Policies and Terms of Service

Privacy and Confidentiality

Fresh Living and its employees will not share your personal information with anyone.

Keys

Ninety percent of our clients leave a key to their home at our office, and we take extreme measures to protect each key and your home. We assign every customer key a security code and store it in a key safe. No identifying information is ever put on any key.

Keys are issued to your maid on Monday’s and checked back in on Friday’s. If we were to misplace your key, we would pay to have your home re-keyed. A document will be provided to you indicating that we are in possession of your key. All keys are immediately returned upon termination of service. However, for your safety, we do not return keys by mail. Customers must call the Fresh Living office to arrange to pick up their key in person. Please note that photo id is required before a key will be released.

If you decide not to issue a key to Fresh Living, and no one will be home during the cleaning, you may choose to leave a door unlocked or place a spare key in a secured place for the maids to gain access to your home. In this case, you release Fresh Living of any liability that may arise from any damages or theft to your home as we cannot guarantee that we are the only ones who will have access to your home that day. The Key Release of Liability document will be provided to you indicating that we are not in possession of keys to your home.

Alarm System

If your home has a security system, please inform us how you want to handle it. Please note that it is not necessary for you to have to disarm your alarm systems the day of our cleaning. If you contact your alarm company they can assist you in programming a code that is unique to our company which can then be provided to our office. Security and safety of your home is a major concern at Fresh Living, and our employees are sensitive to security and access procedures. Our policy is to lock the door while we are cleaning and to not allow access to unknown persons. Please do not rely on us to let in workmen during the time we are in your home.

Pets

Your pets are members of your family and we respect that. However, if your pet is afraid of vacuums, is territorial or rough and will not allow us to do our work, we may suggest that they be placed in areas that we are not working in (ie. garage, kennel, etc.). We will not pick up pet droppings. This includes cleaning of litter boxes and dog kennels.

Arrival Time/Hours

Our hours of operation are from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Unless you are our first cleaning of the day, we are unable to guarantee an exact arrival time. However, we can provide you with a 1-2 hour window of our estimated arrival time. Many things can affect our schedules, such as cancellations, lockouts, weather conditions or customers adding services. However, we will strive to meet your cleaning needs with respect to arrival times. Leaving a key at the Fresh Living office is the most efficient way to provide us with access to your home. If you want to wait for us to arrive we respectfully request that you are home during the estimated window of time to let your cleaners in. If no one is home or we are turned away for any reason, a cancellation fee will be charged (see Cancellation Policy).

Evening and weekend cleans will be considered if there is availability.

Cancellation Policy

Things come up, and we understand. However, we kindly ask that if you need to cancel, skip or reschedule a cleaning, that you notify us 48 hours before your scheduled day. That will allow us to reassign your maid(s) to another appointment. If Fresh Living receives less than 48 hours notice you will be charged for half the amount of your cleaning. If 24 hours notice or less has been given, or we cannot access your home due to a lockout, it will be necessary for us to charge the full price of your cleaning to ensure that all your needs are addressed, please correspond all requests and changes directly to your cleaning coordinator. Please do not communicate these important details with your cleaners.

If for some reason you wish to terminate service with Fresh Living, please be sure to submit this in writing to our office. Any clients that terminate their service for more than one month at a time will be subject to our current hourly rate.

Shoes

All Fresh Living employees are required to wear their ‘indoor’ shoes while they are in your home. This is a WCB regulation to help ensure that our employees are kept safe at the work place & to prevent any falls, and/or injures.

Bleach

We will not bring bleach into a home to use as a cleaning product. If you request us to use bleach supplied in your home, please be aware that we will not be responsible for any damage caused by your bleach.

Limitations/Disclaimers

Our employees are very important to us, and we are very serious about keeping them safe, so they do not climb higher than a 2-step ladder, move anything heavier than 35 lbs, or clean up vomit, blood, urine or excrement. These types of activities put our employees at risk of an injury or infection. Please remove soiled bed linens before we arrive. We will replace with clean linen that has been left on the end of the bed. We are also unable to wash exterior windows or clean carpets; however, we can gladly refer you to a professional.

If you would like us to clean behind appliances like a refrigerator, oven or large sofa, please move it prior to the cleaning to allow access to the desired area.

If an employee feels that their personal safety is in danger (someone in the home is intoxicated, vicious animal not contained, etc.), and the employee leaves the job site, the client is still responsible for the full cost of the job. We will attempt to reach you by phone if this situation should arise.

Insects

Insect infestation can be a problem and may prevent us from completely cleaning your home. If an infestation of ants, termites, roaches, fleas, etc., are encountered, we will not clean or vacuum the area. Please do not expect us to clean up dead insects that you've sprayed (i.e. ants, etc.). We will leave you a note or call you regarding the problem.

