I responded to an ad by American Home Cleaning in Atlanta, GA because they claimed to be "ministry" for "low income single mothers". The owner (Bill) & his wife (Helen) were very interested when I initially called. I used them three times. The first cleaning was good. I was taken aback, however, because a 6' tall man came provide the service. Nevertheless, I gave them a chance. The second time Tawana came; she did not clean however because there was a scheduling conflict. The third time a man came. I was not home but, my husband was. The man half cleaned my home. He did not mop my kitchen floor adequately. The floor was sticky. He cleaned my shower without lifting the shampoos and soaps in the corner. He left soap scum in my son's shower. It was careless. So, I called Bill that night and left a voice message with the details and asking for a resolve. Tuesday passed. Wednesday, I called Bill at 10:45am; he claimed to have received my message. He said he was going to end the call he was on and call me right back. He even repeated my number to me. Thirty minutes passed and I called back. Bill tried to blow me off again with promises to call me back. I stood my ground and asked him to simply give me a resolve because he had already been paid for the services. He stated that business was booming, he had another customer on the line and maybe I needed to find another cleaning company. I was very disheartened. It was as though I was not a customer. He was not solution driven at all. He just wanted to push me off in hopes that I would just forget until my next cleaning date or simply not call him back. I asked to speak with Helen; he said she was busy. Bill said he was ending the call; so, I just hung up.
My complaint with Bill is as follows:
1. He runs a deceptive & misleading ad. Men are doing the cleaning, not single low income mothers.
2. He does not guarantee his work.
3. He sent three different workers to my home every time. Prior to agreeing to the services, I asked if the same person would clean my home each time and he said yes. Unfortunately, Bill is not a man of his word.
4. At the first sign of trouble, Bill suggests that I find another cleaning company; so, conflict resolution is non-existent.
5. Bill calls as long as all is well. He, however, is unresponsive to complaints.
6. Bill's actions give "ministries" a bad name.
7. This is why small scale or local charities struggle in fundraising. Patrons are not confident in the level of accountability and integrity involved. Case & point!!
***6. The big problem that I have with Bill is his website which exploits low income, single and abused mothers: www.womenswagerevolution.com. The website has images that will move your heart. You want to reach out and hire this company because you feel compassion for these "women". Unfortunately, these "women" don't exist. The 2nd man that came to clean told my husband he was Tawana's husband and that they work for Bill on the side. Also, he said that Tawana was working on her Master's degree. So, we have a man, an educated married woman, and another man. Again, not the single low income mother depicted on the website or the ad ran in Atlanta Parent (October 2008).
It's the principle of the matter. Advertise as a regular company. Do not pull my heart strings and use emotional deception to get a leg up on the competition. Next, honor your work. To date, Bill has no idea that I did not want them to come and clean my house for free. I simply wanted his word that worker #3 (who half cleaned my home) would not be returning next Monday.
Bill, clean up!!!
Mrs. Principle
Mrs. principle
atlanta, Georgia
U.S.A.