Customer Guidelines
Your Cleaning Rates - Pricing is determined at the time of the estimate and is based on the SF of your home and the information you provide.
- Initial cleaning price - If we get to the home to clean and it is going to take longer to complete than anticipated, we will inform you and you will have the option to either add additional hours at our normal hourly rate or provide a list of priorities that can be completed in the time we have scheduled.
- Recurring price - Our recurring cleanings are a flat rate - meaning you are charged the same for each visit. If we find we are going over or under the time you are paying for we will let you know and adjust the price and time accordingly after speaking with you.
Rate Increases - We evaluate rates annually and will give you plenty of advanced notice if your rates will be changing.
Communication - During your Initial or One-Time Appointment, please be available and ready to communicate with us via text. This is a very important part of the process to make sure everything goes smoothly tomorrow and everyone ends up happy! About half way through the appointment we will inform you if we need additional time and you will have the option to either add additional hours at our normal hourly rate or provide a list of priorities that can be completed in the time we have scheduled.
Conditions We Cannot Clean - We are committed to delivering top-notch service with every sweep and scrub. However, we must acknowledge certain boundaries to ensure the safety and well-being of our team. We cannot clean in the following conditions:
- Homes with bug, termite, or roach infestations.
- Areas where toxic black mold is present.
- Homes with an excessive presence of liquor, and cigarette butts, or those where the environment is so overpowering that our team members find it challenging to operate.
We appreciate your understanding as we strive to maintain a healthy working environment for our dedicated team.
Please note: in our booking process we will request confirmation your home is not in conditions listed above. If we arrive at your home to clean, and find any of the above, you will be charged for the total of your estimated invoice.
Preparation For Your Cleaning - Your appointment is set up for us to walk in and start cleaning. It is important that the areas of your home are picked up and cleared, ready to be cleaned. This will allow us to focus more on "cleaning" rather than "tidying."
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Floors - Please make sure that clothes, toys, and other items are picked up. It's fine to just throw everything on the bed or furniture!
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Surfaces - Please make sure that counter tops, shelves, desks, tops of furniture are as picked up and cleared as possible. It's 100% ok to pile everything up and put it to one side of each surface or counter.
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Bottles & Products - Please note that if you have 25 things out on a counter or in your shower/tub, that will take a significant amount of time to move and work around. If you can put those items into a bin or basket, then we are only moving 1 or 2 bins rather than 25 individual items. This goes a long way to helping us be efficient with your time and money!
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Blinds - For the safety of our team and your blinds, we do not raise or lower blinds. If you would like to have your blinds dusted, please make sure they are lowered so we can access them.
If your home is not prepared to clean, it will take longer for us to complete than anticipated, we will inform you and you will have the option to either add additional hours at our normal hourly rate or provide a list of priorities that can be completed in the time we have scheduled.
Your Cleaner - While we strive to keep consistent with a single assigned cleaner, that is not always possible.
If you want the same cleaner every time just let the office know and we will note that in your profile. If your cleaner is out, we will let you know and arrange to skip that cleaning if you do not want us to send a substitute.
Cleaning Is Not Restoration - Cleaning is sometimes not enough to make surfaces look "like new." For example, if your faucet area has been subjected to years of hard water build-up, we may be unable to clean away the hard water marks. The same is true for mold that has built up behind your bathroom caulking. Baseboards and trim that need to be painted will not look brand new. So, while we can't make every surface look new, what we can guarantee is that it will be clean. Baseboards and trim that need to be painted will not look brand new.
Electronics - We have a do not touch, do not clean policy for all electronics. This includes TVs, game consoles, laptops, monitors, keyboards, iPads, phones, stereos, etc. This is for the safety of your things and no possibility for error for our team. All in all, less stress for everyone involved.
Valuables & Cash - For your sake and especially our sake, please put any valuables and cash away. This ensures that there is never any question or any doubt on your end or ours.
Safety - To stay within the boundaries of our insurance and for the safety of our team,
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We will not move heavy objects, climb, or stand on furniture.
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Our staff will not handle biohazards, including pet or human fluids, rodent feces, mold, etc.
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We are only able to use up to a 2-step ladder in your home to clean. That does limit our ability to clean some spaces, but we do our best with our tools to reach most places in your home.
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We are not able to clean in a home that does not have working AC.
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For the safety of our team and your blinds, we do not raise or lower blinds. If you would like to have your blinds dusted, please make sure they are lowered so we can access them.
Cleaning Supplies - We use healthy cleaning products. We provide all of the equipment and supplies to clean your home.
