Got a Groupon today for a company called Homejoy. They are a new home cleaning service that happens to serve the San Antonio market among many others (Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, NYC, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington DC. Check their website for latest list.)
A couple things about their service really caught my eye:
- They are “bonded and insured cleaners [that] pass the professional cleaner exam, background checks, reference checks, and English fluency test.” Yeah, I know I could get an “independent” person for less money, but these things are worth the small premium to me.
- They charge $20/hr and it looks like their minimum is just 2.5 hours. I’ve called other professional services and the minimum was around $100 per visit!
- Everything’s done on-line, so you can make/modify appointment details, add notes and special needs for your cleaner, review your invoice, and reschedule or book another appointment. Awesome!
- They take credit cards.
They instantly give you the name and a picture of the person that will do the cleaning.
Of course, it remains to be seen how good of a job my cleaning person does, but setting up my first appointment was painless and smooth. I love the concept!
Oh yeah: If you mention my name at checkout, we both get $10 off! ;-)
UPDATES:
2013-09-13 – Well, the actual cleaning experience wasn’t so good. The girl could have done a much better job in the kitchen. I mentioned it in my review and also sent an email to one of the founders, Aaron Cheung. It took them a day or so to reply but Aaron was very helpful and apologetic. Most of the apartment was done fine so I had given the cleaner a 4 out of 5 stars…I probably should have been more harsh. Apparently, if you give a low rating, you will not get the same cleaner the next time. I’ve got one more Groupon for them and will give them a second shot.