No More Chores

I had a mixed experience with this company, so much that I waited a long time before reviewing so I can be as objective as possible.

I recently moved. My new place is unfurnished and filled with boxes in various stages of unpacking.

Instead of setting a regular schedule, I thought I'd hire one company to do deep clean after every reno project, and this way I can see how they perform before I commit to a regular clean.

I filled an online query and heard back from Grace right away. We set the time and date. I got a confirmation email for my booking. So it was odd that a few hours later, someone named Maria called, asking me if she could book cleaning service for me. I shrugged it off- maybe she didn't get the memo. However, this lag/lack of communication will be a common theme.

I told Grace there were a few things I want her to note:

1. I just moved and have no chairs, could they make sure to bring a small stool, so that they can clean the top of the shelves in the closet (I could reach it if I tip toed, so a little extra boost is all they need) She said no problem. In every email they sent me it was there in the note to bring a stool. However, on the day of the clean, they didn't.

2. Pets- If this is a regular, 1-2 hour weekly clean, I'd consider leaving my dog home. However, this is a 5 hour deep clean. I asked if I should take the dog out. Initially Grace said dog can stay, but I said my dog sheds just by existing, and will prob ruin the cleaner's hard work. She agreed that it's prob best I take the dog out.

3. Arrival and departure- since it's my first time using them, I want to be there for arrival and departure, for security reasons obviously.

4. Timing- based on the size of my condo, they told me it'd take 5 hours.

5. Specific area- I asked them to please clean the bathroom thoroughly.

The cleaners arrived on time. In fact, I was caught in the rain coming home so I got in just a bit after 10. When I got to my lobby I saw there were a few missed calls, The call display didn't say "No More Chore" but said "Emerald Eco Cleaners". I figured maybe the company subcontract jobs out.

They told me that my cleaners are already here and couldn't get in. I told them I am home now. I found 2 ladies waiting with their equipments. As they were unloading and changing into indoor shoes my dog came to greet them. One of the ladies let out a noise and backed away. Realizing she was afraid of the dog, I put him away. I have to respect ppl's fear of canines, but during booking they shouldn't make it sound okay to leave my dog. Imagine this poor woman constantly overlooking her shoulder for fear of being attacked? Not cool.

It quickly dawned on me the cleaners do not speak much English. What's odd was that they asked me what I want cleaned... I thought they'd just do whatever is on the list of a "deep clean" I found it annoying that head office would send someone without telling them what to do.

It took about 30 minutes of gesturing. The cleaners would point to one area and asked "yes, no?" and I'd say yes and no and nod or shake my hands to indicate if I want the area done. The cleaners also called Maria, who supposedly translated.

During this time, I received a phone call from another "Maria" who said the cleaners have arrived and could I please let them in. What is going on with their communication?

Anyways, I left with my dog, expecting to be back around 3pm.

Around 1pm, Maria phoned, and said the cleaners told her it'd take much longer to finish the jobs. She said it's because I requested to have the windows and inside of the drawers cleaned, so it'd 10 hours. I told her I did not ask for the drawers to be cleaned. I had said "No" very clearly to the cleaners when they asked me. She then went on to say that the windows took longer coz they didn't realize how big my windows were. They charge windows by the piece and so they'd have to charge more for the larger windows.

I asked if this means I won't be able to go home until 7pm. She said no, it'd be finished at 3pm, that's 10 hours of work. She said that the hours are counted per person, so when they said 5 hours to me on the phone, they meant 5 man- hours, but since they sent 2 cleaners, each cleaner count as 2 hours. So technically, at 1pm, I would be billed for 6 hours already.

By this time I was so tired of all of this back and forth with this company, all I wanted was to go home and rest. Hiring them gave me more stress. So we agreed that they'd clean whatever they could for 8 hours and go. Maria told me to be home just a little before 3pm.

I got home around 215pm, and decided to wait in the lobby until they were done. I took out my phone and found a VM from them. It said that the cleaners have finished and left my unit. So they left my place unlocked. A total lack of consideration for security.

The floor and countertops felt clean and refreshed. However, the shower glass was covered in soap Mark.

It truly pains me to write this review, because I initially had a couple of decent experiences with No More Chores. If you check out my other reviews, you'll see I skew positive. One starring a local biz is not my jam. However, I just spent $530 on a deep clean that was a hot mess.

The owner did contact me to apologize after an unfortunate back and forth and says they're refunding roughly 1/5 of what I paid. I appreciate his efforts, however, after thinking about it all, it's just too terrible and I need to share my experience.