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Mildew - We do not bring bleach products into our clients' homes to avoid damage and for the health of our employees. Most of the mildew will be removed in scrubbing for soap scum. If you have a mildew treatment (ex. Clorox Clean Up) we can use that to spot treat the areas that remain.
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Hard water - We do not bring or use anything harsh enough to dissolve hard water stains. We will scrub for soap scum and some of it will come off but not all.
Your Feedback - We need your feedback and input on your overall experience and the quality you are receiving so that we may address issues that are important to you. We take great pride in our work and will address and/or correct any issue we are made aware of.
Quality Control - Ruby Red Cleaning is known for delivering excellent quality. One of the ways we ensure this is through consistent standards and regular quality inspections by our quality manager. If your cleaner is going to be inspected, our quality manager will come at the end of the cleaning to inspect her work.
Pets - We LOVE them! But please secure any pets that may show even the slightest aggression or tend to try to escape your home while we are entering and exiting. Please also note that we do not clean up any animal accidents or vacuum litter.
Cancellation/Reschedule: Recurring Appointments - There is a $60 charge for cancellations or reschedules for any reason (including covid) requested under 48 business hours prior to the appointment. Business hours are Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
If we are not able to access your home at the time of your appointment, we will reach out to you and our staff will wait 30 minutes. If we are still unable to access your home, we will need to reschedule your appointment. The $60 charge will be applied.
Cancellation/Reschedule: One Time or Initial Appointments - When we have reserved 5 or more labor hours on our schedule for your appointment, cancelling or rescheduling has a big impact on our company and our team member’s pay.
If you have scheduled a one time or first time appointment with us and cancel your appointment for any reason (including covid) with less than 72 business hours notice, your 50% deposit will not be refunded.
If you cancel your appointment the same day for any reason (including covid), the balance of your estimated invoice will be charged to the card on file. Leaving a message after hours the evening before your appointment will be considered a same day cancellation.
If you need to reschedule the appointment for any reason, with less than 48 hours notice, a $100 rescheduling fee will be charged at the time of rescheduling.
We make every effort to work with client, however,
we reserve the right to refuse to reschedule the appointment if we find the client to be unreasonable to work with or refuses to pay the rescheduling fee.
Illness/Covid - We highly appreciate advance notice if someone is home sick (and contagious) while we are cleaning. If anyone in the home has Covid and is quarantining, the cleaning will need to be rescheduled.
Weather - When inclement weather strikes, the safety of our employees is important. We will inform you of any delay or rescheduling as early as possible.
Payment - is due at the time of service. We accept credit/debit cards, ACH, and Zelle.
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Credit/Debit Cards - There is a 3.2% additional charge for all credit and debit transactions.
- ACH - There is a 1% additional charge.
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Zelle - There is no additional charge.
*Please note: If we cannot reach you, your balance will be paid with the credit card or ACH on file and the associated charge will be applied.
Damage - When cleaning it's always possible that we might inadvertently damage a surface. Here's how we handle it.
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If we damage something let us know within 48 hours of the cleaning.
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We will come and inspect the damage. If it appears to be our cleaner's fault, we will replace or repair it.
Breakage - Accidents are bound to happen and we feel awful when it does.
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Sometimes there are "accidents waiting to happen" such as pictures not hung securely, top-heavy, wobbly, tippy objects, or slippery objects such as olive oil bottles with loose caps. We cannot take responsibility for these. Please remove unstable breakables to a place we do not clean (we do not clean inside curios, china cabinets, or wet bar shelves)
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If we break something we will replace or repair it for up to $100.
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Please move expensive décor, figurines, or glassware valued at over $100 to a location we are not cleaning, or have us skip that area entirely if you do not want to accept that risk.
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Breakage must be reported within 48 hours of cleaning.
Solicitation - We value our employees and pour an enormous amount of time, energy, and expense into our screening, hiring, and training process.
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Our employees sign a non-compete, non-solicitation agreement when they are hired. They face legal jeopardy if they offer to clean for you "on the side. Please inform the office if your cleaner ever approaches you in this regard.
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If you solicit our employees for private hire, our cleaners are required to report this to our management. If confirmed, we will terminate our relationship and cancel your service.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us directly if you would like further clarification on any of our policies. Caring for your home is personal to us. We do it every day with as much heart and respect as possible. If we fail in any way, let us know and we will bend over backward to improve or make things right. We never want an issue to go unresolved. So, please give us a call if there are any issues we need to address.
Thank you for your confidence in allowing us to handle life's most important (and expensive) possession - your home!