After going through a largish number of cleaners with a local "referral" service masquerading as a maid service, we switched to a more traditional service. We chose Maid Brigade to try because of the local services it seemed to have the best reputation.
They send an appraiser out who discusses what will be cleaned, what won't be, how much stuff will cost, etc. The first cleaning is then maybe 30% more expensive than subsequent cleanings. Each time, a pack of three cleaners arrives complete with backpack vacuums and all cleaning supplies. They're there for maybe 90 high-intensity minutes and then gone. And everything they are scheduled to do, they've done and done well.
Once in a while we notice something seems to be missed. When that happens, we simply call up Julie and it's either fixed or it turns out to have been excluded in the script by us and we forgot.
The downsides are less flexibility per-cleaning and that they cost a lot more (maybe a third more) than a referral service. The upsides are that they are incredibly professional, well-run, effective, and fast due to the team.
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