Merry Maids

[jiacinto]

I just saw a commercial for them on TV. They had these women happily cleaning around. One woman running with a vaccum smiling.

Like those women actually like their jobs?

[Loonman]

1. Scrubbing Bubbles are real, too

:donut:

[Renew Deal]

2. I knew two guys that were Merry Maids

They were tatood, pierced and well, guys. I'd call that false advertising.

[Misinformed01]

3. Read Nickel and Dimed

Sad.

[jiacinto]

4. Yeah

I read about it. It was horrible how little they were paid.

[brainshrub]

5. Amen! Read Nickled and Dimed

My favorite part was when the author suggested to the owner of a Merry Maid franchise that he pay his employees a living wage, so he could reduce turn-over & increase the amount of business he could accomplish.
He replied:
"But they already have a flexible schedule."

As if that would feed his starving workers. (Literally, they were starving)

[Padraig18]

21. Excellent book!

One reason I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart now.

[trof]

25. Me too.

And I wouldn't hire MM after reading it.

[slappypan]

6. the outsourcing of housework

Seems like many people my age and younger will not consider cleaning their own apartments or houses. Even if they do not make large salaries, they rely on these very inexpensive maid services staffed mostly Eastern European immigrants.

[jiacinto]

7. It's hard to keep a home

when you are working all the time.

[DBoon]

8. and when your spouse works

so you can afford the payments on the home.

[slappypan]

9. are all these services worth it?

I know too many young people who have terrible money problems because they are helpless about the basic skills and never cook or clean for themselves. I think too many people come right out of college expecting to live the maintenance-free lifestyle of their upper middle class parents' household when they just don't earn the salaries yet. Having "the maid" come clean up after you is a status symbol and it definately comes at a price.

[jiacinto]

10. I agree

I claen up on my own. But I wish I had better cooking skills.

[Touchdown]

20. I have great cooking skills.

The key is to hit that can on the counter exactly where the cardboard seam is, and then the dough pops out like magic.:evilgrin:

[jmowreader]

31. You really need to quit buying them when they're that old

The ones I get, you tear off the overwrapper and the dough pops out on its own.

[eleny]

12. For about 6 months....

our work schedules were terribly heavy with very long hours. And hubby and I were also taking care of my elderly parents. So, I had MM come clean our home every 2 weeks. It was wonderful to come home after they cleaned the house. It was spotless and peaceful. Just that little bit of help made an enormous difference.

Now that we're retired, I wouldn't dream of it. Heck, I've never even had a dishwasher. But I would suggest getting the house cleaned if someone was under a great deal of stress and could afford to have the service. Btw, nothing says you can't leave the people a tip.

[lostnfound]

11. I had called Merry Maids several months ago..

thinking that I could use the help once a month or so; they charge $30 an hour if I remember right, x 3 hours minimum..but I realized the maid probably didn't get most of that..so I asked them how much the maids made, whether they paid them a fair wage or not, and they hemmed and hawed and eventually told me a ridiculously low wage. So I said no thanks.

If I'm going to pay $30 an hour for maid service, I want it to go to the person doing the work. Not to someone else who in effect 'owns' them -- people making money off of somebody else's underpaid labor is just wrong.

It occurs to me that the complexity of doing taxes for household help just further serves the wealthy and corporatizes what should be a casual and simple relationship. I pay my son's nanny 'above board', mainly so that she can store up social security etc., but it's a bit of a paperwork nightmare to do so.

[jiacinto]

13. Interesting

Yeah they don't pay well.

[Must_B_Free]

15. That;s why they clean out your valuable posessions

along with the dirt...

[mmonk]

14. maybe in today's economy?

[ShavedBeard]

16. Mine are happy

I have several maids that clean my home on a regular basis and they truly enjoy their jobs. Are paid well. And their boss (the owner of the company) is a wonderful lady.

[Booger]

19. my wife uses

a 1 woman service from time to time when we can't keep up.

She uses all natural, non toxic cleaners too.
60 dollars for about 3 hours worth of cleaning.

Keep this in mind about household cleaners.
Every single one of them contains chemicals.
And those chemicals are in the air in your house.
Not to mention soaking into your skin from fabric softeners and such.

[Touchdown]

24. LOL! That's a bit funny.

Ok. I mean, and your right, but it's ironic that we're getting warnings about chemicals, clean air and hygene, from a guy named Booger. Boogers are generally caused by those particulates in the air that you breathe in, and the nose traps..when it's doing it's job.

