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How I scaled Queendom Cleaning from scratch

Jennifer and her dog


In 2016, I started cleaning homes as a "side hustle"

I had a full time job and I couldn’t get ahead, so I cleaned. My client list grew and along with that my vision grew. I know it is important to listen to people and do what they ask so they feel heard and valued. This vision helped me scale my business.

It scaled so much that I was eventually working two full time jobs: cleaning 9:00 am until 3:00 pm, rushing home to shower, and going to my temporary bar tending job from 4:00 pm until 11:00 pm. I worked 7 days a week. The business continued to scale so that, fast forward, I still worked 12 hours a day, but I only had the cleaning business and now a few employees.

So, I love my job, but there was about two years of my life there where I had no time to live beyond reacting to the needs of the business and putting out fires when they arose. I usually got home around 4 pm, took my dog to the park, then came back home to work, everyday until about 8:00 or 9:00 pm.

I would walk through my house and force myself to ignore the fact that my floors were driving me nuts, I was chasing laundry, all these random things were out of place! I’m not sure what that makes me, but ignoring it in order to sit down and respond to emails is what I did!

 

We finally had a little break

In the first part of my year cleaning alone, I quickly realized I wanted to scale the business to a point where I could have employees and stop working 12-15 hour days. Even though it took a long time and was a major challenge, I succeeded and went from working 15 hours a day to working about 5 hours a week on average.

Finding freedom in my life is my personal definition of success, and knowing I can disappear to the lake for two weeks without cell service proves to me that we have accomplished that. Additionally, finding and retaining the wonderful people that keep my business running seems like an accomplishment that many struggles to achieve!

 

Final Words

Cleaning is self care. No, wait – paying someone to clean for you is self care. You have a busy job, kids, sports, you never get to go to yoga. Or you don’t take nice walks and calm your brain because your house is in chaos. When there is just too much to handle, the easiest thing to do is ignore the problem, am I right? You’ll agree with me when I say that a chaotic home creates a chaotic mind. It does not allow for room to breath, focus, or relax.

I encourage you to give away some responsibility in your life. You deserve to feel that moment when the weight disappears. It doesn’t have to be cleaning, it could be laundry, yard work, ordering

Well if you decide to hire a house cleaner, you must be made of questions. How does it work? How much would it cost? Fortunately, we made a complete road map that you will follow.  Not only that, but you will also find the answers your need along with some helpful resources to help you clean and live better. Click here

 And don’t worry budgeters, I understand you. I know it is not possible for everybody to pay another human to do work for them. So, how can you keep your house clean and sane for free? Well, stay tuned! When the mood strikes me my next post will be about how I keep my house clean in 20 minutes a day 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

P.s check out our Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube page to find professional tutorials to help you clean better for FREE (you’re welcome)

Jen

Loving meddler at Queendom Cleaning Ltd

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Queendom Cleaning Ltd. is based in Spruce Grove, Alberta. We work locally and provide jobs to people that are our neighbors, and yours, in an effort to invest in our community. We make earth, health, and safety conscious decisions in order to provide an ideal service to you and your family.

We serve Edmonton, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Seba Beach, Onoway, Calahoo, Parkland County and surrounding areas.

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Copyright Queendom Cleaning Ltd. 2023 | All Rights Reserved

Residential Cleaning Service Agreement And Policy

Welcome To Queendom Cleaning

We know that working in your home is a privilege. Queendom Cleaning aims to be flexible, understanding, and accommodating, and we greatly appreciate the same from you. It is our mission to change the service industry by listening to our clients and acting on what we hear; everybody thrives in a relationship built on understanding and compromise. The policies listed below serve to protect you and your belongings, our technicians, your pets, and our relationship. When you approve your quote from us or commence services (in such cases that perhaps a quote has not been signed), you agree to the policies listed below. This Service Agreement is subject to change without notice, and all clients are subject to the current version of these policies regardless of the start date of services

Minimum Charge

Our minimum charge is $100 for 2 hours.

Securing A Booking

A credit card is required to secure your booking and will be held on file. Your credit card will be charged once your cleaning is complete. Please note that we require 3 business days notice to adjust your service and we do not offer refunds. If something was not completed (eg. a certain room not cleaned by your request), we can add a credit to your next service only.

