Customer Feedback

Unsolicited customer feedback - right at your fingertips.

Check out these customer testimonials for our Fort Walton Beach office.

Check out these customer testimonials for our Pensacola office.

And check out these customer testimonials for our Panama City office.

Nineteen extremely positive testimonials for Two Maids & A Mop!!!!

Testimonial From Gulf Breeze

"As always they are wonderful. They treat my home as if it was theirs. Unexpected tasks are done that are a big help to me. I know they don't have to play with the baby or make my bed but they always do. I am so thankful for their hard work."

Kimberly of Gulf Breeze

TwoMaids In The News....

Talking a little spring cleaning in the Pensacola News Journal...

During the gloomy winter months, many people tend to let their housekeeping slip, said Ron Holt, owner of Two Maids and a Mop, a Gulf Coast-based maid service. "It's a seasonal thing," he said. "When the sun starts shining and the weather turns beautiful, that's when people get the urge to get their homes in order."

This time of year, and its attendant clean-sweep urges, "is like the Super Bowl for the cleaning business," Holt said.

Did I really say that?? Man I sound corny....

Google Reviews

Looks like a couple of our customers have reviewed us at Google Reviews. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Click this link for the reviews or just keep reading......

"I've had Two Maids & A Mop cleaning our house for almost two months. I changed from the speed cleaning company. They do a great job and leave the house spotless. No complaints. If you something specfic done just leave them a note and it is done. Great service!" Gulf Breeze, FL

"I was very pleased with the service. Two women cleaned and scrubbed, and the house looks great. They were friendly with the dog as well, so she did not have to be penned up while they were working." Pensacola, FL

Customer Feedback From Mary Esther, FL

"I was VERY HAPPY with the service. Unfortunately I had a meeting and wasn't able to be there when your two employees arrived. They tried calling my cell phone twice but I wasn't able to answer either phone call due to my busy schedule. Instead of just waiting around for me to call - or worse leaving - they began cleaning what made sense to clean.

Your employees were very professional and asked succinct questions to ensure they performed the services I was looking for. When I got home the house was SPOTLESS, a pretty impressive feat based on the amount of dust from repairs and the general disarray (I have boxes with blinds laying around and other pieces of furniture out of place).

Your exceptional employees have taken a huge weight off my shoulders. I'm trying to rent out my house, and now I'll be able to show it while I'm gone. You've always done a great job for one of my friends and I'm glad he recommended your services to me. I'll be happy to pass on my recommendations to others as well. Please rate my service as a whole hearted 10. Take care and thanks again."

Meghan from Mary Esther, FL

Random Comments From This Week

We've had a great week. Check out some of this week's customer comments......

They did a great job, I will rate them a 10++!
Lisa from Pensacola, FL

They did a great job. A 10. I love coming home from work to a clean house!!!
Rhonda from Cantonment, FL

Fantastic job today! Give 'em both a 10.
Al from Panama City, FL

They are very sweet and they did an incredible job yesterday. 10++ for both ladies.
Robin from Pensacola, FL

What People In Gulf Breeze Are Saying About Us.....

"What can I say? Two Maids & A Mop is like a part of my family. Their work is always above and beyond my expectations. Even the baby knows and loves them. Please give everyone big raises as they deserve them."

Kim from Gulf Breeze, FL

Customer Testimonial From Valparaiso, FL

The gals went above and beyond yesterday. Everything was wonderful. We've been moving furniture between rooms so it's been difficult to keep up with us. Thanks to both of them for their hard work!

Give them 10s!!! -- Sue from Valparaiso, FL

Two Maids & A Mop Featured In Panama City Beach Newspaper

PCBDaily.com, an online newspaper dedicated to news and information concerning Panama City Beach, recently published an article written by yours truly. Check it out......

Customer Service In The Service Industry Stinks

Thank You For Loving Us!!

We've had a terrible week. I guess even Nobel Peace Prize winners can't make everybody happy. But we'll keep trying. Thanks to Brian for ending the week on a great note.