I mean no offense, I'm just an irony whore always on the lookout.:-)

[Booger]

26. booger is here

to warn you of the dangers of DOW chemical products!!!

Soon to come, the educational film series, featuring "Crunchy" the helpful booger.

[NoMoreRedInk]

17. My dad calls them Minute Maids because that's how much time....

they spend on their work. The things you and I clean and dust, like under the table, above the refrigerator, behind the TV, etc. do not get touched by the Minute Maids.

It's sad how little they get paid. Luckily, for them, they do a shitty job in return.

[mmonk]

37. That' the way cleaning franchises operate,

the only concern is "time is money". They see how many they can get through in a hour. Customer satisfaction doesn't play much into it (though they'll deny it).

[Booger]

18. there is a tiny house

a few blocks away from where I live.
One of those little, old houses that always have 2 guys with expensive cars renting it, usually for 6 months.

That house went empty not long ago, and then one day I saw 8 of the yellow station wagons that one of services uses parked in the driveway and yard.

One can only imagine how many people were crashed on the floor of this house that wouldn't hold 2 cars if it was a garage.

[smirkymonkey]

22. Stepford Wives are Back!!

Don't you know that performing domestic chores are what makes a woman feel fulfilled?!

Ugh!

[Piperay]

23. I used to do that kind of

work and actually compared with other jobs I did like it. I am a neat freak so getting paid to clean was just up my alley plus I am also abit weird. :shrug: :-)


EDIT: I didn't work for Merry Maids, I freelanced and I being in California I made pretty good money.

[Nikia]

27. Freelance is better

You may be able to get a better price and quality and know that your cleaning person is keeping that money. If the person has credible references, you can be assured that the person will do a good job and not steal your stuff. I have thought about getting a cleaning person for a couple of hours per week since my husband and I both hate cleaning. I've been traumatized by it with Cinderella syndrome (I made that name up but its my story except with an evil stepfather). I think that I'll have to make a little bit more money and have a bigger house. Part of our problem is that we don't have enough room for our junk and we are both pack rats for good but different reasons that I won't go into.

[Wickerman]

28. My sister had her own business

She didn't want to work part time, but wanted something that paid well. She started her own business, working only for the elderly or disabled. She satisfied her need for a job, and for her need to feel needed. Plus, she is terribly obsessive compulsive so she was an incredible cleaner. She charged 1/2 the Merry Maids rate and was very pleased with the return. So were her customers - they got great, trustworthy service cheap and with someone who cared about them as a person. She eventually had more work than she could handle, though she still tried to... She got carpal tunnel syndrome and hung it up.

She was happy - I doubt the Merry Maids are.

[Character Assassin]

29. They're actors in a TV commercial. Next question.

You really had to ask, hmmm?

[JanMichael]

30. This should NOT have been Lounged!

It's a real issue that needs exposure, and action, dammit.

So it's moved to the Lounge?

:eyes:

[Character Assassin]

32. Facial expressions of people in commercials 'need exposure'?

Righto.

[JanMichael]

33. Mass Media Misrepresentation of shitty jobs does. K'?

It doesn't surprise me that some might not get that, thanks:eyes:

[Character Assassin]

34. Only to the braindead.

Like it's some big suprise to a viewer if he/she sees maids smiling on television commercials, but finds out in real life that (oh my gosh!!) they're really not all that happy!

If someone is so stupid as to believe what he/she sees, it's not exactly a crisis that needs a grand expose.

Saaaaaaay..... you don't think that there really is a big, cartoon rabbit who lives for multi-colored breakfast cereal, do you?

[JanMichael]

35. Whatever dude. I didn't expect you to understand this.

Hey! Weren't you looking for a new career a couple of months ago? Why not try something fun and exciting like a Structural Maintenance Technician position at Merry Maids?!

Nah...Too good for that probably:-)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Character Assassin]

36. Oh, I understand it quite well. Most people do

It's just that it's not a 'real issue' and it doesn't particularly need exposure.

Being a maid sucks. Believing in images of happy maids on TV is something stupid people do.

There is precious little to understand there, other than possibly that stupid people might see it and become unhappy maids. This doesn't particularly threaten the country or change anything.

[jiacinto]

38. I agree

nt