Homejoy

Great company I’m gonna miss working for these guys.

Seriously? Screw these people. They inflicted major property damage on my home, agreed to compensate me $ 1,450, then literally went out of business while they kept telling me «the check is in the mail.»
I’m currently enjoying the stream of legal correspondence that arrives at our home every few weeks, telling me I’m never going to get paid what they owe because Homejoy is smack in the middle of some really nasty bankruptcy proceedings (I get the update letters because I’m one of their numerous creditors). On the bright side, I’m sure owner Adora Cheung and co. are enjoying this even less. Maybe they’ll learn some lessons and run a more competent, honest company if anyone in venture capital ever agrees to throw a penny their way in the future (though I suspect this is unlikely).

Found this place through GROUPON.
Easy appointment booking via website. They sent a reminder. They also text following up on the service with rating.
We booked through them three times so far with the same guy who’s no longer there. The first time he was late but he stayed and make up the time. He earned my respect immediately for that. He had a kid with him but we didn’t mind at all. Two other times he was ontime and did a great job.

We love this company! They are easy to work with, have amazing customer service, and their cleaning pros are all pretty good. I have only worked with three people over my years with them and we look for two out of three of them. Monica M and Marcel L are amazing. We schedule our cleanings around them.
Despite the fact that Homejoy is a little expensive, it is worth the pricey price tag when you come home to your place and find nooks and crannies cleaned that you didn’t know were dirty.
I woudl suggest that you use them… no seriously. Use our code and get $ 25 off. alex1849

I don’t often review, especially for those that are bad, but I had to let everyone know of this horrible service.
First appointment was re-​scheduled 3 times… 3 times! Such a waste of my time that I could’ve been at work.
When the cleaner finally did show up, did a very sub-​par job. My wife’s makeup that was on the bathroom counter before the cleaner came was still there after the cleaner left!
Homejoy called and promised to make it up to me… I scheduled a cleaning for today, June 30^th, 2015 about 7 days prior. Less than 2 hours before the cleaner is supposed to show up, I get yet ANOTHER call saying that something happened to the cleaner and that my «Let’s make this up to you, and show you who Homejoy really is» cleaning is yet again cancelled.
Just another day wasted with less than 2 hours of notice… If I had cancelled myself in under 24 hours, I would’ve been penalized… How is this fair?
Please everyone… Stay away from this business. They are undependable, untrustworthy, and on top of that, do a sub-​par job. Very disappointed.

I can always tell when Maria E. has been here. Everything has been gone over and looks and smells great. Sometimes when I am on my way home from work I forget that it was cleaning day and I walk in and feel such comfort!
Our times with Homejoy have not been without incident, but every time we have had a problem, they fixed it to our satisfaction and then came back to amaze us again.
Thanks Homejoy!

This service is also pretty expensive. It would cost about half as much to clean my apartment in New York, but, having said that I have had some amazing cleaners.
I have had some good cleaners and some decent cleaners through Homejoy. A year ago, the big problem was that I would schedule appointments and people would simply not show up. This year the problem is that they are usually late, though for my graduation day I made multiple notes about the importance of a timely arrival and they did in fact arrive early for that appointment, but that cleaner while acceptable did not do as great a job as my other cleaners.