Hey Guys, the house looks great as usual. Please give the girls a 10. I don't know what I would do without you.
Brian from Gulf Breeze

On The Most Recent Nonsense.....

The recent turmoil centered around an unhappy customer has created quite a bit of interest. Just scroll down to the next post and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Throughout the saga, there's been lots of name calling. Trash talking. And even some rude and character defaming comments. It ends now.

Two Maids & A Mop was contracted to perform a deep cleaning for one customer. The hourly charge was $75 per hour for a team of two maids. The fact is that we needed more time to completely finish our job. Yes, there's a chance that we made mistakes. Yes, there's a chance that we fast forwarded through some areas. And yes, there's a chance that - given time - we would have produced a sparkling, clean home. But nobody can concretely say yes or no to anything at this point.

That's why we refunded the customer $324. That's why we were willing to lose money on this job. That's why we apologized privately and publicly. And that's why changed our procedures so that this saga never gets repeated.

We've begged for forgiveness and yet - our business continues to get trapped in the line of fire. Please stop the nonsense and move on.

The smart thing to do would be to eliminate any history of this mess. But the professional thing to do is to address the issue. Our customers know that we're not perfect. And our customers also know that we care more about our reputation than a silly dollar.

At the end of the day, we feel comfortable knowing that we've done the right thing. We refunded 60% of the customer's money (at the customer's request mind you - and yes, I know I negotiated for $25 more dollars). We apologized countless times. We accepted responsibility. We learned from our mistakes. And we've never once lowered our ourselves to the point of name calling or character defamation.

We're all human. Let's all now start acting a little more humane. Please.

The REALLY Unhappy Customer

Two Maids & A Mop has finally done it. We've made one person EXTREMELY upset. Take a look at this blog and you'll see how unhappy she is......

What Happened:
1. For a deep cleaning, we charge $75 per hour for a team of two maids. We typically provide a rough time estimation for the deep cleaning and that estimate is correct 90% of the time. We make every attempt to tell the prospective customer that we don't know for sure how long the cleaning will take - after all, we're just talking over the phone. But history usually serves as the best example - so we use historical examples of similar sized homes as our guide. We're correct about 90% of the time; which means that we're wrong 10% of the time. That's why we strongly suggest that the time estimation is just that - an estimation based on our best guess.

In this case, we needed two days. Yet, we stopped after just seven hours because the work day had ended. However, we were more than willing to arrive the next morning to continue our work. Unfortunately, we weren't called by the customer until 9 AM the next morning (the day before Thanksgiving). That left us in a bind because all of our employees time had been allocated for the day. In addition, the problem was compounded by the holiday because we were not open Thursday or Friday.

2. The fact is that our deep cleanings are SLOW. They should be slow and we will not ever change the pace of our deep cleanings. The very definition of a deep cleaning infers the pace of the cleaning.

3. This cleaning cost a lot of money to the customer. No doubt about it. In fact, it may be the most costly cleaning ever since our inception. When I heard about the cost, I was immediately concerned because I knew that someone had just paid a ton of money and their house was still not completely cleaned. The perfect recipe for disaster.

What Should Have Happened:
1. Once we saw the mountain that we had to climb, we should have informed the customer that we were going to require at least two days of cleaning. That was our fault and we accept responsibility.

2. We should have responded to this customer's complaints well before today. We can blame the holiday, but the real blame lies with me. I should have checked into our email system periodically over the break just to make sure that everything was ok. It wasn't.

3. We should have been open and honest with the customer about the cost implications and the time requirements. We can defend our time quote, but once inside - we should have alerted the customer to the possibility of an extremely expensive cleaning.

What We Have Learned:
1. We will no longer charge by the hour for a deep cleaning. Too many people think we're working to simply inflate our price. Too many people think our pace of cleaning is slow. And too many people just sit there calculating the final total. This isn't the first time and it won't be the last - so from this point forward - we're going to charge flat rates based on the number people living inside the home and the home's total square footage. This should alleviate this problem forever.

