Maid & House Cleaning Services
serving Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo, CA
Caravel Cleaning Company
™
House Cleaning
Client Guidelines
Scheduling and Access
​The Ideal Setting
The ideal cleaning situation is when no one is home at the time of cleaning. We understand that is not always possible, so we request that any room that we are cleaning in are vacant (for safety as well as efficiency).
We recommend that you try to schedule your cleaning on a day when there will be fewer people at home.
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If there is a lot of activity going on in your home, we will do our best to work around it. If too many interruptions prevent us from completing the job in a timely fashion, we may need to adjust which tasks can be accomplished or skipped.
Holidays
We typically close on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day (and the Friday after), December 24 & 25.
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Our best efforts will be made to reschedule cleanings if your day falls on a holiday, but it cannot be guaranteed. If staffing is available on those holidays, we will fill the schedule on a first come, first served basis, so please let us know if you still want to be cleaned on a holiday.
Cancellations
We must assess a 50% fee if you cancel with less than 24 hours (not including weekends or holidays) notice by phone (48 hours by email). Any deposits are not refundable.
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The full cleaning fee will be billed on the scheduled day of cleaning if the cleaner is unable to clean due to last minute cancellation, lack of access (keys or codes not working, or being turned away upon arrival). We must assess a fee when access is denied or not available since our cleaning techs have based their day on servicing your home.
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There are no exceptions, even for the first incident, or if a reminder text/email has not been sent and/or received.
Access
We must be able to access your home. We ask that you be prepared for our arrival by 8:30am on the day of your scheduled appointment. We will always do our best to make an appointment for your preferred time, however, we cannot guarantee a time.
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We are a keyless company. To ensure accessibility is possible, we require a door or garage code. You can also place a key in a hidden location, or we have combo boxes available for a small fee.
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We must assess a 50% fee when access is denied or not available. There are no exceptions, even for the first incident.
Vacations
Please inform us anytime you don’t plan to return home the same day we clean. We realize it’s tempting to cancel service while you’re on vacation; however, we ask that you consider keeping your scheduled appointment.
Not only will you love coming home to a nice clean house, this is a perfect time for us to work on a special project for you or catch up on any build up by deep cleaning an area or two around your home.
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It also will eliminate the extra build up that will occur if you skip your cleaning.
Additionally, our technicians appreciate when interruptions to their schedule/income are kept to a minimum.
Skipped Service
In the event a scheduled cleaning is skipped due to holiday, vacation, illness, etc. an additional fee will be added to the following cleaning to account for extra time needed to bring your house back to the level of cleanliness you’re accustomed to.
Payment and Pricing
Payment
Payment is due at time of service. Our technicians do not handle payments. We require a credit card be kept on file for payment processing. Deposits may be required for one-time or first-time services.
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For initial and one-time cleans, a 50% non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your date.
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The balance for Initial and one-time services as well as Payment for recurring services will typically be processed by the end of the business day following service.
Declined transactions will incur a $35 fee
Rate Increases
We do reserve the right to increase our rates at anytime. We will provide a 30 day notice whenever possible.
Gift Certificates and Gift Baskets
Make someone happy with the gift of free time! Cleaning service is the perfect gift for a wedding, anniversary, housewarming, new baby, or holidays.
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We have specific denominations available, or we are happy to help create a custom gift for your special someone.
Tipping
Tipping is always appreciated by our technicians but is never required.
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We believe tipping should be performance based. If you choose to provide a tip/gratuity, 15-20% is considered industry standard for cleaning services.
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Please be sure any tip can be clearly identified as such by the technician or call our office to have it added to your cleaning fee (feel free to leave a note that you’ve done so). Tips will be evenly split between any crew members who may be assigned to your home.
Pricing Changes
We reserve the right to change the pricing, including estimates or discounts and/or correct errors on our online pricing and promotions, or if we see that your home’s circumstances are not typical or not as described during initial intake.
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We also reserve the right to adjust pricing when circumstances within your home have changed (adding additional people or pets to your household, remodeling projects etc.).
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We also reserve the right to correct typos and errors on our ads.
Referrals
We love referrals and appreciate it when you tell family and friends about our service. When you refer someone and they become a weekly or bi-weekly customer, we thank you both with special savings!
Check out all at the details here.
We also pay our technicians a $10 bonus in your name when you provide 5star reviews on Google and/or Yelp! (See the details here)
In your Home
Preparing for Cleaning Day
Don't CLEAN! Leave that to us!
However, picking up and tidying is very much appreciated.That allows us to focus on what we do best and provide the highest quality service for you.
