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Service agreement 

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These terms of service are designed to help our clients understand the service they are purchasing.  These terms clarify and describe our guarantee,  exclusions,  cancellations and potential problems we strive to avoid if at all possible. With your help, these issues can be averted to ensure a successful service to you in your home. These Terms of Service define the responsibilities and liabilities of Joy Shine Cleaning and our customers.

By scheduling a one‐time or recurring service with Joy Shine Cleaning, you are agreeing to accept the following terms and conditions:

 

INSURANCE, GENERAL LIABILITY, BONDING & TAX REPORTING

We carry a $1,000,000 liability insurance policy and a $25,000 fidelity bond. In addition, we hereby attest to our customers that Joy Shine Cleaning collects and reports all employer‐required taxes for the cleaning technicians services to local, state and federal agencies, thus protecting you from IRS tax‐liability with respect to income the cleaning technicians receive.  All cleaning technicians are covered by State workers compensation insurance for any injuries occurring inside or outside of your home.

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SECURITY ALARMS

Joy Shine Cleaning respects your home, and your safety. We do our best to disarm and rearm your security system according to the directions provided, and the code provided. We do our very best to be diligent and careful, however, we are not responsible for any charges from a local police department or security monitoring company or any other associated charges related to an activated alarm while we are entering, cleaning, or leaving your home.

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CONDITION CONTAINS BIO-HAZARDS

If we arrive to a cleaning and any area of the home contains bio-hazards, we cannot clean those areas (we will clean the areas we can), but you will still be charged the full cost of the cleaning. 

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PETS “ESCAPING” FROM THE HOME

We cannot be responsible for pets that “escape” when our cleaning technicians are entering/exiting your home. If your pet will be “roaming free” during the clean, please let us know in advance, so the cleaning technicians can be on alert when they open doors.  Our cleaning technicians are trained to close doors as soon as they enter and exit your home and will not leave doors open for long periods.

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PET SPECIAL CONSIDERATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

We work around pets every day and we love them!  However, if you have special concerns that fall outside the duties of cleaning (i.e., if you have allergies to your pet and your pet cannot be in your bedroom, your cat cannot have any plastic around him or he will eat it, or your dog gets excited and urinates when greeting a visitor), we will not be held responsible for any damages or liability that result from your pets’ actions.  If your pet has ANY special requirements, we recommend boarding them for the day of the cleaning.

 

PET FECES AND URINE

Our cleaning technicians cannot touch or pick up pet feces, including emptying litter‐boxes.  If, for whatever reason, pet feces or urine is sucked up by our vacuum, the cost of repair, cleaning, and/or replacement will be charged to the customer, and any time used to try to clean or investigate any potential damage at your home is counted as cleaning time.   If your pet is sick, ill, etc., and having accidents, please let us know so that we have a heads-up.  Urine stains on hardwood floors will be mopped by our cleaning technicians, but please understand that if urine has soaked into wood, the discoloration (stain) may not come out… a flooring specialist should be contacted.

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CLEANING‐DAY HOME PREPARATION

Your price for cleaning is based on the cleaning technicians focusing all of their time and energy on cleaning, not routine housekeeping. We ask that you take a few minutes the night before a scheduled service to “pick up.” This will allow the cleaning technicians easy access to the areas/surfaces to be cleaned: floors, countertops, table tops, etc. and removing dirty dishes from kitchen sinks. If you’d like our cleaning technicians to do these tasks for you, please call the Office (in advance) so your cleaning fee can be adjusted for the additional “cleaning preparation” time.

 

DIRTINESS SCALE

When booking your cleaning, you’ll provide a dirtiness scale. It is important your scale be accurate or you will not be estimated the correct amount of time. If you enter the incorrect dirtiness scale and we find the dirtiness scale to be higher, we will revise the estimate based on the actual condition of the house. For example, if you’ve rated your house level “1” (immaculate) and you are in actually an “8” (will need a good bit of scrubbing), we will redo the online estimate entering the correct dirtiness scale and charge you that price. We will take photographs as well to support the dirtiness scale for your review.

DAYS WE CLEAN

We are open Monday – Saturday from 8AM – 6PM. We do not clean 1 day before on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's

ITEMS / AREAS WE  DO NOT CLEAN / SERVICES NOT OFFERED

  • Wall washing or scrubbing

  • Chandelier washing

  • Interior fireplace cleaning / ash removal

  • Cat litter box; cat litter on floor

  • Pet feces 

  • Bio-hazardous cleaning (urine, mold, blood, bodily fluids, etc.)

  • Areas unreachable by using our step stool

  • Ceiling fans over beds

  • Carpet powder, baking soda on flooring

  • Any area of floor, cabinets, or furniture that have paint, paint drips, candle wax, or other stuck-on matter that could potentially cause damage

 

CLEANING SUPPLIES

Our cleaning technicians bring the tools and products needed to thoroughly clean your home. 

homes that have any fumes from paint, varnish, sealants, solvents, etc. from recent work to your home. Similarly, we cannot vacuum up any scented powder or baking soda or any powdered substances with our vacuum. If you have a broom, however, please place it by the front door and we will sweep it up for you​.

