Policies

Service Agreement

7700 12th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115

Seattle: 206-527-4290
Eastside: 425-649-8610
Fax: 206-260-3235
Email: info@aprillanescleaning.com

Office Hours:

Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If we are very busy, you may get our voice mail. We return our calls promptly. If you reach us after hours, your call will be returned by our next business day.

Holidays:

Our office is closed on all major holidays. Many of our cleaning staff still work on major holidays, excluding Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. If no one is available to perform your cleaning on a holiday, we will email or call you to reschedule at least one week prior.

Newsletters:

Occasional newsletter emails are sent to our customers, usually quarterly. Our newsletters contain important updates on holiday closures, snow days, interesting home management tidbits, and information on additional services.

Customer Feedback:

Each of our clients has different needs. Please keep us informed of any comments or suggestions you may have. The more specific your feedback, the better job our staff can do for you. In the event that you are not satisfied with the cleaning, please let management know of your concerns within 48 hours of the service.

OUR SERVICES

Products:

April Lane’s Home Cleaning provides the products and equipment necessary to clean your home. Our products are earth-friendly and completely safe for your surfaces. If you would like us to use a product we do not carry, then please provide that product and we will be happy to use it in your home. We cannot, however, guarantee the safety of products that you provide. For heavy build-up or stains, we may request your permission to use a stronger cleaning agent, which may contain toxins. Please ask our office if you would like more specific information on our products.

We are happy to customize cleanings to fit individual needs. Please communicate these needs to our management staff and we will be happy to accommodate, so long as the requests are for tasks in which our cleaner has been professionally trained. We offer several different types of cleanings tailored to your needs. Below is a list of the tasks performed on each type of cleaning, and how the time is used:

No Risk booking policy for hourly cleanings:

On a first time cleaning, or if it has been over a month since the last cleaning with us, the cleaning will be charged by the hour. For hourly cleanings, the cleaners work from a written list of priorities provided by the client and get as much done as possible. Priority lists are typically completed via email. We encourage our clients to over-book rather than under-book the number of hours for a first time or occasional cleaning. There is no risk in over-booking, because we only charge for the amount of time it takes to do the cleaning. We only have a 2 hour minimum. The risk in under-booking is that the cleaning may only be partially completed, and our schedule may not allow us to stay longer. Please be as specific as possible on your priority list to ensure your cleaning is fit to your needs.

Move-In/Move-Out/Post Construction Cleanings:

These are deep cleanings in a house or apartment where there is little or no furniture, or in a home that has had recent construction. These cleanings are done hourly from a list of priorities, typically completed via email.

Ongoing House Cleanings:

After the initial hourly cleaning, we charge a fixed rate for regular service (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly). We may not be able to accommodate tri-weekly schedules. This rate includes the basic tasks listed below:

Living Spaces

Dust knick knacks, furniture, cobwebs and window sills; dust moldings and baseboards as needed; tidy the overall room appearance; vacuum floors and carpeting; and spot clean wood floors.

Bathrooms

Scour all visible interior and exterior parts of toilets; clean sink, counter, cabinet face and mirror; scour shower/tub walls, floor and fixtures; dust shelving, knick knacks, mirrors and picture frames; and clean flooring including back behind the toilet.

Kitchen

Clean exterior of large appliances; clean inside and outside of microwave; clean underneath and behind small appliances; clean counter tops and cabinet faces; clean sink area; and clean flooring.

Optional Cleaning Services:

Our automated system allows us to give an estimate on basic cleaning services which cover the tasks the largest majority of our clients expect, as listed above. Additional cleaning services are provided upon request, for an additional charge. Popular optional cleaning services include, but are not limited to:

  • Change bed/bath linens
  • Remove trash and recycling, and replace bags
  • Clean small countertop appliances
  • Detail clean kitchen items such as burner knobs and dish washer screws
  • Clean the dish drain rack
  • Clean fingerprints on doorway trim, doors and light switch covers
  • Dust blinds (we are only equipped to do a superficial blinds dusting. Scrubbing or thorough cleaning requires a blinds specialist.)

