Customer Guidelines
Dear Valued Client;
As the owner of Freshen Your Nest, I take responsibility for my employees and their actions. Our policies are designed to help minimize risks and abuse and are not intended to avoid responsibility. I will personally review any unresolved incident to insure the fairest resolution possible. You are our valued customer and we wish to resolve each incident to your satisfaction.
Please do not hesitate to give me a call if you need further clarification on any of our policies. “Touching” people’s homes is a personal and emotional task. We do it every day with as much care and respect as possible. When we fail, I seek your communication on the matter. We never want an issue to go unresolved. Thank you for your confidence in allowing us to handle life’s most expensive possession – your home!
Sincerely,
Rita Marie
Customer Guidelines
Office House – Our office hours are Monday – Thursday 8:00AM – 6:30PM, Fridays 8:00AM - 4:30PM and Saturdays 10:00AM - 2:00PM. Our field operations are Monday - Friday 8:30AM - 4:30PM only. Our office telephone number is 856-228-2229. We welcome your calls, texts and emails. Our general email is [email protected]. Please contact us if we can help in any way.
Confidentiality - We recognize and acknowledge that this agreement creates a confidentiality relationship between our company and the client. We understand that information concerning the client's affairs and other such information, whether written, oral, or otherwise, is Confidential Information. Therefore, we agree that we will not, at any time during or after the term of this Agreement, disclose any confidential information to any person whatsoever. We also agree to bind our employees to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Access to your home - Our techs require timely access to your home to perform their job. Our time starts when we arrive to clean. If we have to wait on someone to unlock the door or to access a space there will be less time available to clean the house. Unfortunately, if we are not given adequate notice for cancelling a scheduled cleaning, or are unable to gain access to your home, a “Lock Out” fee equal to 100% of your service rate will be charged to your card on file.
Secure access to your home – We believe the best way to serve you is for you to issue a garage code, door keypad code, a door lock box code or a house key. This ensures you never need to leave your door open, hide a key in a potentially unsecured location or wait at your home to meet your techs. If you do choose to meet your techs for access to your home, we offer you one of two arrival time slots (between 8:30 am and 1:00 pm or 11:00 am and 3:00 pm.
Getting ready for the cleaning - Don’t clean before we arrive but, do pick up as much as possible. This will allow us to focus more on detail and quality for you. If you need us to assist with house prep? Give the office a call we are happy to arrange this add-on "Tidy Up" service for you. If for some reason you do not want a particular room cleaned, please just leave us a note or close the door and we will honor that request.
The Setting – The ideal cleaning situation is when no one is home. Since this is not always possible, please eliminate as many distractions as possible so our Tech(s) can work uninterrupted. Try to schedule your cleaning day when there will be fewer people at home. Please secure pets and keep children in another area as we are working with equipment and damp floors for their safety. More time may be available for purchase, or we may need to adjust which tasks can be accomplished or forgo due to insufficient time allotment and schedule them to be completed on another day and time.
Pets – we love them! But please secure any pet that may be a threat. Our employees are trained to be aware of pets when entering and exiting your home. Obviously, we do not want to upset your pet with the introduction of new people and different noises. It has been our experience that pets are best kept away from the cleaning area and team members, if possible. When speaking with our office, please remember to provide us the name of your pet so our staff can use the pet’s name when entering. For the safety of our staff we do not touch litter boxes nor do we clean up after sick pets or pet accidents.
Cleaning Equipment & Supplies - We will provide all cleaning supplies, vacuums, and equipment. Should you wish for us to use one of your products, or vacuum prior to our use and approval by our office you will need to provide the office with a current SDS - Safety Data Sheet per OSHA requirement and a signed Release of Liability. For the safety of our staff we are unable to use toxic cleaning products. Please give the office a call to make the necessary arrangements.
Quality Control & Inspections – Our quality control system is interactive and dependent upon your feedback and communication to function. We need your input on the overall experience and quality you are receiving so that we may address issues that are important to you.
Usually changing services will not eliminate a problem since we are all in the human business. Human nature sometimes prevails if not confronted, and that’s our job. We will correct or address any issue we are made aware of. Our employees take great pride in the work they do and also want to be informed when you are happy with the service and equally should you ever be disappointed with a service. We complete at 52 point inspection upon completion of every job and sometimes this includes pictures of finished work. We ask that you please use our simple, one-click client satisfaction survey each and every time your home is cleaned. Surveys arrive by email within (30) thirty minutes of the completion of your cleaning(s). Those surveys are key to ongoing communication with our office and your Tech. Happy staff = happy customers, our tireless pursuit!
