Merry Maids

14-Jan-13
Kathleen L

Please be cautious about engaging Merry Maids located on Woodrow Ave. in Battle Creek. Although it’s been a few years since they provided services for me, the owner, Martha Barlond, remains.
A Compact Disk was not to be found after engaging Merry Maids, but I couldn’t say for certain that it was removed by one of the teams. Excepting that and the Christmas goodie issue (below), nothing ever was stolen.
Services were not as advertised. Trying to get these folks to do a decent job of dusting was a battle.
I was told there was “quality review” done on the teams, but it was very rare. Instead, I was asked to provide the teams with input on their work. Since the teams varied from week to week, and they normally came while I was at work, I did not feel comfortable about personally criticizing these strangers who were coming into my home unsupervised.
On a day that I was home when Merry Maids were scheduled, they arrived early – which would not normally be a problem – but they sat in the car in the driveway for about half an hour, which drove my dog insane. This same team would not attempt to vacuum up the live ladybugs that invade my home every autumn. They left a note saying “we try to vacuum them, but they fly away.” I have done it hundreds of times, and it’s just not that difficult.
Another team decided my home-baked Christmas goodies left on the counter were intended as a tip for them. Cookies were taken in the footed cake dome in which they were stored. I got my cake dome back, but I did not ask for the goodies to be returned, as I didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of eating or giving them away after being handled by strangers.
There are plenty of other examples of why I would not recommend them, but the last straw is that they destroyed my kitchen cupboards and refused to take responsibility – in spite of their “guarantee.”
On days that I was home when Merry Maids were scheduled, I noticed a routine of heavily spraying several surfaces down with cleaning solution, then returning to finish cleaning the surfaces after the solution had time to work. One day after receiving “cleaning services” I noticed the lower cupboards had a strange film on them. These were standard commercial cupboards that were paneled and painted white. This means the wood was a type of particle board. On the borders of the panels where the surface was nearly horizontal, the wood was lifting, thereby destroying the smooth surface, and exposing swollen particle board -- very unsightly.
Mr. Barlond came out to inspect the damage and repeatedly told me that it must have been a result of something I did, because all of their cleaning solutions were thoroughly tested. Although I told him the cupboards were fine when I went to work, ruined when I came home from work, and Merry Maids were the only people with access to my home during my absence, he persisted in blaming me for the damage. The fact there are multiple cleaning solutions tells me that there are specific solutions for specific surfaces. What has been tested to work on porcelain is highly unlikely to be suitable for painted wood. The problem was likely a result of the “maid of the day” spraying the cabinets heavily with the wrong solution, and giving the cleaner plenty of time to take a toll.
Unfortunately, even though the cupboards were not even 10 years old, the same cabinet style was no longer available, so we had to replace ALL of the cupboards.
The Barlond’s may be merry with the proceeds of their business (they also own a Merry Maids in Lansing), but this customer was not amused.