2. We need to check our email during holiday breaks.

What We Will Do To Make This Customer Happy:
1. We'll do whatever she wants us to do. It's a hard lesson, but we're willing to learn from our mistakes. We've never claimed to be perfect and we'll probably make another mistake just as serious as this one down the road. But for now, we've learned our lesson. And we'll pay for it.

This won't happen ever again. The formula for this type of disaster is now dead.

P.S. There's a reason our customers selected us for this award. And this one too.

Testimonial From Gulf Breeze

"I cannot say enough great things about the ladies. They continually go above and beyond my expectations. They even clean the cat dishes and make the baby's crib up! As a single parent with a husband in Afghanistan their little touches make such a difference.

Keep up the great service!"


Kimberly from Gulf Breeze, FL

Two Maids & A Mop Radio Commercial

The Two Maids & A Mop Radio Commercial

Airing in Fort Walton Beach, Panama City and Pensacola (all the stations to the right)......

P.S. If you didn't click the link, you are missing one heck of a deal. Two Maids & A Mop is offering $100 gift cards at rock bottom prices of only $50!!!

For only $50, you can receive a $100 TwoMaids gift card - a 50% savings!!!

You can purchase the gift cards at this website. (The Two Maids & A Mop link will not be ready until Thursday, November 20th)

Customer Testimonial From Niceville

"Thank you for the wonderful service your team did for me. I am beyond impressed at the level of cleanliness. The dust was gone - above the door ways, fireplace, banister, everywhere!!

They changed the sheets and put the clean ones on the beds. We have used services in the past, and they can not even compare to the work done by you all. Thank you for a wonderful clean house and I will be spreading the word on what a great company you are. Thank you!"

Martha from Niceville, FL

Best Maid Service In Panama City

Two Maids & A Mop was recently crowned Best Cleaning Service in Pensacola by the local daily newspaper.

And it looks like an independent website has also crowned Two Maids & A Mop as the Best Maid Service in Panama City!!!

Winning sure does feel good.....

Customer Feedback

Some recent feedback from a very loyal customer....

"I give you a perfect 10!! I looked hard but I can't find one single thing to complain about. You guys are great. I told my neighbor about your pay for performance plan and she loved it too. Thank you for the help again!"

- Sara Croyle of Destin, FL

Two Maids & A Mop Voted "Best In Pensacola Bay"

Two Maids & A Mop has been selected as the best cleaning service in the Pensacola area.

Technically, we came up just a little bit short in the voting for "Best Home Improvement Company". But the results show that we are the only cleaning company or maid service in the top three. In addition, we lost to a giant - Lowe's Corporation!!!

There was no poll surveying people's opinion on best maid service, so the fact that we got any votes in "Best Home Improvement" says a lot about the devotion our customer base has with our business.

Here we are - just a little, tiny cleaning company just trying to make a few customers happy. Little did we know that so many people were paying attention. Thank you to all that voted for Two Maids & A Mop. It's truly an honor....

TwoMaids on MySpace

Cristi, our Training Manager in Fort Walton Beach, is one awesome member of Two Maids & A Mop. Not only does she perform her job without any problems - but she also goes above and beyond on a regular basis.

Her most recent initiative was to introduce TwoMaids into the social networking world of MySpace.

Check out our MySpace page!!

Thank you Cristi! You are a very special employee. Good things are in front of you!!!!!

Also, check out a few of our employees hanging outside our office in Fort Walton Beach.

P.S. Cristi is on the far right.....

Say Hello To Panama City

Two In A Row From Fort Walton Beach

Here's another happy customer from Fort Walton Beach...

"I would like to take the time to comment on the wonderful service that I have received from Two Maids and A Mop. The ladies Alicia and Ashley are awesome workers and I am so happy that they are the ones that I trust cleaning my home. From this experience and being a long time customer, I am completely satisfied with every visit and these two ladies do an awesome job.

I can see why your company's slogan supports your vision and ensuring that all customers are happy and satisfied. Although I do realize that when dealing with the public, your services are not always going to satisfy everyone. But I am happy to say that I am a happy customer and satisfied with the service that I receive.

