With a full time job, three kids, and blogging (as another full time job) I rarely have time to breathe let along do some of the important things around the house like housecleaning, windows, lawn work, etc. I do already have a lawn service in place so that is one thing I can check off the list. However our outside windows and the house itself could use a good cleaning. Come to think of it the inside of the house could too! However I had NO IDEA how to go about hiring someone to help me with these types of services. That is until I was recently introduced to a new website which helps local South Florida residents bid for service vendors here in South Florida called spendLO.
I was most interested in finding someone that could come out and do some housecleaning for me on a monthly basis. Really getting some of the often missed areas like baseboards, a good mopping, and a few other things. The way the spendLO site works is you place an ad for the services you want to get done. The more specific you are with the ad the better chance of getting the best service. Put in a maximum amount you are willing to pay for the service. Once the ad goes live vendors are able to place bids on the job.
You are able to decide how long you want your posting on the site to last and are given a list of all vendors that bid on your job. You are only given a name (not a business name), so all communication is done through the site. You can choose a vendor based on the onsite reviews and bids placed on your job. Once you have selected a vendor to perform your service you will pay 10% of the fee directly to spendLO, the additional 90% will go to the vendor. You are given the company name and contact information so you can contact the company directly to set up a time for your services to be performed.
I put an ad on spendLO for housecleaning in hopes of finding someone I really liked so I could set up a monthly housecleaning appointment. I admit I was a little leery about choosing a vendor based on name only but bit the bullet and made my choice. The appointment was made and a service came out to clean my home. It turned out in this case maybe there was some miscommunication regarding what I was expecting to have done and what the service thought they were hired to do. They were expecting to do more of a surface cleaning of my home (though I wasn’t too sure what that meant). The girl that came out was nice but I felt bad for her because she came at 6pm at night (on a weeknight) and was there for 4 hours. The next morning I just didn’t feel like the house was “clean”. The floor barely looked mopped and I found dust still along the baseboards and in the corners. The walls of the showers did not appear to have been washed.
I chalked it up to miscommunication and decided maybe I was expecting too much. However spendLO was not happy with my outcome and asked to schedule a second vendor to come out. I agreed and the following week another service came out and cleaned my house. There were two girls and they were there for a little over 2 hours (so it is obvious my house takes a good 4-5 hours to clean, which is why I need help). I was very impressed with the girls and service and have actually set up an appointment for them to come out again next month. The vendor I ended up going with and felt did a great job was Fantastic Maids (I guess the name says it all). The girls were professional yet personable and came equipped with everything needed for a good house cleaning. I was especially impressed with how my floors looked after they were done which was one of the things I really needed done. Also a day before they were scheduled to come out I received a call to verify the appointment. This is great when you make an appointment a month in advance it can easily be forgotten. I also received a follow up call regarding my service and my opinions of the job which I was very pleased with.
While I will admit I was not at first comfortable with the process of choosing a vendor based on name only I was comforted by the knowledge that all vendors on spendLO are licensed. The process was easy and I think it is a great way to find and support businesses in your area. The other nice thing is if the vendor was not really what you were looking for you can simply try again or experience the great customer service of spendLO. They want you to be satisfied with your experience and service.
After having used spendLO to find a housecleaning service provider I would definitely use them again to find vendors for other services I need done like that window cleaning and pressure washing. I would definitely recommend them to friends, family, and neighbors.
Disclaimer: I received the above product(s) at no cost to me by the company or representing PR agency. All opinions are my own. You may read more of my disclosure here.
Canadian Mom Blogger says
That sounds like a great program!
Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says
I would like to hire a house cleaner to come out once a month so I’ll have to check this site out.
TerriAnn @ Cookies and Clogs says
Great to know as I’m about to try a similar service that’s in my area!
Anne - Mommy Has to Work says
I would love to get someone to clean! Maybe when I go back to “work”…
Jenn @therebelchick says
I need to check them out, it is really hard to find people you can trust to do things around your house!
Mellisa says
That’s a great service! I would love to have someone come and clean up my mom’s house while she’s at work. This would help her so much.
Zipporah Sandler says
Oh my. I’m going to be trying their service later this month with medspa’s. I’m a little concerned now.