MaidBossPro Blog — Recurring Cleanings

Keeping the Same Team on a Recurring Cleaning Client

Ask recurring clients what they like about their cleaning service and many will name people, not features. “Maria and Jen are wonderful.” “They know exactly how I like the kitchen.” Letting someone into your home every week or two is personal. Clients trust faces, and they notice when the faces keep changing.

Why the Same Team Matters

Good entry notes, covered in Lockboxes, Alarms and Rooms to Skip: Entry Notes for Recurring Cleaning Clients, let any team clean any home. That is your safety net. But for the everyday schedule, most maid service owners try to keep the same team at the same home, and there are solid reasons:

• Trust. Clients are more comfortable with people they have met. Some will not leave a key with someone they do not know.
• Speed. A team that has cleaned a house ten times knows where everything is and how long each room takes.
• Quality. Familiar teams notice what changed. A new stain on the carpet, a bathroom fan that stopped working, a dog that is limping.
• Ownership. When a team feels a home is “theirs,” they take more pride in it.

None of this is a software feature. It is how you choose to run the schedule. Software just makes it easier to stick to.

Setting Up Teams

In MaidBossPro, each team is set up like a vehicle, “Team 1,” “Team 2” and so on, and employees are assigned to teams with their own personal PIN for the team app. Every recurring series is assigned to a team when it is set up with Add Recurring Cleaning, and every visit goes onto that team's day on the Scheduled List, the dispatch board that shows jobs by day and filters by team.

To keep homes with their team:

• Let the series hold the team. The Recurring Cleanings list shows each slot, like “Every 2 weeks · Tuesdays · 9:00 AM · Team 2,” so anyone in the office can see whose home it is.
• Use saved views. A saved view of Team 2's week shows their regular homes at a glance and makes it obvious when one is missing.
• Cover one visit, not the series. When the usual team is out for a day, change the team on that single visit. The series stays with its regular team, and the next visit is back to normal.

Because each team tends to work certain neighborhoods on certain days, as covered in Building Recurring Cleaning Routes by Neighborhood and Day, keeping the same team and keeping a tight route usually point the same way.

When the Usual Team Cannot Go

People get sick, take vacations and have family emergencies. When the usual team cannot make it, you have two choices: move that one visit a day or two to when the team is back, or send another team on that visit only. Ask the client which they prefer. Many will gladly wait a day for their usual people. Others want the house cleaned on schedule no matter who comes.

If another team covers, this is where the cleaning details and entry notes pay off. The card on the covering team's phone shows the cleaning type, beds and baths, pets, extras, entry code, alarm, rooms to skip and past notes. A quick text to the client helps too: “Maria is out today, so Team 3 will be cleaning. They have all your notes.”

Rotating on Purpose, a Little

Some owners have a second team visit each regular home now and then, maybe every few months. That way, if the usual team leaves or is out for a while, the client has already met the backup and the backup knows the house. It is a judgment call. Some clients love the routine and would rather not see new faces at all.

Handling Turnover

Cleaning teams change over time. When a team member leaves, the homes they cleaned need a new regular team. A few things make it smoother:

• Tell clients before the change. A short text saying who will be cleaning from now on is far better than a surprise at the door.
• Make sure notes are complete. Departing team members often know things that are not written down. Ask them to add anything important to the job notes before their last day.
• Turn off their PIN. When someone leaves, turning off their personal PIN turns off their access to the team app and every entry code on it.
• Watch the next few visits. A client adjusting to a new team is more likely to cancel. Check in after the first visit.

The Customer App Helps Too

Clients can rate visits in the customer app. Pay attention to ratings after a team change. A dip tells you to call before the client decides to leave. Before-and-after photos, when you turn them on in the customer app, also reassure a client that a new team did the job right.

Keep the Faces Familiar

The same team at the same home is one of the simplest things a maid service can do to keep recurring clients for years. To see how teams and recurring cleanings fit together, visit the MaidBossPro recurring cleaning software page.