Before Two Maids and A Mop, I never had time for me. And when I think about all those hours I spent trying to clean and keep my house clean, it was a losing battle. Now that I have someone that I trust in assisting me with those little details, my life has been freed up where I can concentrate on important things. I work 8 hours a day and it is a wonderful feeling when I come home to a clean house. My work load has been cut tremendously in half and it makes me feel so good to be able to relax.

I have shared my experiences with Two Maids and A Mop with others and my prayer is that they will contact your company to help them with their house hold chores just as I did. I will continue to refer others to such an exciting company. I am so glad that you are here and I hope that your company will be around for a long time.

On an scale of 1-10, I must say that the ladies deserves a 10. Thanks for a wonderful staff and two extraordinary ladies that work so diligently and so hard."

Sharon from Fort Walton Beach

Maid Service Testimonial From Fort Walton Beach

Service yesterday--definitely a 10! We're particularly pleased that the kitchen appliances, bathrooms, and our floors shine!

Your pride in results and customer satisfaction definitely puts your company head and shoulders above the competition.

Laura from Fort Walton Beach

Hello From Pensacola

SAY HELLO TO THE GANG IN PENSACOLA!!!

Maid Service Testimonial From Destin

My maids were awesome. Give them a 10. We have company coming from Europe. When I walked in to set up the guest bath room I gasped with astonishment. My maids had opened the closet, pulled out matching towels, folded them beautifully and had everything ready for the guests to arrive. Very cool.

Dorothy From Destin

Customer Testimonial

My new Friends:

Thank you so much for the wonderful cleaning service your two employees Tori & Julie performed in my house today.

I was the winner of a Deep Cleaning for the month of March, and WOW was I lucky!

The gals were efficient, courteous, polite and certainly did the best housecleaning service I have ever experienced.

I will contact you for all my cleaning needs from now on.

Thanks again for a most delightful prize!

Caryn Riley
Pensacola, Florida

More Details On The Pay For Satisfaction Plan

Yesterday was the public introduction of our game changing strategy called Pay For Satisfaction. However, we've secretly been offering this deal to every new customer for the last month. Here's what we've learned:

1. You don't believe it. You don't really believe that we're going to let you select your own cleaning rate. And you don't truly believe it until we actually do it.

2. You think we've gone crazy. How can a business let its customers run the business?

There's no doubt that we'll get scammed. There's no doubt that we'll lose some business just because our idea is so radical. But there is no doubt that we are THE most customer friendly housecleaning company in the world. Because nobody can compete with us now.

No longer do we quote hourly rates. No longer do we quote cleaning prices. There's no need to quote anything because only one person determines our rates. And of course, that person is you.

Try competing with that.

The Pay For Satisfaction Plan

And The World Is Forever Changed

You can mark your calendars. Today is the THE day!

Today is the day that Two Maids & A Mop changes the housecleaning industry. Today is the day that every housecleaning company in the world wakes up from its sleep. Because today is the day that the TwoMaids Pay For Satisfaction Plan is announced.

Introducing a game changing strategy.

Introducing the TwoMaids Pay For Satisfaction Plan!!!

Take The TwoMaids Quiz

The competition for your business is fierce. There's lots of so-called "cleaning companies" that would love to earn your business. In an effort to create less confusion for you, we've designed a quiz that will determine what kind of a cleaning company suits your needs the best. So take a few minutes and answer these simple and easy questions.

The TwoMaids Quiz

Two Maids & A Mop On TV - Again!!!

Since this time last year, Patricia Nance has been diagnosed with an especially rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. She's had extensive radiation, grueling rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and had lymph nodes removed. And through all this, she has still had to maintain the normal day to day responsibilities of cleaning her home. That was until she got one super sweet phone call.

Of course, that phone call was from Two Maids & A Mop and Cleaning For A Reason.

WEAR Channel 3 of Pensacola recently conducted an interview with our company and Patricia.

Click here to play the video.

Two Maids & A Mop On TV!!

News Channel 7 of Panama City recently conducted an interview with our company about Cleaning For A Reason.

Click here for the full story. After you read the story, click on the video icon near the top of the news article. The video will play on the right hand side of your screen.