Distractions

It is important for us to have access to every area of your home that we will be cleaning. In doing so, we need to work freely and without distractions. Excessive visiting with your maid (beyond cleaning instructions) prevents them from being 100% focused.

Every effort is made to work safely and cautiously and we cannot assume liability for injury to others. In order to prevent safety hazards (tripping over buckets, caddies, vacuum cords, etc.), we kindly ask that you, your children and pets remain out of the rooms that we are cleaning. You may return once we are finished.

Firearms

For our protection and yours, in the unlikely event that you have firearms we ask that they be stored and locked away prior to our cleaning your home. We will not clean any rooms in which a firearm is visibly present.

Wear & Tear

The longer we live in our homes, the more wear and tear builds up in it. Baseboards, bottom of showers and tubs, mold/mildew, excessive water spots and soap scum on glass shower doors, worn flooring (wood floors may need to be refinished) grout lines, window tracks, etc. are all areas where wear and tear will have an outcome on the final look of the cleaning. These areas may take more than one cleaning to improve in appearance or may not come clean at all.

While we do offer to dust your blinds, excessive build up on blinds and shutters may require that you contact a professional blind cleaning company. We cannot be held liable for blinds/shutters, etc. that do not come 100% clean.

Damages

Accidents do happen. If we are responsible for damages to your home or items in your home, we will leave a note for you and place a follow up call. We make every attempt to repair, replace or pay for any items that we have damaged.

We will assume no liability for items not secured in a proper manner (example: heavy pictures hanging from thumb tacks, not anchored properly to walls, etc., pre-existing damages, scratches, dings in windows, paint, furniture, floors, walls, etc. Items of monetary or sentimental value should be put away on the day of cleaning and/or cleaned by home owner.

All surfaces (i.e.: Marble, Granite, hardwood floors, etc) are assumed to be sealed and ready to be cleaned without causing harm/damage when common cleaners are used.

Release of Liability

Should you decide you would like us to clean items of monetary or sentimental value, items within curio cabinets, etc., the following will apply: Client hereby releases Fresh Living from all liability arising out of cleaning these item(s), and the client understands that he/she is completely responsible for repairing or replacing any damaged item(s), even if an employee of Fresh Living may have caused the need for repair or replacement.

Billing & Payments

For your convenience, Fresh Living accepts the following forms of payment: Cash, Cheque, Etransfer and/or Gift Certificates.

Payment is due at the time of service or upon receiving an invoice. We have a "No Payment/ No Clean" policy and we may not clean your home if payment is not present or you are behind on payments. First time & one-time cleaning may require pre-payment. If leaving cash or a cheque, please leave payment on the kitchen counter inside an envelope clearly marked for ‘Fresh Living’. Cheques should be made payable to: Fresh Living

Accounts that remain outstanding for 30 days will be charged interest at a rate of 5%. If a cheque is returned for NSF, there will be an additional charge of $35.00 and services will be suspended until full payment has been received. Repeatedly not making payment may result in termination of our services.

Accounts that remain outstanding for 30 days will be charged interest at a rate of 5%.

If a cheque is returned for NSF, there will be an additional charge of $35.00 and services will be suspended until full payment has been received. Repeatedly not leaving a payment may result in termination of our services.

Gift Certificates

Gift Certificates are available in any amount. Please call or email the office for more information.

Collections

In the unfortunate event that we are unable to collect on past due payments, accounts will be forwarded to the local credit bureau.

Tipping

Fresh Living never requires tipping, but it is a powerful way to say thank you to your service provider. Remember your appreciation need not be monetary. A personal note from you expressing your appreciation for their service can mean a great deal. If you would like to leave a tip for your cleaners, please place it outside the sealed payment envelope with a note so it is clear that it is a tip for them.

24 Hour Guarantee and Refunds

We want you to be 100% satisfied! If at any time there is a legitimate concern in regards to your cleaning, you must call our office within 24 hours of the cleaning. Though we do not offer refunds, if we are contacted within 24 hours we will gladly return to re-clean the area(s) of concern.

Please note: there are no refunds for gift certificate purchases.

Quality Control

We want to earn a PERFECT 10 in quality and customer service. With that in mind, you will receive calls or emails after some of your cleanings. Please let us know how we performed. Constructive criticism refines us. We want to be the best!

Referral Program

There is no better advertisement than a satisfied customer! That is why we have created our Customer Referral Program. Referring your friends and family is a huge compliment to us, so to show our appreciation you will receive one hour of free cleaning for each referral you send our way.

How it works: Once the referred service has been completed and paid for, you will see one hour of FREE cleaning reflected on your next invoice (up to a $40 value)!

The more people you refer to Fresh Living, the more money you will save!

Soliciting our employees

By using our services, you agree not to solicit for hire any staff member introduced to you by Fresh Living for any home-related services. If you are found to have solicited one of our employees, please be advised that our referral training fee is $2,500.