1. Why is the Email Mum service priced higher than a private or agency cleaner?Show AnswerWe provide a high quality managed service, with employees who are given full training before being assigned to a client. Our service includes a unique flexibility angle as well as housekeeper exclusivity week on week (apart from those times when your housekeeper needs to take a well-earned break or is unwell, in which case we do our best to provide cover staff, who are fully trained and insured as all Email Mum employees must be). Our housekeepers are covered to full liability for breakages or accidents. Email Mum takes care of all these employment and insurance requirements, along with scheduling and staff training/issues, so that you don’t have to worry about them, or are held legally responsible in any way.
2. Why am I not allowed less than a two hour visit?Show AnswerIn order to provide a high standard, fully insured service with the best housekeepers available, we have to offer a fair and competitive remuneration package to our staff, including travelling expenses. Therefore, we must have an minimum visit length to make the service cost-efficient.
3. What does the service consist of?Show AnswerWe provide a bespoke domestic housekeeping service, so this is tailor-made to your specific requirements at the time of sign-up and throughout our working relationship. This can include any general cleaning and tidying tasks NB. We do not undertake specialist cleaning tasks such as oven or carpet cleaning. Our rate is based on price per hour, but please be aware that the more housekeeping and/or tidying that you require, the more time needs to be allotted for the visit.
4. Does Email Mum employ and pay staff, or is it an agency?Show AnswerWe are not an agency! Our staff are trained and managed by us, and fully employed and insured thereafter. Agencies do not manage or train the staff on their books, and these cleaners are all self-employed with no insurance (unless they provide it themselves, of course!) or employment rights such as holiday, sickness and pension.
5. Do your housekeepers have references?Show AnswerWe interview all of our housekeepers and check previous employment/personal references just the same as any other company taking on new staff. Also, no housekeeper goes out on their own or is assigned clients until they have gone through inductions and comprehensive training with management and trainers, who evaluate new employees closely.
6. Do we have the same housekeeper at the same time each visit?Show AnswerYes. You will be allocated your own personal housekeeper who will take care of your home at the same time each week or fortnight (depending on your pre-arranged schedule). However, there may occasionally be a change of day or housekeeper in the event of Bank Holidays, staff holidays or sickness/absence. In such cases, we will inform you of the alteration as soon as possible before the affected visit.
7. Am I tied into a contract?Show AnswerNot as such. We do provide you with a Terms of Trade document, which outlines all of our working procedures. But there are no hidden costs or lengthy cancellation clauses with our service. The only thing we do ask is that if for any reason you decide you do not wish to continue with the service, you give us four weeks’ notice. This is so that we have time to replace your housekeeper’s lost hours of work.
8. Do I provide the cleaning products?Show AnswerNot unless you want to. We provide housekeepers with cleaning kits from our COSHH-approved stores. What we do ask clients to provide are bin bags, vacuum cleaner, mop and bucket (so there is no cross-contamination) plus any specialist cleaning products they wish their housekeeper to use, along with instructions on how they can do so safely. Please note – it is imperative that only specialist products are used on certain surfaces such as limestone. Clients must highlight any such surfaces and either provide the appropriate cleaning products or understand that these will only be cleaned with a non-abrasive method like warm water. We also ask that clients inform us of any allergy sufferers, so that steps can be taken to avoid use of products that would aggravate certain conditions.
9. How do I pay for the service?Show AnswerEmail Mum operates a Balancing Payment settlement scheme, calculated over a twelve month period for each individual’s service agreement and visit time. Payments are made by clients directly into the company bank account on the 25th of each calendar month. For full details, please see our Terms of Trade – Payments Procedure section.
10. What if I have to cancel a scheduled visit?Show AnswerPlease notify the office by 8.30am on the morning of the scheduled visit in cases of sickness, emergency etc, or no less than two weeks beforehand if you are cancelling due to holidays or similar absences*. If your housekeeper cannot visit you for the reasons already cited, we will a) inform you in good time of housekeeper holidays and pre-arrange suitable cover wherever possible and/or b) inform you as soon as we’ve been notified on the day of your scheduled visit that your housekeeper is unable to attend, and offer suitably trained cover staff whenever possible, though we cannot always guarantee this at short notice.
11. What if I am not happy with my housekeeper?Show AnswerIf for any reason you are not happy with the service you’ve received, you can contact the office management team and we’ll do everything we can to put things right. We are proud to say that we rarely receive complaints, but when we have, we’ve found that nearly all of them can be easily resolved. Clients can also communicate with their housekeeper if they prefer this approach, or the problem is fairly slight. Either way, we will do whatever we can to ensure that you are happy with your service!
*If the company is not notified as stated for short notice cancellations, the client may incur a late cancellation fee of up to 60% of the visit price.