied with the services received. I was NOT given an invoice and was overcharged. The next day there was a charge for $240 on my credit card. I spoke with the office manager who was extremely nasty and never said that she was the person I originally spoke with. The owner told me this when he called back later in the day. When I asked why I was not told this by her he said that she was not aware of it until she read all the notes. He then accused me of lying to receive a refund because I could not afford the service. His words were that people will call after the holiday in order to receive a refund for services they could not afford. He then went on to say that I had to be lying because he knew his office manager and that she would never lie. He then went on to state that they had refunded $80 and not the full $120 that was due back. Why the partial refund, because he KNEW she was lying but would rather lose a customer then refund the additional $40. To date however the $80 has not been refunded either.

Good customer service would be an apology for the overcharge and the refund due. THEN I would have stayed with the company because of the name and the good customer service but this didn't happen. It was a poor representation of the company and it's franchises. I wanted to tell everyone NOT use their services. For a representative of the company to accuse me of lying is outright slander and I will be contacting the better business bureau.

Rebuttal to my previous post.

Missing $2500 watch after cleaning

i cancelled them in july of 05 due to putting my mother in a nursing home and i knew i would have expenses with my mom for right now. in aug 05 my kids let them in not knowing i cancelled. i called aug 4 the first thing in the morning and told them i am not paying that i cancelled. she said oh i do see that. 60 days go by and on october 3 they went into my bank account and stole 158.00 how dare them do that.

i am a single mother working 2 jobs. i have no money now. it is now 2 days later and i still do not have my money back after the regional manager told me on october 3 they would put it right back. i was very very upset, crying on the phone to them and they laughed at me and it took 3 tries to get them to give me the corporate number. i still have no money. they have caused me to be very very sick

i am totally broke. i have nothing in the bank. 158 dollars may seem like nothing but to a single mother working 2 jobs living paycheck to paycheck it might as well of been 158 thousand. I have nothing now. i have 10 dollars to my name. i am sick, i can't eat , sleep. i feel as though i was violated , like someone came up to me and stole my purse.

I contacted Merry Maids several times because I wasn't sure if I wanted to start service with them. I am pregnant and decided that I would go ahead and start the service so my home would be sanitized for the new baby. Jennifer came out to my home and we agreed on a price of 164.00 for a 4-5 hour deep clean. They would wipe and clean trim, walls, ceiling fans, top of fridge, etc. My price for the deep clean was suppose to be 264.00 but they would waive 100.00 if I signed a contract for 10 cleanings. If I cancelled the contract I had to pay the 100.00.

Well it sounded good, she said 2 people would come and clean. I stayed home the first time so I could meet the team that was cleaning the home. One of the girls was very experienced she did a great job but I continued to hear her asking the other lady what she was doing? Why was it taking her so long on one particular thing? I walked outside and when I came back in she lady that wasn't doing to good had sprayed chemicals all over our 62 Television. Jennifer had assured me nothing would be sprayed on the TV. She said TV's are to fragile for chemicals on the front face. The experienced girl ran over to her and really got on her about did she not learn this stuff in training.

Over all the 2 girls did an ok job but I did not feel it was what I had paid for. They did not touch the things Jennifer had assured me would be cleaned and also according to the Merry Maid material I had to read what all they would clean. I contacted Jennifer the next Monday and explained what I had experienced. She said for the next cleaning they were only suppose to deep clean 2 rooms but because I didn't feel I got what I paid for she would have them deep clean the home again. She had also said the supervisor had came in and saw a few things they had missed.

When the new girl came in 2 weeks later I was unable to be here but when I came home I was very upset that only one girl came and my brother in law was here he said a supervisor did not come and inspect after she was done. I had checked the fans before I left to see how much dust was on them. I checked them when I got home and they had not even been touched along with the picures, lamp shades, floor, etc. My husband and I decided then we would just cancel the service. We had paid almost 400.00 at this point and nothing was deep cleaned. I contacted Jennifer again to explain what we had experienced with their service again and all she had to say was I am so sorry the service was not good for, would it make a difference if the girl that came Saturday was no longer with them. I explained to her I had paid them 400.00 already and I was not paying another fee for this. She just said ok sorry.

I feel Merry Maids lied about the service and they turn around to many employees to have what you are paying for. I have cancelled the service and will not have them clean the home anymore.

Your company is very over-rated.

On 5/5/06 your sales rep Sharon Bonds from your Perry Hall, MD office, came out to my home. The cost for a spring cleaning of 1 level ( my family room, kitchen, living room, foyer, and 1/2 bath came to $379.00.

On 5/11/06 your employee Lynn Pope, also from your Perry Hall office, arrived alone, surprisngly. She did an excellent job but took 4 1/2 hours to do my spring cleaning. During this time, my 2 rambuxious kids were kept upstairs out of her way (9 I was told it would take an hour to do the whole house).

I tipped her well, and they came back again on Monday 5/15/06. They had 3 employees here at this time, and it was 11:30 when I came home from picking up my kids, and saw the maids inside and said hi. I came back at 12:30. I inspected the home, and found that the kitchen floor was not sweeped or mopped. I called the office, and spoke with Tina, who offered to have them come back, but instead I took the 20 dollar deduction she offered me, since I was already inconvienced 45 minutes with my kids, to just drive around. Your employee Lynn came out 5/16/06 again to clean, again, by herself.