Chances are, if it sounds too good to be true… it is… and shame on me. I should know this at this stage in my life.
I’m a sucker for a good deal and I HATE cleaning, so I finally gave into my laziness/​busy schedule and bought a Groupon to have my house cleaned. The deal was $ 89 for 3 hours of house cleaning with a discounted rate of $ 20 per hour for cleaning any time in the next 3 months (it’s basically a 3 month membership to Homejoy) and they bring their own supplies.
I booked online, which was fairly easy and they recommended 6.5 hours to clean my house. I figured since it only takes me 3 hours (max) to deep clean my house it would be extra super sparkly clean when it was done… but it’s not really.
If I were only rating the gentleman they sent this would be a 3.5−4 star review, as I think he did a good job. I also think he could have done a few things a little different, but he was very nice and was receptive to me asking him to vacuum the couch (I thought was included?) and spent a little extra time in the bathroom as I requested. However, there were also some areas that I had to go behind him (ex: kitchen counter, a few area rugs and the entryway downstairs) and go back over because they weren’t up to my standards. In his defense, he seemed like if I had asked for it, he would have done it, so maybe I should have paid more attention.
My big issues here were:
One– He showed up 30 minutes late and I see from the company’s Unilocal reviews this is a common issue. He apologized profusely once he got there (seriously, he was so nice!) but then I received a call from their dispatcher saying something has come up and we would have to reschedule about ten minutes after he got there and was already working in my kitchen. I’m glad this was not the case because I re-​arranged my schedule to work from home today and I would have been seriously peeved if it had been for no reason. But this is still weird. I don’t understand why they would think he wasn’t coming, since he was there and if that had really been the case, shouldn’t they have told me that before hand?
Two– He finished and asked if I was satisfied (again, shame on me for not looking closer in a few areas while he was still here) and left at 2:15 PM (for the record, he got here at 8:30 AM). But the bill I received was still for the solid 6.5 hours even though the website assured me that they would only bill me for the time spent in my house. (
-)
Update: The specialist who contacted me below has fixed this issue and I appreciate the prompt response. Less than 24 hour turn around on an issue as such is commendable-​thank you.
Second update: The specialist that contacted me about my disappointing first experience also offered me half off of my already reduced rate, so I booked the first weekend appointment I saw open almost 2 months after my initial cleaning. Apparently unless you are booking a weekly service weekend’s are impossible to get same month. My second cleaner did a much better job than the first, but he was also 20 minutes late (although there was no apology given this time) and cleaned things so aggressively that I spent this whole weekend noticing random things had been knocked down (several pictures/​frames and a window cling) or broken (door stop in my front hall way) AND he skipped the couches too.
To his credit, he did stay the full amount of time I requested though.
Bottom Line is this: It is obvious Homejoy wanted my business (ex: Groupon and discounted offer to come back) so in that regard I am relatively happy with their customer service. But I would be seriously upset at the lack of professionalism on the cleaners part if this is a service I paid full price for. So, sorry Homejoy, but this is where we part ways.

We live in a very small 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 common room apartment, and decided that after a year living here, it was time to hire a professional to come in and do a little bit of cleaning for us. (We are tidy, and good at countertops, but vacuuming/​floors needed some work).
Saw the deal on Groupon — great price — so we went for it.
The guy showed up on time (a little early actually), which was a good start. But from there, everything went downhill. This doesn’t mean the fellow wasn’t friendly, and he meant well. He just wasn’t what we paid for.
We prioritized the kitchen, then carpets, then bathrooms, then bedrooms if he had time. He showed up with a fairly crappy vacuum cleaner, no broom, and no paper towels. I left my roommate to go to a gym class for an hour, and returned to find literally nothing done except the countertop in one bathroom.
When I got home, I decided to reiterate our priorities. He said «sure thing» and continued into the second bathroom. I came in again and reminded him that the kitchen was our biggest priority, and he said he’d get to it shortly. He went on to spend an hour in the second bathroom. So do the math — thats 2 hours of our 3 hours total, 2 bathrooms, neither of which were priorities.
When we finally had only 45 minutes left, I went in and asked if I could use his vacuum and vacuum myself, because we were low on time. He agreed, and I proceed to vacuum 3 of the 4 major rooms in the apartment. He then decided to ask «if I minded finishing up the bathroom by vacuuming it too… if I didn’t mind» … seriously?
With about 15 minutes left, he got the hint that we were angry and not satisfied so he started overcompensating by offering to «stay late» and «get the job done» because he «wants to satisfy his customers…» but he then looked at his watch and said «Is it 9:00 yet?»
To summarize:
He did not focus on any of the things we prioritized.
He was not quick, nor prepared in his cleaning supplies.
He asked if we minded cleaning the bathroom ourselves… which I wouldn’t have minded… but obviously I didn’t pay him only to have me clean my own house.
He was friendly, he had good intentions, but unfortunately did not give us what we paid for, so I will not be able to recommend this company to anyone. I will hire someone else next time because I was so upsettingly dissatisfied.

I used homejoy about 4 – 5 times, and my experience has been nothing short of HORRIBLE. A BIG MISTAKE.
Cleaners always show up 20−30mins late. They leave earlier than scheduled. Cleaning is sub-​par. I tried different cleaners with the same results each time. And to top it off, some items mysteriously disappeared after the last cleanup.
The worst part in all of this? Customer service is completely unresponsive and it has shrugged all responsibility in the theft.
Avoid this company.

I purchased a Groupon for 3 hours of cleaning (1 person) for $ 49 which I thought was a fair deal. The appointment process was flawless online and the periodic text message reminders were great. I booked a 6:00PM appointment and the gentleman booked to clean my home showed up right on time. This is where all the positives end.
I live in a regular sized 2 bedroom apartment, so I figured that in 3 hours the kitchen, both bathrooms could be cleaned without an issue and that there would be time left over to vacuum and do some lite dusting. The cleaner ended up spending one hour and 45 minutes cleaning a relatively small kitchen. I clean the kitchen myself sometimes and it takes me max 20 – 30 minutes. So at this point I was getting perturbed.
The cleaner then went to clean the guest bathroom which is the smaller of the two. He was in there for almost an hour when I told him he needed to clean the master bathroom as time was running. He spent another 45 minutes to an hour in there cleaning. By the this time it was 9:30 at night and he was beginning to wrap up.
Realizing that the cleaner was taking his sweet time, I proceeded to vacuum the floor and clean the other rooms that he would not get to.
Our previous cleaning service would spend an hour and half tops cleaning our apartment top to bottom and sometimes she would finish in about an hour. I was extremely disappointed in how long the cleaning took.
The other positive note is that the gentleman that came to clean our apartment was very nice and polite, he just took too dang long. What he did clean he did do a good job with, but as mentioned it just took too long.
I will not be using Homejoy again in the future.