Specialized Services:

We partner with specialists for housecleaning needs that go beyond the regular maintenance of your home. Please contact our office to schedule an appointment if you desire any of the following services:

  • Carpet cleaning
  • Ultra Premium carpet cleaning
  • Area rug cleaning
  • Upholstery cleaning
  • Blinds cleaning
  • Window washing
  • Gutter cleaning
  • Grout steam cleaning

OUR AGREEMENT

 

Cleaning Times: We do our best to be prompt and meet the cleaning time indicated, but traffic and other clients may affect our schedule. If your scheduled cleaner is going to be more than 15 minutes late, we will contact you. If no arrival time is indicated, then the cleaning will be completed between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Our cleaners appreciate your flexibility. When possible, please allow for an open time frame rather than an exact arrival time.

Payment Policy: Payment is due on the day of service by credit or debit card. Sorry, we no longer accept checks or cash.

Late Fee: Overdue payments are subject to a late fee of $25.00. In addition, interest will be charged at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum on all overdue amounts. April Lane’s Home Cleaning reserves all rights available under Washington law to collect any amounts due and owing pursuant to this agreement.

Late Cancellation/No Show Fees: If you wish to cancel or reschedule a cleaning appointment, at least 48 business hours’ notice (excluding weekends) is required. We must adhere strictly to this policy in order to prevent lost wages for your cleaner.

If a cleaning appointment is cancelled less than 48 hours in advance, or if the cleaner is unable to enter the house, a cancellation fee of 50% of that cleaning’s cost will be charged. If an open ended (hourly) cleaning is cancelled less than 48 hours in advance, a cancellation fee of $75.00 will be charged.

If a cleaning is rescheduled by the client less than 48 hours in advance, rather than cancelled, a fee of $25.00 will be charged.

On the rare occasion that April Lane’s Home Cleaning must cancel a scheduled cleaning appointment with less than a 48 hour notice, and has no available openings for another cleaning appointment within the next five business days, the next cleaning will be provided at half price.

On the rare occasion that April Lane’s Home Cleaning must reschedule an appointment with less than a 48 hours advance notice, a $25.00 credit will be offered on the next cleaning. If our offer to reschedule is refused by the client for any reason, no credit will be granted.

Returned Check Fee: Returned checks are subject to a $25.00 processing fee, and may incur late payment fees if the issue is not immediately remedied.

Assigned Cleaner: Your assigned cleaner will be your default cleaner with the exception of illness, vacation, personal emergency, or an ongoing schedule change. In the event that your default cleaner has an ongoing schedule change or no longer works here, s/he will be replaced with another trained cleaner who will have your home’s customized Work Order. You are welcome to audition multiple cleaners until you find your ideal match.

Loss or Breakage: April Lane’s Home Cleaning is licensed, bonded and insured well beyond the minimum amounts purchased by many housecleaning companies. Ask our office for details on insurance limits.

SERVICE QUALITY GUARANTEE

 

April Lane’s Home Cleaning strives to provide outstanding cleaning services for our clients. If you are unhappy with any cleaning service provided, you are required to notify us within 48 hours of service in order for us to address and correct the problem.

If we receive prompt notification, we will come back to examine the problem. If the problem involves the quality of service we have provided, we pledge to correct the problem at no charge and additionally provide one half hour of cleaning services at no extra charge to compensate for your inconvenience.

If we do not receive notice of a problem within 48 hours of the cleaning, or if you decide to correct the problem yourself, we will not be able to correct the problem for you nor will you be compensated for your inconvenience.

If you have purchased hourly cleaning, we can only guarantee that a cleaner will stay for the specified amount of time. We may not be able to complete all tasks if time runs short. Therefore, if the problem involves the time needed to complete the cleaning service rather than the quality of the service itself, we can only correct the problem if you purchase additional cleaning time.