Your credit card information is securely stored by Stripe. Please visit https://stripe.com/docs/security/stripe for more information.

Waivers

We will ask you to sign a waiver if you request that we move heavy furniture or use your products or tools.

Deposits

A minimum deposit of 25% is required for all first time bookings and all hourly bookings. We may occasionally require a 50% deposit depending on the length of the visit or the distance we have to travel. Any services quoted over $800 will be required to pay a 50% deposit.
If you need to cancel and cannot re-book at a later date, we will refund 100% of the deposit as long as 3 business days’ notice is given to cancel. If less than 3 days notice is given and we cannot fill your spot, 50% of your deposit is forfeited (we will pay the scheduled employees), and the remainder will be e-transferred to you. If we can fill the spot, we will refund the whole deposit.
If you cancel within 1 business day/24 hours of your appointment, the deposit will not be refunded.

Cancellations

Single Service: 3 business days notice by phone or email. Less than 3 business days: 50% of service rate invoiced. One business day or less: 100% of service rate invoiced.

Total cancellation: We require 1 month/30 days notice to cancel recurring cleaning services.

Stat Holidays: We are closed and will contact you for rebooking or skipping. 

Lock Outs

We will invoice for the full amount of the service if we arrive to clean but cannot gain entry due to a lock out (not home, no key left out, or battery powered lock does not work). If we are able to reschedule your service within the same week, your cancellation fee will be reduced to the time spent arriving to find the home inaccessible (whether by snow, ice, or lock out). This is charged at $50/hour in 15 minute increments.

Keys

All keys are labelled only with Queendom Cleaning contact information and a short code. If your key is lost or misplaced, we do not replace them or any locks. If it feels better to you, we recommend providing us with a door or garage code if possible, or placing a secure key lock box with your key in it on your property. Just let us know the code!

Travel Fees

Any cleans outside of Spruce Grove or Stony Plain are charged a small travel fee to cover the mileage to and from your home or location. This fee is $0.50 per kilometer from either our Stony Plain or our Spruce Grove office, whichever is closer to you! Our employees are paid for driving time and are reimbursed mileage for drives outside of Spruce and Stony.

Payments

Residential:  We accept payment for services through your Jobber account. Jobber Payments accepts all major credit and debit cards. As long as your card has a Visa, mastercard, Amex, or Discover logo on it, Jobber will accept your card. All payments are processed securely by Stripe. Your payment is due on the day of service. If, for some reason, we have not received payment within 14 days of the service, we will charge the card on file and this is not refundable.
Commercial/Janitorial: We accept Electronic Money Transfers, cheques, and credit card payments. If you are invoiced monthly: we invoice for all services each month on the last day of the month. We cannot send early invoices. Payment is required within 30 days of the invoice date.
Any client: may request a statement at any time, or you can access all of your payment and invoice history through your Client Hub link that is included in each invoice and receipt. Any invoices overdue by 30 calendar days or more will be pursued by MetCredit – a consumer debt collection agency, or by Queendom Cleaning in Provincial Civil Court. We prefer to work together to resolve anything that would result in this process

Access

For safety reasons, please ensure all access routes to your home are safe and clear to pass including driveways and walkways. Snow must be removed and sand or salt placed on ice. Please remember that most of our team members drive cars without 4WD and must carry heavy, bulky equipment up to your door. If we are unable to safely access your home due to unplowed driveways, unshoveled or unsalted sidewalks, your service will be cancelled and invoice as per our Cancellation Policy. If we are able to reschedule your service within the same week, your cancellation fee will be reduced to the time spent arriving to find the home inaccessible (whether by snow, ice, or lock out).

Your Schedule

We aim to schedule routine cleanings on the same time and day (eg. bi-weekly every second Tuesday at 12 pm). We may contact you to change this now and again so that we can assign the best suited cleaner to your home, or to adjust our scheduling to make it more efficient. We try to do this very infrequently! Monthly cleanings and cleaning every 3 weeks scheduled based on openings in our schedule, and are generally not scheduled as above (eg. not every 3rd wednesday of the month). We always do our best to match you with your preferred time and day. Note that you may not always have the same cleaner with this type of schedule. If an employee is sick or weather conditions are going to affect our service, we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and then to reschedule you as closely as we can to your usual date and time.