P.S. If you are a cleaning service owner or manager, we invite you to join us in our efforts. It doesn't matter if you are in Florida. It doesn't even matter if you are our direct competition. There's room for all of us. Getting started with this organization is easy and simple. You have no excuse. Just imagine if only 10 cleaning services in our area joined Cleaning For A Reason! That would mean that at least 20 women with cancer would be receiving free housecleaning services this month. Join us - our services can make a tremendous difference in someone's life.

Click here to sign up.

Meet Panama City's First Cleaning For A Reason Patient

The following letter was sent to the editor of the local newspaper in Panama City by our first Cleaning For A Reason patient.


Dear News Herald,

My family and I would like to thank you for running the article that informed your readers concerning the organization, “Cleaning for a Reason.” Our mother has been fighting cancer for over two years and has had a very hard time with the numerous treatments. I thought it would be a welcomed gesture to contact their organization and surprise my Mom with this pleasant idea.

Cleaning for a Reason spared no time in contacting a local company, Two Maids and a Mop. An appointment was made and their company did an outstanding job. Our Mom was thrilled that she could just take it easy and not have to worry about the small stuff.

We would like to thank, Two Maids and a Mop and the organization, Cleaning For A Reason for aiding our mother during this trying and difficult time.

It is a great sensation when the public is informed about organizations that are available for individuals going through cancer or other hardships.

Again, thank you for letting us know about this wonderful resource.

Valentine's Day Pamper Packages

The "Just Started Dating" Pamper Package...........$95
You'll receive a gift certificate valued at $125. This package provides you with a two hour general house cleaning.

The "Long Term Relationship" Pamper Package.....$260
You'll receive a gift basket valued at more than $325. The basket contains the following items:

1. One $15 gift certificate to Starbucks

2. One Starbucks Coffee Mug (retails at $25)

3. One gift certificate for a full house "deep cleaning".

And of course, this package will be presented in a beautiful gift basket. We want to make sure that she knows how much time and money you spent on her gift!!!

The "Head Over Heels In Love" Pamper Package...........................$275
You'll receive a gift basket valued at more than $425. The basket contains the following items:

1. A beautiful Godiva chocolate gift basket which features a 15 piece milk chocolate gift box, 8 piece truffle gift box, and a 4 piece gold ballotin gift box.

2. A Godiva Signature Biscuit Sampler containing a dark chocolate bar with raspberry, milk chocolate bar with almonds, and milk chocolate strawberries.

3. One gift certificate valued at $25 to your favorite local florist.

4. One $15 gift certificate to Starbucks.

5. A gift certificate for a full house "deep cleaning" which means that your entire home will be spotless after we're finished.

And don't forget that this package will also be presented in a beautiful Valentine's Day gift basket.

Now these packages do take some time to put together. So we're only offering these packages until next Friday (February 8, 2008)!!! So hurry and call. You've only got one week left.

TwoMaids In The News!!!

Two Maids & A Mop has been featured in the Pensacola News Journal. The story details our pledge to provide free housecleaning services to women undergoing cancer treatment.

For more information, visit Cleaning For A Reason.

Meet Maria - Our First Cleaning For A Reason Patient

Maria is our first Cleaning For A Reason patient at Two Maids & A Mop. Here's her story, in her own words.......

Maria is a wonderful woman who lives in Pensacola. She has three children, but none of them live remotely close to her home. The doctors discovered a large tumor last October and diagnosed it as colon cancer. The tumor was subsequently removed; however, doctors also found a spot on her liver. Each of her children visited her in October during her surgery and recovery. She was so grateful that her kids were able to visit with her because the only other regular contact she has is with her dog Chloe. All she could think about was how much she missed Chloe during her time in the hospital. So her son told her that he would bring Chloe to the hospital if she could gather the strength to get out of bed. And that's exactly what Maria did! It made her day just to see Chloe.

