Stress Less, We'll Handle The Mess!
Servicing the Hunter Valley Area & Surrounding Regions
ABN- 1530'2556951
Insured- Public Liability Insurance with GIO (message us for insurance proof)
CLIENT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q&A
WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE CHOOSING A SERVICE
The first thing to consider is your budget. Then you can think about the frequency of the service that you what, and how long you want each service to go for (in terms of hours). This will depend on your budget.
When estimating service time and frequency, you need to consider the size of your home. This includes the levels in your home (one level or multiple levels), how many bedrooms and bathrooms you have (number of toilets, showers, bathtubs, etc), the size of your living room spaces, and dominant materials and fixtures, including how many tiles you have, and how much carpet you have. You also have to consider how frequently your home has been maintained.
Our cleaners work extremely hard, and cleaning is a mentally and physically draining job, so you have to be reasonable in your estimate of how long it will take to clean your home to the degree you want it done. Some people expect cleaners to go a full general and detail clean in large homes within 2 hours, and this is unattainable and unfair to our cleaners. It also does not align with our primary goal, which is providing our clients with high-quality, detail orientated work.
You do not have to have your house fully cleaned in one go. Instead, you can request that a general clean of your home be done in the time you want to pay for, and delegate tasks throughout a period of time. For example, if your budget only allows you to book our services for 2 hours per week, and your home is large, we can focus on general things like vacuuming, mopping and cleaning bathrooms, fitting other tasks in as time permits, and then delegating tasks for the next week. For example, something we frequently do is clean door tracks (which is detail work), when we have finished the general clean. We may get one or two done one week, and one or two the next. This way, everything gets done over a period of time, and is within the range of your budget. We tailor our services to meet your needs and customisation is available.
A good option, if schedule and time permits, is doing a meet and greet with your cleaner prior to the first clean, which includes a walk-through of your home. This way, we can discuss priorities and timeframes, and the cleaner will be better prepared on the day. This will also give you an opportunity to meet your cleaner before they come into your home to do a clean, and if you do not like them for whatever reason (this rarely, if ever, happens), we can assign you a new cleaner. If time does not permit, we can do this over the phone.
Since most services are done each week and fortnight, your cleaner will become familiar with your home after a while, and tasks will start to get done, allowing us to get on top of the work. When you first book a cleaner, the first cleans are the hardest, especially if you have never had a cleaner before. After a few services, we move from detail work and catching up, to maintaining the home.
We provide services to people with all sorts of budgets, lifestyles, needs and wants, and customise the service to suit you. Contact us with any questions you have, and we will go from there!
WHY ARE CONSULTATIONS NECESSARY?
We offer 100% free consultations prior to booking a service. This process is necessary for a variety of reasons and over time, we have learnt that without an initial consultation, issues can arise.
Consultations you the opportunity to meet your cleaner, and it also gives your cleaner the opportunity to walk through your house, identify what needs to be done, give you an estimate of how long it might take, discuss budget with you, and be more prepared to get to work on the day.
DO YOU PROVIDE EQUIPMENT?
Yes. Some clients prefer for us to use all of their own products, and in this event, we only bring gloves. However, it is more common for clients to request us to bring our own equipment. This includes cleaning solutions, microfibre cloths and other materials we use to clean, anti-mould spray, vacuum cleaners and mops.
If you have a vacuum cleaner and a mop, you can provide us with that, and we will bring the rest. Alternatively, we can bring our own vacuum and mop. We will talk about this on our first phone consultation!
WHY SHOULD I GO THROUGH A CLEANING COMPANY AND NOT HIRE PRIVATELY?
There are a lot of reasons why you should go through a cleaning company as opposed to hiring someone privately.
Privacy and Confidentiality- Unless you know someone extremely well, you cannot be sure that your rights will be respected when you hire a private cleaner. For example, we are bound by privacy and confidentiality laws, and cannot disclose your personal information or information about your property or what we see in your home with anyone else, but private cleaners are not bound by this.