I bought a Groupon for three hours of cleaning. I only needed the first floor of my townhome cleaned, so this was great.
I setup the appointment online, which was very easy and convenient. I also signed up for weekly cleanings on the website too. I made the appointment for a Monday cleaning on a Friday. When Monday got here, 15 minutes before the start of cleaning, I got a call saying that my cleaner had an «emergency» and had to reschedule. I was irritated but I understand that things happen. I was given a $ 25 credit for use on my NEXT appointment. I inquired why not for THIS appointment and was told since I used a Groupon, that it wasn’t possible. I made another appointment for the following day.
Charlene just left my house. Let me say, I am very pleased. She is awesome. Very professional, good cleaner and extremely nice! Seriously, she saved me from dropping their service. I have three little ones so they can be very messy. I could tell that she knew what she was doing and I totally appreciated her paying attention to the small things. I would recommend Charlene again and since I have the $ 25 credit, I will request her again.
All in all, not too bad.
***Update***
I had to cancel service with Homejoy. Too many cancellations at the last minute. I need consistency because of my schedule. Like I stated previously, cleaning service is great but I signed up for every week and I had more cancellations than services. I updated for full disclosure :-/

I love the online booking process– makes it very easy and you can book your appt late at night in your pjs!
Annette C cleaned our house and it sparkled! Highly rec her– she is wonderful!

Worst company ever!
The cleaners are really contractors to the company and they just host a platform where cleaners and people who need cleaning get matched up. I’ve used Homejoy a few times and have liked it until my most recent experience. I scheduled a cleaning for 5:00 in advance, it was 5:00 and I did not get a message or anything about what happened with my cleaner so I gave them a call, turns out my cleaner dropped their platform, that’s telling isn’t it?
I needed someone to clean my home spotless because I have having guests over that night. They called several cleaners and found one willing to take my job but her car was not working. I asked can they just comp a cab ride for her or increase her incentive so that it makes up for the cost of having to find transportation for her. This is when things got interesting. I got transferred to their second tier support named Mario. He said it was not within his power to do this and I asked if I can talk to someone who can. He said he can’t transfer me. I asked him well can I talk to his supervisor and he said his supervisor is pretty high up and cannot take a transfer. I asked if his supervisor is the CEO, he said with this company it’s possible. I asked if I could be transferred to his line and he laughed in a very condescending way and said that’s never going to happen.
So I am without a clean and because I was notified so late that my cleaner was not going to show up all other cleaning services at this point were already closed. I will never use them again. They sell a platform to the cleaners who do the real work and add no value at all to their service side. I’ve learned my lesson and am going to cut out the middle man being Homejoy and next time just go directly to a service that employs people and not have their consumer facing workforce be contractors.

I had my home cleaned with one of Homejoy’s intro specials and for the price I payed I was extremely pleased. Everything I asked for was done and you could really see the difference. The man who cleaned my home was courteous and a hard worker. He came about a half hour late, but he made up for it and stayed the full 2.5 hours.
I was a little upset after he left because while my kitched was spotless I noticed that the finish on my oven was discolored. Apparently the cleaner used had reacted poorly. So I called customer service and this is where Homejoy really earned their stars. Marisa one of their specialists was wonderful. She responded to my claim the next day and a few weeks later a technician from Sears was installing a brand new oven door completely replacing all of the damage. I would use Homejoy again, but I would either provide my own cleaning supplies or specify what can be used where to avoid any future damage.

Homejoy continues to be a joy. While I have had a different cleaner each time (5 times now) all have been professional, on time and did a thorough job. After the «special» low price rate the pricing starts to creep up but for now I’m fully satisfied customer.
Garrison and Christina were my most recent cleaners.