Now that her children have gone back to their homes, she is left to cope with all the chemotherapy and radiation alone. Of course, there are support groups and neighbors. But that doesn't replace the love of family or friends. Maria's doctors have ensured her that her chances of survival are good. She does everything to keep up with daily tasks, but her illness really keeps her down most days. Maria kept thanking Two Maids & A Mop and Cleaning For A Reason for helping her during this time of need.

Colleen Kealey, who manages our Pensacola office, says it best, "It is such an overwhelming feeling to give back and make a difference for someone in need."

P.S. Here are Maria's thoughts on her first house cleaning.....

"I enjoyed meeting you and the two members of your cleaning crew. It was a real treat for me to be able to just sit while my house was cleaned by two very efficient ladies. I will have to give them a 10 out of 10 for their services. They were helpful, friendly and determined to get the whole house cleaned in just 2 hours. That was quite a task considering that my house cleaning had been rather meager since my illness."

Quick Hit Customer Testimonial

"On 1/14/08, Julie and Sontoria performed a deep cleaning for our home. I am pleased to rate their performance a 10 out of 10! They worked steadily, professionally, pleasantly and were considerate of my elderly sick mother and our too-friendly dog. Because of their explanation and encouragement, I am considering monthly service for a regular maintenance cleaning."

Julie and Sontoria both work in our Pensacola office. Thanks to both of you for doing what we promise to each of our customers. Our promise - "We promise to be the most customer friendly housecleaning company you'll ever hire!"

Cleaning For A Reason

Two Maids & A Mop is proud to announce that it has teamed up with Cleaning For A Reason, a nonprofit foundation that provides free cleaning services to women with cancer.

If you are a woman with cancer or know a woman undergoing treatment for cancer that might benefit from these services, an application may be completed and submitted directly to the Foundation on line through the website or by calling toll free 1-877-337-3348.

Two Maids & A Mop Featured In "The Entrepreneur Story"

Two Maids & A Mop has been featured in a new book detailing the plight of entrepreneurship. Read the press release and click on the link at the bottom for more details regarding the book.

Rexburg, Idaho (PRLeap) December 26, 2007 –

The Entrepreneur Story, a newly released e-book from 26 year old entrepreneur Carolynn Duncan, speaks to the nearly 60% of Americans who dream of starting their own business.

Duncan collected stories from 70 entrepreneurs in 35 states and 5 continents, in order to help “wannabe” entrepreneurs get started. With 255 pages of anecdotes from business owners, worksheets, and brainstorming questions, even the book’s unique background—produced on a $49 budget— is a testament to its message of making plans a reality.

“The Entrepreneur Story has been an invaluable experience,” said Carolynn Duncan, of the Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center. “I started the project because I experienced a costly business failure, and needed to learn from others, quickly, before trying again.” She continues, “I’ve read these stories dozens of times, and continue learning critical lessons from each one.”

Ryan Byrd, University of Utah MBA, declared the book to be “a goldmine of entrepreneurial wisdom—not from sheltered academics, but from seasoned, successful small business owners working in the trenches.”

“There are a slew of books about establishing and operating a business; however, learning first-hand from individuals who have actually been through it makes this book a truly valuable resource,” said Danielle White, freelance consultant for the Utah Small Business Development Center and co-founder of The Cancer Crusaders Organization.

Click here for a free sample of the book.

The Top Five Posts Of 2007

The Birth Of A New Cleaning Company
Here's how your next housecleaning company might have gotten its start!

Waving Goodbye To Marge
Here's why you keep having to hire maid after maid!

Four Steps To Customer Satisfaction
Here's the four step plan on how Two Maids & A Mop makes its customers happy!

The Independent Contractor Maid Service Company
Learn the secret of the maid service industry - and how it hurts you as a customer!

If You've Never Hired A Maid Before
Here are six myths that most first-time maid service customers don't know!

Shameless Plug

Check out this news article.

Yes, the story is about Two Maids & A Mop. Yes, I wrote the story. And yes, I only wrote it because I was trying to get someone's attention.

But it's all true. And if you're looking to hire a maid, then reading this can only help you.

Meet Rachel - Our New Manager in Panama City

You may even remember Rachel. She was one of two star employees that were mentioned in a fantastic customer testimonial. Click here to read the testimonial.