Extra cleanings & Additional services - We are happy to add any of our additional service offerings for you. Pre-scheduling is often required. Just log into your client portal 48 hours in advance of your cleaning or give us a call in the office @ 856-228-2229 to schedule, email is another option, whichever is easier for you.
If, you leave a note for the team requesting additional items please know they may not have the time or materials/supplies to handle your request that day. If this happens they will return your note to the office and the office will contact you to schedule for another day.
Tipping – Is greatly appreciated but not required. A suggested tipping range is 5% to 25% of the fee before sales tax. Call our office if you wish to add tipping to your credit card payments.
Holidays – Our office is closed on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day and the day after. If, one of your scheduled cleanings should fall on one of these holidays we will contact you in advance to arrange an alternate date. During holiday weeks our schedules are very full: you may wish to contact our office 6-8 weeks ahead of time for maximum flexibility rescheduling. It is our long standing policy to reschedule the cleanings that fall on holiday(s) to another day during that same week either before or after the holiday - whenever possible. When we are in a holiday week everyone's normal cleaning day and/or arrival window may and often do change to keep the schedule flowing. Please know that these changes are only for the holiday week, everyone's schedule returns/resumes as normal once the holiday week commences. Any cancellation of service during a holiday week we will charge your full cleaning rate.
Unfair Solicitation Agreement – We invest a lot of time and money in hiring and training the very best staff. Poaching our employees is forbidden and will result in a $2,500 finder’s fee if breached.
Referral Rewards – We love referrals and appreciate it when you tell family, friends and neighbors about our service. We reward you with Free Cleaning when you refer us! Thank you for your confidence in us! We promise to take good care of them just as we do for you.
Free Cancer Cleanings – Through our partnership with the Cleaning For A Reason Foundation we provide free cleaning for people in our community undergoing treatment for cancer. To register someone you may know please go to www.cleaningforareason.org
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
We have built our business and reputation by providing our clients with the best possible cleaning service available anywhere. Still, we realize that because our employees are human beings, they sometimes make mistakes. For this reason, we offer you a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. In the unlikely event that you are not 100% satisfied with our service call before 11:00 AM the following business day (Monday if your cleaning is on Friday) and we'll re-clean the area of concern to your satisfaction. Please allow for some dust resettlement after we leave. We try to limit the dust in the air but cannot prevent this entirely. We cannot guarantee the results of window blind cleaning. Because of the subjective nature of cleaning refunds are not available unless a manager comes out to inspect any unsatisfactory work after a re-do has taken place.
Payment – We accept credit card payments. We do not accept cash or check payments. Cash payments are not accepted as they can pose a safety concern to our staff. Services will be charged in full the morning of your scheduled service date. All initial services are only guaranteed with an advance $100.00 credit card deposit with the balance of your service due in full and charged on your date of service.
Late Payment Fee - When your credit card is declined or other payment is not received within 3 business day of your cleaning a $10.00 convenience fee will be added to your cleaning. If payment is not received with 30 days we will assess a $35 late fee to your account. Each month thereafter that the account is past due, an additional $35 late fee will be assessed to your account.
Returned Check Fee - A $65 fee will be charged for any check returned by the bank.
Rate Increases – We strive to provide you with the best cleaning service possible. Our rates may be subject to change at any time, but we will always provide advance notice of any price increase. Additionally, if the conditions or needs of your home have changed, a price adjustment may be necessary. If you discontinue service or later reinstate service, you may receive a new rate.
Preferred Rate vs One-Time Pricing - The price quoted to you is our preferred pricing and is exclusively for recurring service customers. From our conversation, it is our understanding that you've elected to continue with recurring (either weekly, every other week) service. If, for any reason you decide this will be a One-Time service, or have less than 8 (eight) consecutively recurring completed service dates, you will be charged the balance between the preferred rate and the One Time cleaning rate. The One-Time service rate is $105.00 per cleaning hour plus sales tax.
Skipped Cleaning - To skip a recurring service appointment please see this form.
Reschedule Cleaning - To reschedule a recurring service appointment please see this form.
Cancellation - To cancel a recurring service appointment please see this form.
Social Media Photos - At Freshen Your Nest, we take pride in showcasing the exceptional cleaning service we provide to our clients. With your permission, we may take before and after photos to post on our social media pages or website. We understand the importance of privacy and assure you that we will not expose any personal items, suck as family photos or names, in these photos. We will only showcase the areas we have cleaned and any furniture or decor that may have been moved for the cleaning process.
If you do not wish to have any photos taken of your home, please let us know before your cleaning appointment. We will always respect your wishes and your privacy. Our goal is to provide the best cleaning experience possible while maintaining your trust and respect. Thank you for considering allowing us to share our cleaning success with others.