Just had the cleaner come yesterday. It was my first experience paying some one to help clean. I gave this a try thanks to a cheeky deal they offered for new customers where I only paid $ 19 for 2.5 hours. I say CHEEKY because the gimmick seemed to be that as soon as I scheduled the appointment I was automatically scheduled for several cleanings every two weeks. Had I not taken note and canceled I would have been financially responsible for that next cleaning and of course it would have cost much more than $ 19.
My cleaner was Jamal. He arrived early and worked hard. Cleaning seemed thorough.
Two issues:
1) You cannot chose your cleaner. Based on other Unilocal reviews seems Jamal is among the best and that I just got lucky.
2) While Jamal did an excellent job this did not feel like a pro cleaning because the materials and tools he had we’re standard items most of us own. I expected perhaps something more industrial for that one grimy spot I failed to scrub away myself with regular brushes?
Positive experience thanks to Jamal, but as for homejoy I do not see myself using it again.

Bad just keeps getting worse.
This company has a horrific business model and is sure to implode soon. They are extremely unreliable and inconsistent. They also have a horrible website that constantly changes in terms of functionality — I am assuming because they can’t get it to work.
Case in point: You can no longer «select a cleaner». When you try to book your appointment, it now says «a cleaner will be assigned 3 days before your appointment». WTH?! No, i want the SAME cleaner i had last time. I do not like a random, different person showing up each time… that is if they show up at all.
This company is doomed to fail because they cannot get the service delivered to their customers in a reliable and consistent manner.

Not a fan. I purchased a Groupon for three hours, but it really wasn’t worth that.
The cleaner was pleasant and I enjoyed the conversation.
The cleaner was 45 minutes late, NOT including the trouble we had at the door to my building, which was stuck and we had to wait on the maint guys working the problem.
I didn’t get the full three hours, but I didn’t want them either. The appointment was for 4pm, and we didn’t get things started until 5pm. I had just put my cat down earlier that day and I said that we would have a problem if anyone was still in my apartment as late as 8pm.
What was cleaned, was cleaned okay. The tile floors weren’t cleaned well, though and every footfall I made on them afterwards left a mark. I re-​cleaned them two days later. I did like the way my bathroom things were arranged and I appreciated the sinks being wiped dry afterwards.
What wasn’t cleaned included the microwave, the toaster oven, the blinds, and a few things above eye level (think the top of the tub and the tops of doorways, etc.).
I asked for the bedroom to be skipped, and yes, I know I live in a one bedroom apartment, but Petey was sort of still in there for me and I didn’t want anyone in there for some reason or other. That room was vacuumed and I was embarassed because of the litter on the floor from his poor scooping skills, but hey, he was an old man.
So, about an hour and a half got my kitchen, bathroom and living room pretty clean and ready for company.
I was also asked via text to rate the service almost instantaneously. I declined so that I could take the time to see what had been done and what hadn’t.
What I really want, is a service that comes in every other week while I am at work. Just leave a key and the door code with the concierge and just come home to a nice clean apartment. So far, I haven’t found a service I trust enough, or that does a good enough job for me to do this, so my search continues… any recommendations, fellow Unilocalers?

Homejoy runs a similar cleaning service as its competitor, Handybook, which we have used several times. You can book online and schedule everything via the easy-​to-​use website. You are assigned a cleaner and notified of his/​her name a day or two in advance. You pay online and can even designate a tip (100% of which goes directly to the cleaner) via the website.
We tried Homejoy out because we purchased a Groupon. Part of the Groupon deal gives us a discounted hourly rate for a month ($ 15 instead of $ 20/​hr, which is insanely good). However, we only get our house professionally cleaned a few times a year so I doubt we’ll be taking advantage of that again.
When I booked online, I had to book 1.5 weeks in advance, which is more than I’ve had to do with Handybook. However, there was an abundance of time options, and the price doesn’t fluctuate between «peak» and «off-​peak» times, like other services.
Our cleaner was friendly and prompt — about 15 minutes early, in fact. On the booking page, I specified our top three priority areas, but I had to reiterate these several times once the cleaner arrived. We booked a 4 hour cleaning for our 3 bedroom, 1 bath house; the site suggested 4.5 hours (!!!) to clean every room for a house our size, so that is the justification why every room might not get completed. I actually clean our bathroom quite regularly, so I said it wasn’t a priority area — meaning, save it for last — but it didn’t get touched. Anyway, the cleaning job was pretty thorough.
Only complaints:
–Our cleaner took a personal call while she was working that lasted at least 10 minutes. My husband and I were upstairs in our bedroom and could basically hear her entire conversation about her upcoming birthday.
–Some streaky residue was left on our dining room table. We’ve never had a problem with cleaning agents before on that surface.
–There is a $ 5 charge for the cleaner to bring their own supplies. This doesn’t include big items like broom, dustpan, or vacuum.
Overall, I’d give our experience 3.5 stars. It didn’t wow me enough for 4 stars, but it is still a pretty good cleaning for the price!