Hiring
What questions should I ask before hiring a cleaning service?
Twelve questions, and the answers matter less than whether they come easily. A company that has thought about its own operation answers all of these without discomfort.
By Hygiene Maids of Plano6 min read
Most people ask two questions before hiring a cleaner: how much, and when can you come. Those are the two that matter least.
Here are twelve that matter more, grouped by what they are actually testing. The specific answers vary legitimately between good companies. What does not vary is whether they come easily.
About the people
1. Is the company bonded and insured, and can I see proof?
Ask for the document, not the assurance. Somebody will be alone in your home around your belongings. A professional operator of any size produces this without discomfort.
Good answer: yes, and here it is, or here is how to get it. Bad answer: deflection, or “we have never needed it”.
2. Are cleaners background checked, and at what point?
The timing matters. A check performed before someone enters a customer property is different from one done eventually. What bonded and insured actually mean goes into this properly.
3. Will the same people clean my home?
No company can honestly promise the same team on literally every visit — illness, vacations and route changes are real. What you are listening for is whether they treat continuity as an objective or brush the question off.
4. Are cleaners employees or subcontractors?
Both models exist and both can work. The question is worth asking because it affects who is accountable, who carries insurance and how consistent training is. A company that answers plainly is more reassuring than one that avoids the word.
About the work
5. What is included?
The easy one. Every company answers this well, which is why the next question matters more.
6. What is not included?
The single most useful question on this list. Inclusion lists are always generous and always similar. Exclusions are where companies genuinely differ, and where your expectations actually get set.
Specifically: oven interior, refrigerator interior, inside cabinets, baseboards, blinds, interior windows, and what the reach limit is.
7. Do you bring supplies and equipment?
Most do. Worth confirming, and worth asking whether they will use your product on a particular surface if you have stone, sealed hardwood or anything that marks.
8. How long will the visit take, and how is that decided?
A company that answers with a confident number without having asked about bathroom count or condition is guessing. A better answer explains what drives it. See how long house cleaning takes.
About things going wrong
9. What happens if something is missed?
Listen for a timeframe. A guarantee with a deadline attached is a commitment; “we aim to satisfy” is a sentiment. Ours is 24 hours at no additional cleaning charge on any area we cleaned, subject to the terms of the guarantee.
10. What happens if something is damaged?
Different question, and worth asking separately. You want to know the process — who to tell, how quickly, and what happens next. Also worth asking whether they will tell you if something breaks, because the answer reveals a lot.
11. How do I raise something without it being awkward?
An unusual question that produces revealing answers. A company with a named contact and a process makes this easy. One where feedback means confronting the person who did the work makes it hard, which is why most people never do it.
Practical arrangements
12. How do cancellations, changes and access work?
Three things in one: what notice is needed to change a visit, whether there is a minimum term, and how they handle keys or entry codes. All three are ordinary questions and all three cause friction later if left vague.
For a recurring arrangement, also ask whether you can pause rather than cancel — for travel or a quiet few months — and whether pausing keeps your slot and your discount.
Reading the answers
You are not really grading the content. You are grading whether the company has thought about its own operation.
Good signs: specific answers, willingness to say what they do not do, questions asked back about your property, a written scope, and a guarantee with a number in it.
Worth pausing on: a quote given without any questions, reluctance to produce insurance documentation, a scope described only in adjectives, pressure to sign a schedule immediately, or a claim to do everything including regulated specialisms.
Not a red flag: saying no to something. A company that tells you it does not do exterior windows, or that etched glass will not clean out, is being useful rather than limited.