Now if you read the testimonial, you already know why we selected Rachel as our new manager in Panama City. She's energetic. She's ambitious. And she's excited. She embodies everything we look for in a leader.

Some of you in Bay County have already met Rachel. Many of you in Okaloosa County have also met Rachel. That's because Rachel was our lead training manager for the last 18 months. She's trained every single new employee for our Fort Walton Beach office during that period. Our customers loved her and they already miss her.

But the good news is that everyone in Panama City gets to receive her awesome customer service now. Thank you Rachel. You've got a bright future.

Click here for another article about Rachel.

The Thanksgiving Cleaning Rush

This is a very busy time of the year for a cleaning company. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and you've got tons of things to accomplish before next Thursday. That's good news to us because it means you really need us. The good news for you is that we really need you too. We always do.

Now we don't have many openings next week since we're off Thursday and Friday. But we do have a few slots still available. Here's what we have available at each location.

Pensacola
On Tuesday, we have two openings. We can clean your home first thing in the morning (8-9AM) or in the early afternoon (1-2PM).

On Wednesday, we have one opening. We can clean your home in the late morning (10:30-11:300AM).

Fort Walton Beach
On Monday, we can clean your home in the early afternoon (1-2PM).

On Tuesday, we can clean your home first thing in the morning (8-9AM).

On Wednesday, we can clean your home in the early afternoon (1-2PM). We have two early afternoon slots available.

Panama City
On Monday, we can clean your home first thing in the morning (8-9AM) and in the early afternoon (1-2PM).

On Tuesday, we have all three cleaning times available.

On Wednesday, we can clean your home in the early afternoon (1-2PM).

Halloween Party In Pensacola

Take a look at some images from our Halloween party in Pensacola.

Everyone having some food and drinks

Start carving your pumpkins

The final masterpieces

A close up of one of the pumpkins

Meet April

We have an employee named April Bolding. She's been with our company longer than any other single employee. She's a star. Listen to what one of her recent customers said about her......

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank Two Maids and a Mop and specifically your employee, April Bolding, for the outstanding work that she has done for us over the past year. House cleaning can be a hard and thankless job that few aspire to do and do well. April has broken that mold and has impressed us with her determination and perseverance in cleaning our house. She listens well, and gets it right every time. Not only does April complete the basic tasks of housecleaning, but she also notices items that need attention and makes sure that they are also addressed. Upon arrival at our house April briefs her assistant so that they have a clear understanding of the tasks, thereby relieving us of the requirement to brief the team at every visit. April is the best that we have experienced from all your staff. Through her hard work and determination, April Bolding has brought great credit upon Two Maids and a Mop and herself personally. Our thanks for the great work. "

April works in Pensacola. When you see her next time, go to sleep. You can go to sleep because you have nothing to worry about. April will take care of everything. She always does.

The Top Five Most Frequently Asked Questions

It's true that every house is different and every customer is different. But for the most part, we hear the same questions over and over again. Here's our top five most popular questions....

1. What are your rates? What do you charge?
The phrases change, but the premise is the same for everyone. Everyone's first question deals with our rates. Click here for a detailed answer to the question.

And if you're too lazy to click, just know that we can't answer this question without first asking you a series of questions, such as....

1. What is your home's total square footage?
2. How many bedrooms/bathrooms do you have?
3. How often do you require our service?
4. What type of cleaning do you require?
5. Where do you live?

Make sure you click here for a better explanation.

2. Will I be able to get the same two people each time?
Yet another question that isn't so easy to answer. Click here for a detailed response to this question. And if you're too lazy to click, here's a synopsis.

It's our goal to send the same people every time. It makes your life easier and it makes our life easier. Our system works like this. Two people are assigned to a route. Your home is also assigned to a route. As a result, you should get the same two people every time. The only reason that you won't receive the same two people is because one of the two people isn't at work. Which is exactly the problem. We can't guarantee you that everyone will be at work every day. Stuff happens and people miss work. People also quit. And when they quit, we lose one of the two team members.

