A Cleaning Race Against The Clock

You must get used to the last-minute calls if you are a tenancy cleaning specialist. Many people do not read their leasing contracts or forget the mandatory move-out cleaning. So when their landlords insist on it, they scramble at the last moment to save their security deposits. Usually, with a bit of luck and some improvisation, you can overcome the scheduling disaster. However, if your luck runs out, you may find yourself in a desperate race against the clock.

It is precisely what happened to me a few months ago. I was having a late breakfast at home on a slow, rainy April morning when my work phone started ringing. “People looking for a pre-scheduled appointment don’t usually call that early”, I thought. “It must be an emergency!” My premonition was correct. The woman on the other side of the line was in near-hysteria. She introduced herself as Emily and went on to say that she needed a three-bedroom, three-bathroom detached house in Mill Hill cleaned by 5 PM on the same day.

I immediately started juggling numbers in my head. It was already nine in the morning, and my crew had another job in the neighbourhood scheduled for 10 AM. Even if we finished by 1 PM, we could hardly begin the next appointment before 2, which would leave us with three hours to meet the deadline. We could clean a small apartment with no hassle within the timeframe, but Emily was describing a spacious 2-floor house. In short, the job would be nearly impossible.

I told her so and explained why I couldn’t take the job. “Please”, she implored desperately. “A local cleaning company already declined because of the short notice! I am willing to pay you a large premium on your regular price if you take the appointment!” The monthly rent on a large Mill Hill house was probably in the thousands, so even if she paid triple the regular tenancy cleaning price, it would still be nowhere near the loss of a security deposit.

“Emily, I can take the job, but there is no way I can guarantee that we will finish by 5 PM. What I can promise you is that we will do our best!”

“I wouldn’t ask for anything more than that! You are a lifesaver! Thank you!”

She had hardly closed the call when I was already dialling my crew. They were all hard-working, result-oriented, and experienced professionals, and I knew I wouldn’t need much explanation to paint the picture for them. I put all my improvisation skills to work, and somehow we managed to start the first cleaning job for the day fifteen minutes early. If our luck held, we could still pull this one off!

Well, our luck did not hold for long. Soon after we arrived, we discovered extensive mould in the bathroom that our customers hadn’t mentioned. There were also tricky stains below the kitchen sink and a set of heavy curtains to vacuum. None of these issues were out of the ordinary. But they slowed us down, and by the time we completed our task sheet and finished the landlord’s inspection, it was already 1:15 PM.

We headed up Watford Way but ran into a traffic jam about two hundred yards before the Apex Corner intersection with Edgware Way. Apparently, a small lorry had cut into an SUV while making a wrong left turn. There were no casualties or serious injuries, but the road was blocked for good. Our driver Jimmy glanced at the GPS and got off the minivan. He exchanged a few words with the driver behind us – we were fortunate there was only one car just yet. Then he backed off and turned left onto Mill Way.

“We are going the wrong way!”, I muttered, but had to trust Jimmy and his wizard-like knowledge of the local road network. We went all the way back to Broadway, then turned northwest on Hale Lane. Jimmy was correct, of course! We might have waited for half an hour or even more in this damned traffic jam. As it was, we lost only fifteen minutes on the road.

Still, the clock was pushing ten past two when we got off the van at the address on Selvage Lane. My expectations were correct – we were looking at a large, beautiful two-floor house. “We are never cleaning this baby in under three hours, boss!”, commented Jimmy while unloading the big vacuum machine. “Not with that attitude, we won’t”, I countered but had to concede he was probably right. Still, it was worth the try!

As I already mentioned, I have complete confidence in my colleagues’ professional qualities. But during the next three hours, they really made me proud! We were working like a well-oiled clockwork – not a single unnecessary move, everybody concentrated on their tasks. We swept through the top floor quickly – the bedrooms and bathrooms were in relatively good condition, the carpets needed no extra attention, and there were no tricky-shaped small windows to give us trouble. The ground floor was a bit more challenging – we had to dust and polish the kitchen from top to bottom, and the back of the stove required extra degreasing attention.

We had thrown ourselves into this cleaning challenge with abandon, not even looking at our watches. The first time I glanced at mine was when a car parked in front of the house – it was 4:55 PM. We probably needed another 20-30 minutes to finish all chores and put the final touches – a splendid performance, all things considered.

However, the person who came out of the car was definitely not the woman I had talked to in the morning. Instead, it was a dapper gentleman in a suit in his late thirties. He started for the front door, but I beat him to it.

“I imagine you must be the property owner or estate agent who manages the house. We will need another thirty minutes to finish the job. Emily hasn’t arrived yet.”

The man looked a bit startled at first but quickly regained his composure. “Can I take a look?”

“Sure, but please take your shoes off and put these flip-flops on. We are about to finish steam-washing the carpets, and you will leave marks if I let you in with your street shoes.”

He looked at me sharply, and I thought I had pushed my luck too far. But to my surprise, he nodded and extended his hand. “I like to deal with professionals who take their job seriously. Let me have a quick glance around, and I am sure we can close this formality.”

And so we did. Emily arrived a minute later but patiently waited outside. The estate agent was impressed with the work and signed the contract termination papers, ensuring Emily would receive her security deposit back.

“I don’t know what to say”, she exhaled with relief after the estate agent had left.

“I tell you what. I will charge you only 50% over the regular price, but I have a request.”

“Name it!”, she said immediately.

“Post a story about what happened today in your social media accounts, and link our company to it. It will really help our business.”

“Deal!” Emily smiled and high-fived all the guys.

Just another tenancy cleaning day in Mill Hill.