The bottom line: go somewhere else if you want your house cleaned well at a decent price point without being shamed **or photographed without your knowledge**.

If you want the dirty details on how this all unfolded, read on. If you don't care, I don't blame you. ;)

***

I am pregnant and have a toddler. It's been a particularly rough pregnancy, and my lil' one has made some big messes this winter. If you're a mom, you know what it's like. I had some marks on the walls, her room had toys everywhere, and there was a particularly, hmmm, let's say artful area in the living room where she had stuck some Paw Patrol stickers on the wall. Rough, but not crazy. I'm sure all the parents feel me.

It had been about three weeks since my last house clean, and we are redoing some things, so we decided a deep clean was in order. In the initial booking I said I needed big deep clean in all rooms, and especially needed the walls focused on. I did not need inside the fridge or anywhere special, just a deep clean under things and taking care of the walls.

They sent 2-3 reminder emails/cal alerts and one of them included the information which said I did need the inside of my fridge, oven and cabinets cleaned. I told the cleaners I did not, in fact, need these extra services, but they did it anyway. $140 extra bucks out of the gate. Woof.

When the two cleaners arrived I showed them the wall stuff. They were rude to me and said "If we get to it"... I then stood up for it, and said it's the whole reason I made the booking, and it should take priority. They cleaned my house all afternoon, and at first glance did a good job, and I tipped them extra in cash. They didn't get everything off the walls, but whatever. I have Magic Erasers and can do my rest post pregnancy when I'm handling chemicals again myself.

Upon further inspection the rest of the "deep clean" wasn't good. They didn't get to any of the wall streaks, they neglected to clean under things, etc.

So, after receiving a survey from NMC I was honest. This led to a back and forth. It got to the point where I felt they were being really defensive and weird and then boom! They sent me a really shaming email with multiple photos of my house in its worst state attached. WTF.

After some research my instincts were correct, it's completely illegal to take pictures inside someone's home without their permission. What's worse, is they sent these dirty pictures to me, but they didn't have any clean/after shots, so how do they even know the women they sent did all the work they said they did? Because honestly, they did not. Parts of the house were done well, but a lot of it was substandard, AKA not photographable. Further still to all this awful craziness, the pictures weren't just of things they might have had questions about, they were of things like my dirty sink and my three year old's toys being on the floor in her room. I feel incredibly freaked out, violated and confused.

I went back and forth on writing this review all week. It's embarrassing to admit your house can be a disaster, it's awkward to tell people you got into an email argument with a business and the whole thing just makes me feel icky. But I can't be alone in being a mom who has a messy house sometimes, and I'd hate to think of someone else ending up out a whack of money and feeling as violated as I do after this whole debacle.

First group of two came to my apartment they did an good job, one of the
Cleaners was concerned that my African grey wasn't getting upset which I appreciated, I didn't appreciate that she was talking about the testicle size of my frenchie or having a friend that breeds them the if I was Interested. But it was still good job

The second visit, a female by herself came, i was about to take my dogs for a quick walk, I told her to start in the living room area in front of the couch, I got home with them she was in the area behind the couch (I told her specifically the area inform of the couch )she used Water on my tv screen was on her phone, wiped down her vacuum and and got her stuff together saying she couldn't clean

The website says they do deep cleaning, yet I get a response from the owner who says he isn't the company to help.

Here is a picture of the areas I wanted her to clean

My apartment was in need of a deep clean, but I had never hired anyone to clean before. My landlord referred me to No More Chores, and I'm so happy she did! Booking was easy, and Jessica and her trainee did an amazing job getting my place in order. She even texted me the night before to see if she could arrive earlier than the arrival window, and I was more then happy to oblige.

I asked NMC to focus on my bathroom, kitchen and living room, all of which are small as my apartment is tiny. They worked for a combined four hours and certainly delivered.

I am deducting one star because shortly after the cleaners arrived I received a call from the company saying my apartment was in rough shape and that I would have to pay an additional $79. I argued against this as I didn't feel our apartment was that bad. We had removed all clutter and done some serious cleaning of our own in the days prior. Instead, I asked them to just do what they could in the amount of time I was quoted for and prioritize based on the rooms I had previously identified. I had already added the "deep clean service," which was $79 on top of the regular service, so I didn't want to pay any further. I'm glad I pushed back as the place looked amazing and I was really happy with the service. The company did not give me a hard time about sticking to my original quote.

I would definitely book with No More Chores again and I highly recommend them! It really makes a difference to have professional cleaners come in. Thank you Jessica and team. I feel much more at peace in my home now.