She began cleaning upstairs, and she was doing our stair area, when I came in to do a few things. I left ( 9:30am) and came back at 12.00pm. I noticed so many things not done, and called your office again, and spoke to Tina. I informed Tina that I would leave a detailed list of items missed. Today, Lynn came back to my home, again, alone, at 10:30 and did not leave till 12:15. I came home, and found that the house still had things not cleaned, so I called the office again, and spoke with Tina, who again, offered for your staff to come back. Why would I have them come back if they didnt do it right yesterday or today? I called and asked for mykey back, and eneded my service with your company. I have now hired The maids who has a 35 point cleaning system, and sends 5-6 people into your home, so they dont take all day cleaning your home. I will never use your service again-- or refer you.

The owners sent one middle-aged lady and their young teenaged daughter to do the job. After about 1-1/2 hours, they asked me to inspect their work, as they were nearing completion.

NOTHING the owners promised was addressed. Basics, like wiping appliances and bathroom fixtures were ignored or disgracefully done. Sliding glass doors were skipped over. Dusting was spotty, at best. Vacuuming was done only in a few main areas by what was evidently a very poor vacuum cleaner.

NOTHING was done properly. EVERYTHING had to be redone by the middle-aged lady while the teenaged girl watched. From the beginning, I was shocked when the teenager didn't even know how to put a fitted sheet on the bed, then spent her time dawdling around the house with a spray bottle and rag, talking on her cell phone.

I realized the main cleaner was unaware of any extra deep-cleaning instructions on the work order when she stated that they routinely deep-clean one room with each visit. So the extra charge for deep-cleaning was a double ripoff. Not only did I not get the deep-cleaning; I also paid extra for something that is normally included in the regular cleaning price of $150.

Even after I asked that the jobs be re-done, the results were totally unsatisfactory. Except for gold stickers left on the toilet paper, there was no evidence that a professional cleaning service had ever been to my house.

Two women arrived promptly with their own cleaning supplies. I showed them exactly which bathrooms, floors and general cleaning I wanted. They immediately asked how many hours I needed. I told them 3, as I told their manager beforehand. They made faces indicating some displeasure. I remained at home. Most of the time these women were busy speaking on their cell phones.

They didn't do half of what they said they would. They stopped before time was up and asked for payment. Fortunately I noticed my all-in-one-unit kitchen sink was completely broken. Both women said they didn't touch it. I called the manager, he kept giving me the runaround that I should pay and he'll send someone over to look at the sink. I told him I will not pay and I'll have my plumber fix it. He continued to apologize as these ladies mumbled to each other in my kitchen. I told him if they did not know how to use the faucet they had no right yanking it to the point of it being completely inoperable. I also told him I was home and all they had to do was ask me. He promptly asked to speak with them. They left without payment.

I was emotionally abused by her.

I told them I had no confidence in their workers and wanted half of my money refunded.

I had an agreement for once-per-month cleaning for $85.00. During the first two visits I had to request they return to complete the job to my satisfaction.

During the last visit I came home to find that the half the carpet was cleaned, the furniture was untouched and the garbage was left on the chair. In addition, there was a note stating that my house was too warm and to Have the air conditioning running next time. Or, leave them specific directions on using the thermostat (a standard model) that they had used once before and left running for the benefit of my electric bill.

Due to my work schedule my shifts are 24 hours long and I refuse to keep the climate control running when no one is in the house. However, they were welcomed to call my cell or turn on the A/C if needed.

When I called to ask that the service return to complete the job I got the owner who sooned turned belligerent when I told him that I wanted my house cleaned correctly and then I wanted the service cancelled.

Since then I have had to cancel the credit card I used to pay them, as they had the number, to ensure that they no longer make regular withdrawls.

No damages. Poor service and a very caustic business owner.

I was referred to Merry Maids by Service Master, and told I would receive a 10% discount on my first cleaning. I was given an estimate by Merry Maids of $80/hr for a 2 person team to do a deep cleaning of my house. I was told to expect a 5 hr. job. They subcontracted out the job to a husband and wife team. Only the husband turned up at 8:30 due to wifes car trouble. He cleaned till 10:30am then left to get his wife. They resumed at 11am. At about noon he suggested he should steam clean the carpet since he had the machine. I said ok. This took over an hour to do one small room. They finished everything at 1:30pm.

The bill I got was $625! They charged me a flat $500 for the cleaning plus an additional $125 for the steam cleaning, which was not mentioned up front. I felt very pressured and paid the bill though I was quite upset. After they left I found they had not even touched the tub in the bathroom, and did not mop or clean around the litterbox. I realize it's not the most pleasant job, that's why I was paying someone to do it! Then I started adding things up and realized how badly I had been ripped. It was supposed to be $40 per person per hour. The man was there from 8:30 to 1:30, for 5 hrs, or $200. The woman was there from 11am till 1:30pm, 2.5 hrs or 100. Thisis a total of $300 for the cleaning. I do not believe I should have been charged the hourly rate for the time they were carpet cleaning as they charged a premium for that service. So the cleaning should have cost $220. I still think it was very deceptive of them to not explain how much extra the carpet cleaning was, I would not have done it if they had. To top it off, they never gave me my 10% discount either.

I was lead to believe from my consultation with Merry Maids that it would be $400, and with the ServiceMaster 10% coupon it would have come to $360. It cost me nearly $300 more, and I feel I was completely ripped off.