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Our general rule of thumb, if clutter covers more than 75% of a surface, we will skip that area entirely. While we do fluff toss pillows and fold a lap blanket on the couch, daily chores like dishes or picking up clutter and refuse are outside the scope of maintenance cleaning.
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Closed interior doors are a signal to us to NOT CLEAN a space. If you routinely leave a door(s) closed, but want that space cleaned, please let the office know the specifics so we can include the information on your work order.
Please take the steps necessary to give us access in whatever way we agreed when you booked your appointment. (lock box, hide a key, combo, etc)
We love pets, however for their safety and the safety of our team; we ask that all pets be secured while we are cleaning your home as they may become stressed, overanxious, or may pose a threat. Pets may roam freely if both you and the cleaning technician are comfortable.
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Technicians are not able to lock pets up, let pets out or bring them in. Cleaning up pet waste or changing litter boxes fall outside our scope of cleaning.
Move Expensive, fragile, and precious possessions to a safe place that you are not having cleaned (a spare room or curio cabinet).
Window treatments
Due to the delicate nature of window treatments, our employees cannot be held responsible for damage occurring to them or surrounding items during the normal course of cleaning. You will be given the opportunity to decline having your window treatments handled and/or cleaned.
Tile & Grout
While we do our best, we cannot guarantee the cleaning results of floor and counter tile surfaces. The porous nature of grout leaves it susceptible to trapping dirt and staining easily. Natural stone, such as marble and travertine, are also porous and prone to staining.
When these surfaces are discolored, we typically recommend a professional grout and tile cleaning surface, as they specialize in extracting soils and contaminates from these surfaces - as well as sealing them afterward to prevent future staining.
Breakage or Damage
As careful as we are, it is bound to happen. We hate when it does, and we will always do our best to prevent it.
Please help us prevent damage by informing us of anything in the home that is not working properly (shower doors fall off hinges when opened, hot water faucet is reversed with cold, picture frame is broken, lamp shade is not secured well, etc.). We call these booby traps and every home tends to have at least one. Sometimes breakage occurs when items are unstable or unsecured: items displayed on mantels or shelves that are ‘leaned’ and not secured, pictures not hung securely, decor hung with ‘Command’ style strips or hooks, top heavy items with unstable bases,
wobbly/tippy objects.
We cannot take responsibility for such items, or items damaged as a result of sliding, tipping, or falling.
Below are our Breakage and Damage Policies:
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Each incident is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
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Damage must be reported as soon as possible after the cleaning, or discovery. (24 hours preferred)
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Please keep all broken or damaged items for inspection
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To avoid risk, please remove expensive figurines or glassware. For any fragile or unstable items that cannot be moved, please let us know so we can inform your Cleaning Crew that they should NOT clean those areas/items.
We will pay up to $100 per broken or damaged item. Value must be verified for any item over$25. In some cases, we may elect to have the broken or damaged item repaired by a professional restoration company.
As business owners we take responsibility for our employees and their actions. Our guidelines are designed to minimize risks, not avoid responsibility. We will personally review any incident to ensure a fair and expedient resolution. You are a valued customer, and we wish to resolve any incident to your satisfaction.
As stated previously, we do not accept responsibility for aging blinds and window coverings. Our breakage policy does not cover blind slats, cords, or valances.
Cleaning Technicians
Our cleaning technicians will be uniformed and professional. We believe cleaning is far more efficient when a solo team member is assigned to your home. However, we occasionally find the need to send a team of 2 or even 3.
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While we do make every effort to have the same person/team assigned to your home, we reserve the right to send another team member(s) to your home when the 'regular' team member(s) is sick, on vacation, or has requested a day off.
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Please keep in mind that each team member is qualified, professional, courteous, background checked, insured and have instructions regarding the details of your home.
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Our employees should not smoke while on your property, use any appliance for personal use including your microwave or TV, take a break or sit on any furniture while cleaning your home. We ask that you contact us immediately should any of these activities occur.
Dishes
We typically do not do dishes. If you anticipate that being a service you require, it can be included for an additional fee.
Window blinds
We cannot guarantee the results of window blind cleaning. Excessive build-up may require a professional blind cleaning service. Often it is more cost effective to replace heavily soiled blinds.
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Nor can we accept responsibility for aging blinds and window coverings. Our breakage policy does not cover blind slats, cords, or valances.
The Ones You Love
We do our best to work safely at all times, but we recommend that children and pets are kept out of the room or area we are cleaning. If your pet is anxious or may be stressed by our presence, please secure them during our visit. Please be aware that we do not clean up after sick pets or pet accidents.
