A Response to a Competitor’s Blog Post “Comparing Hourly Rates of Pay for Home Cleaners in Winnipeg”
We feel this post is meant to attack and to discredit our company and other Winnipeg cleaning companies that pay well and offer a fair compensation plan to their employees. At Take Time Cleaning, we feel that we have at least been partly targeted and we would like to put right the false and misleading information included in this author’s blog post.
The information we are providing here pertains to Take Time Home Cleaning only. We will refer to the writer of this blog post as “the author” and the company as company S.
FYI:
The author of the blog post charges her clients $48 per hour and pays her cleaners a starting rate of $13/hour. After taxes her cleaners are making about $8 to $9 per hour. Some companies will say that they pay low wages because they offer so much value through company vehicles and benefits. Take Time Cleaning provides those too yet we are still able to pay our staff the high rates that they deserve.
FYI:
We currently employ several former employees of company S and we speak from an informed position. At Take Time, our compensation plan pays about $6000 per year more than company S. We pay travel and office time and full benefits over and above the cleaning wages. Cleaning staff can also choose to use a company vehicle over their own vehicle.
We would like to respond to “The Questions to Ask:” listed in the author’s blog.
Is the advertised hourly rate ever docked? The advertised hourly rate is NOT docked. We G-U-A-R-A-N-T-E-E our starting rate of $17 per hour and 30 hours per week. That’s what a Guarantee means. Our rate is based on hours worked.
What do we consider working hours? Time spent cleaning, driving, and attending office meetings, working trade shows, etc. is considered working time.
Is drive time paid? Of course it is. Drive time is paid at $12/hr. Cleaning hours are paid at a starting rate of $17 per hour. Yes that is our starting rate. Not $12 not $13 not $14, $15 or $16 per hour but $17 per hour and the rate goes up from there to $23 per hour. Drive time is paid at $12 per hour. This competitor pays poorly and is trying to make the public believe that there is no way that Take Time Cleaning could actually pay a starting rate of $17/hr. We do and we have been for years. That’s why we have staff that have been with us for years.
If I use my own car will I get a mileage reimbursement for the wear and tear on my vehicle? No. We pay travel time only. However, if you want, you can use a company vehicle instead. If this is preferred, the hourly rate is less but it is still more than what company S pays.
If a customer has a concern that requires a recall for service, will I be paid for the time required to perform it and will it be at the advertised hourly rate of pay?
Of course you are paid for the time required to perform it! If you have already cleaned that property and a reclean is required, you are paid at minimum wage to perform the reclean. We verify ALL concerns before a reclean is performed.
If a company vehicle is provided, who pays for fuel, oil changes, maintenance and parking? Who pays for the deductible in the event of an accident?
Take Time Cleaning pays in each situation described.
Your basic rights as an Employee. (according to the author)
The hourly rate of pay an employer advertises in the recruiting and interview process is the rate you are entitled to for all hours worked.
We certainly agree. We would like to remind the owner of company S that when advertising a Full Time position, you are required to provide F-U-L-L Time hours consistently.
An employer cannot dock your pay for performance.
Agreed. At Take Time, we don’t do this. More misinformation.
More Basic Rights As An Employee (according to Take Time Cleaning and we hope company S takes note)
At Take Time, we will never mistreat you. For example, the admin will never shout the F-Bomb at you.
If you make a mistake we will never display your name or team number on a wall for all your co-workers to see. We don’t believe in shaming our staff.
We are open and accepting of all your suggestions. We respect your ideas and opinions. In fact, we look forward to receiving them.
We will never involve you in plotting and carrying out schemes to discredit our competitors. We hope you realize that there are legal issues with doing this.