Rotational Cleaning Information

This is only relevant to clients who specifically request rotational cleaning. We often provide a rotational cleaning service to many of our clients. For example, we may clean your home every 2 weeks, but you only require cleaning in 1 room or maybe in the basement every second clean. In order to keep our scheduling consistent, clear, and efficient, we will clean a portion of this rotational area during each service (eg. dust and clean floors on one service, then clean the bathroom on another). On your invoice, you will be charged half of the total cost of this area on each invoice so that all invoices are the same. Example: If your basement is cleaned partially each clean, we schedule 30 minutes per clean (example only). If the total cost to clean your whole basement every 2 weeks is $50, you will be charged $25 on every invoice. This goes for any rotational cleaning arrangement: the whole cost of the area is split in half and charged on every invoice. We do not remove that charge at any point unless the area is completed removed from the job permanently.

Adding Extras

We can add extras on to any cleaning as long as we have notice (usually 1 week is good). For any addition, we make this simple by charging for the time in 15 minute increments which are $12.50. So if you decide you want your oven cleaned, your cleaner will do their usual job. Then, they will start the oven. When they finish they will notify the office how long the extra task took and we will add that time to your invoice! Please do not add extra tasks to any service without first checking with the office. We do not want your cleaner to be late for their second job of the day, or to get off work later than planned. We must always account for extra time and tasks. As an option: if you ask your cleaner when she arrives if she can do something extra, she can check her schedule and decide for herself if that will fit in her day, then she will notify the office of the change!

Appointment Arrival Times

We have a 1 hour arrival window. We always aim to be on time but many factors can affect this. 8 am appointments allow for a 15 minute arrival window unless road conditions are poor, we may arrive later.

Please allow for up to 1 hour of flexibility in the arrival and start time of your cleaning.

Satisfaction

We offer a 24-hour service guarantee. If you are not satisfied with your service, please notify us within 24 hours or as soon as possible so a team member can return to rectify the issue. We do not offer refunds or discounts. We strive to complete all tasks to a high standard during each service, but we recognize that our team members are human and may occasionally miss a speck or two. If this is the case, please advise us so we can coach the team member prior to your next service. Please note that this does not apply to any services/appointments where the timing has been set by the client or reduced below our recommended time/quote, or landlord/tenant situations, at all. This also applies to move out situations where we are not able to gain access to rectify any issues within 2 business days of the service. If we are not able to return to fix something that was missed because the property is no longer in your possession, we cannot honor our guarantee and we do not offer refunds. If this is your scenario, you must be able to inspect the cleaning at the time of completion to ensure you are satisfied before our team leaves – we highly recommend booking move out services with some time to spare.

Valuables and Potential Damage

Please secure or safely stow precious items or valuables prior to your service. This will offer you peace of mind and eliminate potential accidents. Loose change on the floor may disappear in a vacuum, and small jewelry should be stored away from dusted or wiped areas so we can efficiently clean the area without fear of knocking something down a vent!

If we break or damage something in your home, we will do our best to make it right. We limit our liability, at a maximum, to the total value of your cleaning service for ANY claims that may arise.

Any damages or concerns must be reported to our office within 24 hours, an email along with photographs of the issue must be emailed to info@queendomcleaning.com. We will work with you to determine a solution. If we do not receive supporting photos and/or email responses to any attempt to discuss any issue with you within 24 hours of our initial response, we reserve the right to waive the issue and will not provide any compensation or pursue the issue further.

Using Client Provided Tools and Products
We do not use client provided tools (vacuums mostly) unless a damage waiver is signed. This is because our staff are only trained in the proper use of our tools and equipment. It would be unwise to have multiple staff members using equipment they are not familiar with. If use of client equipment is agreed upon, we will not be held responsible for equipment failures, damages, or ANY damages resulting from the use of client provided tools, equipment, or cleaning products and your acceptance (signature) of the quote signifies your agreement to waive any liability to Queendom Cleaning for these instances.