Equipment and Supplies
We supply all needed chemicals as well as sanitized cotton and microfiber cleaning cloths, as well as flat microfiber mop heads.
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We do not carry furniture polish. If you have heritage quality furniture that requires polish, please make your preferred brand available to your Cleaning Crew.
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We also ask that you provide a toilet brush in each bathroom, all trash can liners, and access to your vacuum. We prefer a bagless vacuum with a detachable hose or ability to clean above the floor (ie: Dyson and Shark are popular brands). We will not operate Rainbow or Kirby vacuums (or similar)
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We have vacuums available for purchase if needed.
Quality Control
Quality Control is VERY important to us.
Our system is interactive and dependent upon your feedback and communication to function well. We need your input on the overall experience and quality you are receiving, and you can count on us to address any issues you communicate to us.
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Our employees take great pride in the work they do and want to be informed if their service ever falls short. We make random unannounced quality checks during cleanings. In addition, in-person or Zoom inspections are performed on all first-time cleanings.
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Please call or email us to share immediate feedback. We will share your comments kindly and constructively with our technicians.
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We are committed to providing superior service. Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed! If for any reason you are not satisfied with your service, please inform us within 24 hours and we will arrange to have the problem corrected within 1 business day.
Please contact us at
805-804-5454 or CaptainClean@CaravelCleaning.com
Privacy and Safety
Photos
We may occasionally take before/after photos of areas of client homes for documentation, or marketing/advertising purposes. Photos are taken ‘close-up’ and framed to obscure/exclude any personally identifiable features. You are given the opportunity to decline having pictures taken in your home for marketing purposes.
Safety
Please let us know of any severe allergies in the home, or if someone in the home uses medical sharps. Cleaning of human or pet blood, vomit or excrement is outside the scope of our services, but we will alert you to such things if we see them. If you have firearms in your home, please be sure they are safely secured.
We do our best to work safely, but we recommend that children be out of the areas being cleaned. We may be working with equipment or products that are not safe for them.
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Per our insurance policy, we cannot climb higher than a 2-step ladder. We will attempt to reach higher items with an extension duster if they appear sturdy and stable. We cannot move furniture, but we will try to reach any visible places either by hand or with an extension pole. If you need something cleaned behind or under a piece of furniture or appliance, we are more than happy to do that if you move it out and put it back in place.
Privacy
The safety of our clients and technicians is paramount at Caravel Cleaning Co. We maintain a strict policy regarding the privacy of our clients. We guarantee discretion and do not share information (including but not limited to e-mail, addresses, phone numbers, and profiles).
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We will not allow anyone into the residence without the explicit direction from our client. Please inform us of expected service and delivery persons or visitors who may be in the home upon our arrival.
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All employees have signed a document regarding these policies.
In These Times of COVID
The COVID-19 crisis has made us all change the way we do things, and how we see the world around us. We must be diligent regarding our hygiene habits and be more mindful of how we interact with others.In addition to following CDC and local guidelines, we understand that everyone has their own comfort level regarding the recommended safety measures. If you are not in the home, but still wish the Cleaning Crew to maintain face coverings, please let us know.
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Please keep us informed of any elevated temperature or flu-like symptoms of anyone in the household. (*cancellation fees are NOT assessed for these conditions, however fees may be adjusted on the next service date).
Raini & Associates, Inc
DBA CARAVEL CLEANING COMPANY
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CLIENT AGREEMENT
By engaging our services, you agree to the following terms:
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I understand that due to the immense time and expenses incurred by by Raini & Associates, Inc (DBA CARAVEL CLEANING COMPANY) in vetting, hiring, and training employees, a 'finders fee of $5,000 will be charged if I hire a staff member on an individual basis for private work.
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I understand Solicitation of a Caravel Cleaning Co. employee for private hire will result in permanent termination of service and forfeiture of any unused gift cards or referral credits earned.
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I understand I may be billed for service at the full or partial rate for failing to provide access to the property upon arrival. This includes access codes not working, keys not available, are turned away at the door, or other cause not in control of the Company or employee.
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I understand there may be a 50% OR $50 (whichever is greater) cancellation fee if service is canceled without a minimum 24hour notice. (not including weekends or holidays).
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I understand payment is due at the time of service, and my credit card number will be securely retained as back up payment for undisputed delinquent balances.
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I agree to receive email and SMS communication from Raini & Associates, Inc and its subsidiaries. I understand I may opt-out at any time by clicking the unsubscribe button (email) or replying "STOP" to any SMS message. (keep in mind this will also effect your appointment reminder emails and text messages)
We appreciate your cooperation and for your patronage.