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  • Dusting height limits:  We are not able to dust items on shelves or hung on a wall that are higher than a cleaning technician can reach standing on a 2 step stepladder.  We do use extension poles to high dust rooms but we will not high dust items that may tip over or hung on the wall because we are not able to hold it with one hand in order to secure it while we dust.

  • Insufficient Support / Not Recommended Placement: We are not responsible for items such as televisions, mirrors, photos, pictures, decorations, art objects, etc., that are not properly placed on stable objects or affixed properly and per manufacturer’s recommendations. Accordingly, we are not responsible for televisions not placed on proper TV stands, items leaning against walls (such as mirrors, photos, pictures), etc., that are not properly affixed to walls or area(s).

  • Improperly hung pictures/decorations/mirrors/fixtures:  If these items are securely/properly attached to the wall, they should not fall when the item is dusted/wiped.

  • Holiday Ornaments, Holiday Decorations, Christmas Stockings, etc.:  Items that are placed out for holidays and not permanently affixed are notoriously difficult to clean around and can easily fall if they are attached by a thumbtack tape, or other glue adhesive fixture, or other temporary affixing measure.  For this reason, we recommend putting the items away to make it safer for us to clean the day of the cleaning.  Joy Shine Cleaning is not responsible for any ornament breakage, decoration breakage, etc., unless it is there year-round and we know about it ahead of time.  Anything that is hanging (such as lights by a fireplace, around a window, a doorway), we are not responsible for.

  • Plumbing Fixtures:  If you have faulty plumbing, fixtures, plumbing or fixtures that are not functioning properly (such as a drip, leaky toilet, overflowing toilet, etc.), or any and all other plumbing and/or fixture issues, we must be notified ahead of time. We will not be held liable for any damage to plumbing or plumbing fixtures with currently known issues. Additionally, if you have a dripping faucet of fixture, notify your technician and / or office before we clean the area.

  • Wine, Champagne, and Other Glassware; Dishes & Crystal Bowls:  Since Joy Shine Cleaning does not offer dish washing service, we do request that counter, tops be free of all dishes, glassware, etc. on the date of cleaning.  We are not responsible for breakage of any items as we attempt to remove them from counters to clean.  Please note fragile stemware should always be put safely away to avoid any accidents.

  • Glass Objects in Shower:  We request that you remove any glass objects from shower / bathtub before we clean. Glass objects are unsafe to use in these areas and posit a risk to our cleaning technicians and also to your objects. We will not be responsible for any glass breakage in the shower / bathtub (or ledges surrounding the bathing area). If you continue to have glass objects despite our request not to have them in there, we may terminate your service if we feel it is too risky for breakage and injury to our employees.

PAYMENT FOR SERVICES

Payment is due at the end of the business day of the day our services are delivered.  If your payment is not made by the day after we send the invoice to you, there is a $10 a day late fee added to your invoice.  We take credit/Debit card, Venmo, Check, Zelle, your first cleaning will be charged when the cleaning is completed.

SCHEDULED “ARRIVAL WINDOW” FOR CLEANINGS

When booking your service, we provide an estimated arrival window when the cleaning technicians will arrive at your home.  For example 8AM – 9AM and 11AM – 2PM.  If you are in the 8AM to 9AM window, we will arrive as early as 8AM and as late as 9AM.  If you are in the 11AM – 2PM arrival window, we will arrive as early as 11AM and as late as 2PM.  We cannot guarantee what time we will actually arrive within those windows, so please keep that in mind.  Please note arrival time may vary due to unforeseen circumstances (traffic, weather, the cleaning technicians needing extra time to finish cleaning a previous home, etc.)  If cleaning technicians are expected to be late by 30 minutes or more, we will call you. If we must wait to gain access to the home or wait until we can begin cleaning, you will be charged $20, per cleaning technician, per hour, for that time.  For example, if you are scheduled in the 8 – 9AM arrival window for 3 hours but we cannot gain access to the home until 8:30, we will work until 11AM, but you will still be charged for 3 hours (i.e., you would be charged as if we worked from 8AM – 11AM).

 

UNABLE TO COMPLETE CLEANING DUE TO CONDITION OF HOME

You are responsible for advising Joy Shine cleaning technicians access/entry to your home.  If our cleaning technicians cannot enter your home , you will be charged the full cost of estimated service.  Joy Shine Cleaning of any situations that will prevent us from cleaning your home:  this can be pests (including roaches, fleas, rats, mice,  bed bugs, etc.), hazardous conditions (needles, illegal drugs or items, rat droppings, feces, urine, etc.) or hoarding situations that the company was not made aware of ahead of time.  In situations such as those, the office will notify the customer of the situation and a full cleaning fee will be due and payable.  It is our policy to provide you with visual evidence of the unacceptable condition.