Specialty Surfaces and Products We Use

We use Bliss All Purpose Cleaner for almost everything, including floors. We dilute this product as directed on the label. We also use a Shower, Tub, and Tile product from Bliss Cleaning Products Canada on tubs, showers, and sinks.

Other than those, we use Bliss cleaning powder and Bliss cleaning cream on hard, non-porous surfaces as needed for deeper cleaning. You can review these at www.cleanbliss.ca.

If you have specialty surfaces in your home, we recommend reviewing these products and their ingredients to be sure they will be safe to use in your home. We have used all of these products for many years and have not encountered any issues. However, it is not possible to anticipate every surface in every home, or to train all of our staff to be able to differentiate between the many, many types of surface we may encounter.

If you have delicate or specialty surfaces in your home (such as bronze, untreated stone, unsealed wood floors), please let us know if you would like us to use our products or if you have acquired some specialty product for your surfaces.

We use gentle products to significantly reduce the potential for damage, however, we must again note here that we do not accept liability for damage to surfaces from the products we use, as we require clients to disclose specialty surfaces and provide products for them. If nothing is noted or disclosed, we will be unaware.

Tips and Gifts

Clients are welcome to leave cash tips and gifts for cleaners if desired. It is very much appreciated, but absolutely not expected or required. In the case of tips, cash is best. Please do not add tips to e-transfer payments.

Our online payment system through Jobber now has a tip function and that way tips easily go directly to your cleaner :)

Cleaning Staff Information

All our our team members are fully trained for a minimum of 2 weeks, depending on experience (often 3 weeks). After that we perform quality checks routinely. Our staff are bondable, insured, and covered by WCB and everybody provides a clear/negative criminal record check.

For scheduling, we try our best to send the same cleaner as often as possible. This way they get to know you, your pets, your home, and your preferences. But, as you know, life happens. Your assigned cleaner may change without notice if somebody is sick, if weather is causing transportation issues, or if you cleaner finds an opportunity to change jobs or changes their availability for us. We will do our best to let you know of these changes, but sometimes we have to make changes quickly and do not have time to notify our clients. If we are swapping clients between cleaners due to weather or availability changes, your cleaner will call the replacement to give them all the details they want them to know!

Training

We send trainees with designated trainers to homes for training as needed. We do not notify clients when trainees are joining a trainer for a visit.

Laundry

We can do laundry and will offer more information during the quote process. Please note that we will assume ZERO liability for laundry and laundry machines. If you would like laundry done, please only leave laundry for us that is a simple wash and dry process and that you are certain your machines can care for properly. When we say that we assume no liability for the machines as well, that is because any issues that may arise would be unforseen and likely could have happened to you if you were running the next load of laundry.

Products And Tools

Queendom Cleaning will provide all products and tools. All of our products are non-toxic and eco-friendly professional grade commercial cleaners. For health and safety reasons, we do not use client provided products unless they are non-toxic and approved by our office before your cleaning.

Please ensure you have a toilet brush on each floor of your house.

We do not use client provided tools (vacuums mostly) unless a damage waiver is signed. This is because our staff are only trained in the proper use of our tools and equipment. It would be unwise to have multiple staff members using equipment they are not familiar with. If use of client equipment is agreed upon, we will not be held responsible for equipment failures, damages, or ANY damages resulting from the use of client provided tools, equipment, or cleaning products and your acceptance (signature) of the quote signifies your agreement to waive any liability to Queendom Cleaning for these instances.

Occupants

Quotes are based on the normal occupancy of the home at the time. If the number of human or animal occupants increases, the quote may be adjusted. If an occupant is sleeping in a bedroom while the service is in progress, our team will not enter the room and no discount will be applied to the invoice due to the skipped room. We do not apply discounts for removing rooms from the service when we arrive to clean, your time slot requires full payment of the applicable rate used to hold the spot.