Experience in the Cleaning Industry- When you hire privately, you can also not be certain that the cleaner has adequate experience. We know that anyone can clean, but to do it professionally is a different thing. We have experience in the cleaning industry, and through trial and error and study, we have found the 'proper' and best way to do things. We are constantly evolving, listening to feedback, and try new equipment and products to improve our cleaning knowledge. We also have knowledge on chemicals, the use of chemicals in cleaning, and proper procedures. You can not be sure someone you hire privately has this experience and knowledge, even though they may know how to clean their own home, it does not translate to professional cleaning in most cases.
Insurance-We also have Insurance, which protects you and the cleaners from loss, damage and injury. We have a good complaints process and customer service team that is highly responsive, and we provide our cleaners with training. Training involves proper Cleaning Techniques, knowledge on chemicals and equipment, and Work Health and Safety (WHS) information,
Screening of Cleaners-You cannot be sure of someone character if you hire them privately, and Diamonds and Dusting Housekeeping implements a strict hiring process, requiring cleaners to have a thorough criminal history and police check. As discussed below, we screen potential cleaners in the interview process in a variety of ways, requiring them to provide at least 5 strong personal references, and to pass a written exam and report about their values. They also have to pass an assessment about every aspect of domestic cleaning, including chemicals, privacy and confidentiality, WHS, etc.
Replacement Cleaners- We provide replacement cleaners when your cleaner is out sick or wants to change career paths, and if you do not like your cleaner for any reason, we can match you up with a new one. It is better to go through and stick with a cleaning agency as you have much more protection and support when you do.
Dispute Resolution- When you have issues and complaints, our customer service team is here for you every step of the way. This means that you do not have to communicate your complaints to your cleaner, but can do it through management, who can then communicate with the cleaner. This is a lot better because there is less conflict and disputes, and Diamonds and Dusting Housekeeping will also handle disputes and complaints appropriately. If you are unhappy with your clean, we can offer discounted or depending on the case, a free service. You simply cannot do this when you hire privately.
These are just some of the reasons that you should hire a cleaner through a company and not privately.
DO WE HAVE INSURANCE?
Yes, we have a Public Liability Insurance policy through GIO. This protects you from loss due to damage, injury and harm.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I CATCH MY CLEANER STEALING?
The reason why our recruitment process is so vigorous and why we require police, criminal and background checks is so that our clients are never taken advantage of. We do everything in our power to prevent this, much more than other cleaning agencies. This is one of our most important values. We would never put our clients or their possessions in jeopardy!
However, thieves can be cunning, and in the event that one of our cleaners steals from you, whether it be 5 cents, $100 dollars or something of value, we will terminate their contract effective immediately, contact the police, formally charge them, and will prosecute them to the full extent of the law. Even if you decide that you do not want to press charges, our company will press charges against them as this means that they have not only committed a crime, but have breached their agreement with our company.
Again, this is a very serious issue to us and we do everything in our power to prevent this by ensuring that we know the moral character of the people we connect with our clients.
ARE WE PROTECTED AGAINST THE SHARING OF OUR INFORMATION?
Yes! Diamonds & Dusting Housekeeping recognises, appreciates and complies with Australian Privacy and Confidentiality legislation and regulations, including the commonwealth Privacy Act 1988.
In compliance with the Privacy Act, Diamonds & Dusting will never share your personal information, including your address, phone number or e-mail address, to anyone without your consent. Our cleaners are also forbidden from sharing any information about what they see in your home, including your possessions, security measures, etc. The exception is if any child abuse or other unlawful activity it witnessed. Then, we have a duty of care to report this to the relevant authorities.
If a cleaner has breached Privacy and Confidentiality legislation and our company policy regarding Privacy and Confidentiality, they will be excused effective immediately, and further action will be considered. For example, we can report them to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), who will then investigate the incident and make recommendations for further action. As we firmly and clearly state our stance on Privacy and Confidentiality in our cleaner induction material, if a cleaner is found to have breached this, they have not only wronged their client, but they have wronged us as a company. This is a serious issue for us as we value the privacy and confidentiality of our clients, and it is one of the most important values and philosophies as set fourth in our mission statement. We take all the measures that we can to train and make our cleaners aware of their obligations to their clients under the Privacy Act, and we want you to rest assured that you are going to be safe and secure when inviting someone into your home!
If you think a cleaner has breached your privacy rights, please contact management immediately and report the incident, and we will make it a priority to investigate and get back to you immediately (refer to complaints process for more information on this).