 

SCHEDULING CHANGES

Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to reschedule or cancel a cleaning appointment.  Your cleaning technicians count on your business.  If you can provide us with at least 2 days’  advance notice of any scheduling changes, it gives us an opportunity to find another home for them to clean.  Last minute notifications make it nearly impossible to find your cleaning technicians work and can cause them financial hardship.

 

RESCHEDULING YOUR CLEANING
Rescheduling your cleaning can result in the cost of your service being Less Than, More Than or the Same As your last cleaning, or your Recurring Schedule cancelled altogether.

  • Example 1: Bi‐Weekly customer “skips” a cleaning, creates a four‐week interval between visits and the applicable (higher) Monthly rate will apply to the cleaning.

  • Example 2: Bi-Weekly customer “skips” a cleaning, creating a three-week interval between visits and an extra charge will apply to the cleaning

  • Example 3: Monthly customer requests more than 4 weeks between cleanings.  The visit will be 50% more, and then the recurring service price will resume with a new 4 week interval.

  • Example 4: A recurring customer cancels 2 or more cleanings in a row. Joy Shine Cleaning may cancel their recurring cleaning schedule and request they call when they are ready to resume and, if appropriate, be placed on the waiting list.

ADDITIONAL FEE (FOR ADDITIONAL TIME NEEDED TO CLEAN YOUR HOME)

When purchasing our house cleaning service, you are purchasing reliable, well‐ trained, insured, trustworthy LABOR.  There may be an occasion where our cleaning technicians need more time to complete the specific cleaning program you purchased.  A few examples include:

  • The condition of your home is different than what you represented when we established your Estimate.

  • Excessive dirt/dust/stains resulting from remodeling/construction, post‐party cleanup, etc.

If a particular cleaning requires more than the allotted time to finish due to the situations above, we will attempt to contact the customer by phone before we start the job.  If we are unable to reach the customer by phone we will either work up to the allocation of time or not clean the home.  We will never charge you more for your cleaning without your permission.  If additional time is repeatedly needed, we would need to discuss a change in your regular fee.

 

Move Out Cleanings

Move-out cleanings (or move-in cleanings) assume that the home is empty and that drawers, cabinets, refrigerators, and ovens, are empty as well.  If we have quoted you for a move-out and there is food in the fridge or items in the cabinets or drawers, we will either charge extra for the extra time it takes to remove the food, clean, and return the food, or, if we do not have the additional time available that day, we will not clean those areas.  If there is furniture in the home, it will not be cleaned. 

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QUALITY CONTROL AND INSPECTIONS

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AUDITS AND INSPECTIONS

Joy Shine Cleaning randomly inspects and audits our cleaning teams.  The inspector may inspect your home after a cleaning is completed and when the cleaning technicians have left, or during the final phase of cleaning or during the entire cleaning.

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WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK

Getting customer feedback is an important ingredient to a successful house cleaning service relationship.  Your feedback helps us monitor the performance of your cleaning technicians and deliver the highest quality cleaning experience in the industry.

 

PICTURES OF BEFORE AND AFTER WORK

For first time customers and one-time customers, our Quality Inspection will include taking before and after photos of our cleaning technicians’ work.  These pictures are used for training, proof of our work performance and promotion of our high quality standards. These pictures are most often used, but not limited to, Onetime Cleanings, Spring Cleans and Move‐In/Out cleanings. If you do not want pictures taken of work areas in your home please notify Joy Shine Cleaning.

 

SAFETY AND WORK CONDITIONS TEMPERATURE SETTINGS

During summer months, many of our customers turn their air conditioning off or set them to higher temperatures during the day, while they are at work.  On the day that your cleaning technicians arrive, we ask that you set the thermostat to, at the highest, 72, so your cleaning technicians can work in a safe environment without overheating.

 

For safety reasons, if our cleaning technicians arrive to a home that is warm and the air conditioning is turned off or not reduced to safe levels, our cleaning technicians are instructed to adjust the thermostat while they are in your home.   They will return the temperature to the previous setting before they leave.  We still ask that you to let the air conditioning run on the day of your service because it can take several hours to cool a home to safe levels.

 

NON‐SOLICITATION OF JOY SHINE CLEANING EMPLOYEES

When entering into an agreement for services with Joy Shine Cleaning you agree not to solicit for hire any staff member introduced to you by Joy Shine Cleaning for any home‐related services.  We spend a lot of time, money and resources finding, interviewing, checking references and backgrounds, and training our cleaners. When hired, each cleaning technician signs an agreement barring them from performing any home‐related service for any of our past or present customers. However, if you do wish to employ a staff member directly please discuss this matter with the owner of Joy Shine Cleaning. If you are found to have solicited one of our staff please be advised that our referral/ training fee is $3,500 per hired employee. Payment is due within 30 days from the date on the invoice.  We consider our employees our most valuable asset and charge accordingly.

 

PRIVACY STATEMENT

Joy Shine Cleaning is committed to protecting the privacy of customers.  We will not sell, exchange or otherwise distribute your personally identifiable information to outside parties.

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