Preparing for your Service

There is not a ton you need to do before we come. The whole point is for you to be able to take a break! There are a couple of suggestions we have so you can make the most out of our service:

  1. We do not quote for a lot of toy pick up, so we don’t add time for major toy pick up. If this is something you would love, just let us know so we can add more time and quote you for it. Otherwise, your cleaner may just need to prioritize and work around a big toy area. If you are not sure what we mean, just ask! A few toys are not a big deal.
  2. If you thought of something last minute that you would like your cleaner to know, you can leave a note :)
  3. Make sure your locks are working and if you have changed our code, let us know!
  4. Please make sure we can safely get to your door (shoveling or clearing the driveway in rural areas).
  5. Make a note of anything you notice from last time and feel free to discuss it with your cleaner if you wish.

The more easily accessible space and surfaces we have to clean, the more detailed we can be! Whatever the case is, we will always do our best.

Other Health Precautions

Any obvious bodily fluids etc. (both animal and human) will be strictly avoided. Locations with pest infestations, including mice, will be vacated immediately. This also includes excessive animal feces or urine. If unsanitary conditions or items are encountered, we reserve the right to immediately vacate the premises and will invoice accordingly.

Lifting, Climbing, And Ladders

Some activities may require a second person or management approval. A single cleaner cannot clean beyond arms reach on a one-step stool. If a team is present and a small step-ladder is provided, the ladder may be used. We do not clean outside. We do not push, pull, or lift heavy items or furniture at all. If you request furniture to be moved that cannot be lifted by one person, we will not be held liable for any damage caused by pushing or pulling furniture (eg. scratching floors). We recommend protecting the floor by using felt pads or similar, as you see fit.

We do not clean television screens (we dust them and wipe the frames).

Heavy/Large Furniture

You must provide permission to move large furniture in writing and release us from any liability related to damages that could be caused by dragging heavy furniture. If you would like large/heavy furniture cleaned behind, please move the unit for our technicians. This includes stoves and fridges – they will only be moved if deemed safe to do so (we do not want to scratch the floor).

Pets

We love them! If you feel better having your pet secured during your service, please let us know or have them ready for us. We cannot accept any responsibility for any incidents arising while we are in the home related to your pet. Our technicians are not permitted to let your pet outside.

Photos for Marketing Purposes

From time to time, our team members make videos or take photos in the homes we clean. We will never take a photo of something personal or sensitive. The photos we take are used to showcase our work and will be posted on all social media channels. If you do not want photos or videos taken in your home, please let us know and we will honour your request.

 

Standard Flat-Rate Cleaning Exclusions And Limitations

Flat rate services are based on the assumption that the occupants (human and animal) and use of the home does not change. We still set a time limit for our technicians for this type of service. If we find we require more time than originally anticipated, we will update your rate so we can ensure we have the time to reach our standards of cleaning. All services are charged at a flat rate unless you have requested hourly cleaning and provided a priority list or have indicated that we may clean for as long as it takes.

If we have not cleaned your location for longer than two months, your next service will be charged by the hour so we can spend the time needed to do a good job.

Hourly Cleaning Exclusions And Limitations

Our hourly cleaning rate is $50/hour per cleaner (2 cleaners is $100 per hour) as of July 19th, 2021. Flat rates for routine cleaning (on-going services such as monthly and bi-weekly) are scheduled at a rate of $50/hour, though occasionally a flat rate cleaning service may take more or less time than regularly scheduled. We do not adjust rates if this is caused by the speed of the assigned employee.

Initial, move in, move out, deep cleans, etc., are all estimated and charged by the hour. You will only pay for the time we clean.

Hourly cleaning is booked per cleaner plus GST and our hourly rate is subject to change at any time. If it changes, current bookings will not change. An hourly cleaning estimate is an estimate only. If you would like to set a priority list we can do that, and our team will clean those areas first and move on to other tasks after they are finished, but will only stay until your time limit is reached. Otherwise, our team will clean until the required tasks are complete, regardless of the time booked and of the estimated time. We are usually pretty close in our estimates, but when we get down to the deep corners we may find we have underestimated. Our team will attempt to notify you if this is the case.

We are happy to accommodate limited time arrangements, but must stress that we recommend allowing us to quote you for the full clean. We do not want you to be disappointed if you have expectations beyond what we can complete in your specified amount of time. This is why it is our policy that we do not guarantee the completion of any or all tasks requested if we are operating on a restricted amount of time.