Breakage – We make every effort to take the greatest care in your home and understand accidents happen. We believe in shining a spotlight on an issue rather than sweeping it under the rug. If something gets broken or damaged, our staff are trained to photograph it and report it immediately, without reprimand. They are careful and considerate of each space they attend, but every now and then something can happen (we are human, after all). Once reported to the office, we contact you to discuss a fair and quick resolution. The following is critical communication regarding our breakage policies:
- Sometimes breakage occurs when there are booby traps. Those are accidents waiting to happen (pictures not hung securely, top heavy items with unstable bases, wobbly, tippy objects). Each incident is reviewed on a case by case basis. We cannot take responsibility for booby traps. Please remove unstable breakables to a place we do not clean (we do not clean inside curios, china cabinets, or clear wet bar shelves). 2. We will pay up to $100 per breakage item, when value is verifiable. Please move expensive figurines or glassware to a location we do not clean or have us skip that area completely if you do not wish to accept the risk. 3. In some cases we will have the broken item repaired by a professional restoration company. Breakage values over $25 must be verified before replacement or reimbursement will be authorized. Please save the broken item for our inspection.
Health & Safety - OSHA regulations require that we take precautions for your protection and our employees:
- Our insurance does not permit our techs to:
Step higher than a 2-step stool,
Work on the outside of your home,
Lift any object over 20 pounds, or move furniture. - If anyone in your home is receiving medication through injections, please inform the office immediately as certain precautions must be taken by our cleaning technicians.
- We do not clean up human excrement and/or other bodily fluids.
- We do not:
Prepare meals,
Provide any pet or child related services,
Empty diaper pails,
Dust flat TV screens and other electronics,
Dust inside of any hutch/china cabinet/curio/closed glass cabinet or wet bars,
Only dry dust leather and electronics,
Clean up fire, smoke and or water damage,
Remediate mold or mildew. - We do not move heavy objects of furniture.
- We do not slide or move objects on wood, vinyl, tile, laminate, engineered wood flooring.
- Appropriate footwear is required to be worn at all times where there is a risk of foot injuries from heat, water, slipping, falling objects, crushing or penetrating actions. Shoes must be enclosed and have non slip soles.
- Our staff safety policy is to lock the door while we are cleaning and to not allow access to unknown persons. Please don’t rely on our cleaning technicians to let workmen in during the time we are in your home or accept special delivery packages.
- During May thru October air conditioning must be set to a maximum of 75 degrees or lower is best to create an environment conducive to cleaning for the health and safety of your techs. If, this is not possible we will be happy to reschedule your cleaning to another day.
- The safety of your home and our employees are equally important priorities. All firearms in a client’s home must be stored and locked.
- New Jersey State Law requires that we provide a smoke-free work environment for staff. If, this is not possible when we are in your home, we do understand however, we will not be able to be of service.
Grease - Kitchen grease takes extra man power time, supplies and equipment to remediate on cabinets, under cabinets, back splash, stove/range tops, hoods, vents, appliances, flooring, lighting etc. This is an add-on service and will need to be arranged with your estimator at the time you setup your service. If this service is needed talk with your estimator before scheduling service to avoid any unnecessary disappointment.
Wood floors – We do not move things on wood flooring without your written release of liability. It is your responsibility to place coasters or felt protectors under heavy or sharp furniture legs. We will repair damage to wood floors if we caused the damage.
Blinds - Exposure to sunlight over time causes finishes to oxidize and fade. Oxidation is the process that gradually takes the layers of paint off the blind. When the blind is oxidized, the dirt is taken off by cleaning, but there is nothing that can be done about the damage that is already underneath. Because of this, certain areas of the blind may appear blotched or streaked after cleaning.
Food products and hard water spray can also cause damage to the paint. This typically happens to kitchen and bathroom blinds. The blind is clean, however it may have a speckled appearance that is only visible upon close examination. Vigorous rubbing to remove the food or water spots will only cause more damage to the paint.
Freshen Your Nest accepts no liability for any damage that may occur to window blinds because of oxidation, fading, bleaching, sun rot, discoloration, UV rays, broken ladders or pull strings, age, and poorly installed blinds. Window blinds are thoroughly inspected before cleaning and the homeowner will be notified of any defects and concerns that we might have about the condition of the window blinds before cleaning.
Weather - In severe weather/storms, we may determine it is not safe to travel and/or carry equipment and supplies to your home and cancel that day’s service.
Electric Power & Water - We are not able to clean without electricity and hot water. When this occurs, please assist us with your understanding in rescheduling. If electrical power to your home is lost during the cleaning process we cannot guarantee service completion due to circumstances beyond our control.
House Plants - Due to the delicate nature of artificial and live plants, we are unable to maintain them as part of our regular cleaning routine.