Homeowner beware about Kiwi Services!
When you call Kiwi, here are a few questions I suggest that you should ask:
How long has the subcontractor been working for them?
What kind of certification does the subcontractor have?
Has he passed a background and drug test?
How often do they hire subcontractors/technicians?
I'm a ex-subcontractor of Kiwi Services and feel that it's very important that I share with you what I've experienced with this company.
The requirements to be a subcontractor for Kiwi are:
You must be able to carry 75 pounds up a flight of stairs, have a truck, van or suv, and pass a background check, however, they don't do drug testing!!!!
Kiwi's training procedures:
The subcontractor is trained for only 4 days; unpaid.
2 of these days are spent in a classroom learning how to fill out paperwork, then the other 2 days are spent out in the field.
When I was a subcontractor for Kiwi, I trained approximately 80 people and I'm not the only one that trained....that's a huge turn-over.
When I was first hired with Kiwi, within 1 month, I was considered a senior technician with very little training. Customers often request a senior technician, which honestly means nothing. Kiwi will send out any technician, even if they have very little experience.
I've also been put in really bad situations, for example: When I've trained new techs, I would later find out that some of them were ex-cons but Kiwi still allowed them into a customers home, not to mention what risk they put me in.
Show me the money!!!
The reason Kiwi has subcontractors working for them is because they don't have to pay taxes, insurance or social security.
So how does a subcontractor get paid???
A percentage and add-ons. If a technician/subcontractor doesn't add-on constantly, they are terminated. A weekly "add-on" contest was held to encourage the techs to sale anything and everything to customers, even if the customers didn't need the additional service(s).
The manager and dispatcher bonuses are all dependent on add-ons so once again, this is top priority with Kiwi.
Kiwi doesn't have a set price with add-ons. One of the supervisors who is also a trainer quotes often, "If a customer is willing to pay for it, the price isn't too high."
Show me the quality!!!
Ask Kiwi what a Q&A is!
Q&A= Quality Assurance
This means that if a subcontractor/technician is working on a home or business and they damage or break something or they don't clean properly, someone goes to your home to address this problem.
I was picked for this misfortunate/miserable job. A big portion of my time was spent trying to make the customers happy after a tech had provided a service and end up damaging something or not doing the service correctly.
When talking to the customers, it's a very long drawn-out process when it comes to getting a problem resolved when damage etc has taken place from a technician.
Carpet cleaning:
Kiwi's carpet cleaning method is good like other carpet cleaning companies. But the bottom line for Kiwi is money over experience.
I would put my money on another company due to Kiwi's lack of experience.
I'm very relieved to no longer be affiliated with Kiwi Services.
Thank you for reading this and hopefully what I've shared with you has opened your eyes and you'll think twice before making any appointments or going to work for Kiwi.
Mike
Keller, Texas
U.S.A.