The good news is that we will show up. You don't need to worry about that. We will show up. And you can bet that the two people who show up will care. They'll care because your opinion determines their pay level.

3. Are you bonded, licensed, and insured?
In a nutshell, yes, yes, and yes. But there's far more to the story than a simple yes. And of course, we have a link for you to click so that you can learn more about this subject.

Click here to learn more about the joke of the cleaning industry called a bond.

And click here for even more information on bonds, licenses, and insurance.

4. Do you supply your own equipment and supplies?
Yes.

Click here for a detailed description of our cleaning equipment and supplies.

5. Do you need to be home for us to clean your home?
No. We only need you for three things. We need you to let us in your home. We need you to tell us what you want us to accomplish. And we need for you to critique our cleaning after we're finished.

Entering your home can sometimes be accomplished without you. We do accept customer keys if you can't be home when we arrive. We lock each safe in a fire proof safe and we also number designate each key to ensure your safety.

We can also talk to you before the cleaning to discuss your specific needs. Of course, talking directly to us at your home is a great benefit. But then again, you're hiring us because you don't have enough time in your day anyway.

And we'll either call or email you after we're finished to receive your critique of the cleaning.

High Five

Once a month, we send out a newsletter that awards a free deep cleaning to one lucky visitor to our website. We usually ask our newsletter subscribers to answer a simple question regarding our business and its practices. There's no need to bore you with a sample question-you get the picture.

Anyway, here's a response from one of our subscribers last week....

"I am not really entering your monthly sweepstakes (thanks to your generosity I still have my free 2 hour coupons) but this monthly giveaway and the one you have below are just another example of a great business plan. Two Maids and a Mop involves the customer directly in the business. You offer incentives for good work by basing wages on effectiveness. The Customer does the rating. Management sends out newsletters to keep the customers informed. If anyone ever asks me about maid service, Two Maids & a Mop is the only one I recommend because I know I will not be embarrassed by either the personnel, quality of service, or customer service."

Now that's what I call a testimonial. Unsolicited. Straight from the customer's mouth. And humbling to say the least.

How about you joining in on the fun? Click here if you would like to enter our monthly free housecleaning giveaway.

Help Needed

One of our most valued employees is going through a difficult time right now. Her grandson was recently born premature in Panama City. A fund has been set up for donations.

Click here for details

Meet Dorothy

From the desk of Colleen comes this awesome review of one of our star employees.....

Dorothy has been at our Pensacola office for just over a year now. She has been one of the most dependable and dedicated employees to this office. In fact, I can count on one hand how many days she has requested a day off in the time she has been here. And not once has she ever called out sick or just not shown up. She is the model for what an employee should be.

Aside from being so dependable and dedicated, she is also a top quality cleaner. Her clients enjoy and look forward to her top-notch service. She is very much requested by many clients. The clients love how she always does just a little extra more than what’s required.

I can say that Dorothy is a huge asset to our company. She has been here through a lot of changes and has stuck around to see what dedication and hard work can do.

Thank you Dorothy for everything you have done for this company and we hope you continue it.

Panama City CAB Notes-2007

We held our first ever customer advisory board meeting in Panama City last week. Seven of our customers had to cancel at the last minute. Look to the right to see what you missed. That's right, you're eyes aren't deceiving you. That's beautiful St. Andrews Bay in the background and that's also a cool breeze flowing through our hair. What a great night!

Panama City Customer Advisory Board Meeting Notes-2007

Meet April

April has worked in our Fort Walton Beach location for more than one year. She's been a tremendous asset to our company since her arrival. For the past year, April has trained every single new employee that we have hired. Turnover in Fort Walton this past year was at an all-time low. And April is one of the primary reasons for our low turnover.

April's job isn't to just educate a new employee on the art of dusting. April also has to be our greatest ambassador. She's got to sing our praises all the time because every new employee needs to be reassured that our business is a good place to work. April has also served as our primary replacement for Elicia.

The best news of all is that April is expecting a new baby soon. Now her son will get to have a little brother to aggravate every day. Congratulations April!!!

April, you deserve nothing but good things. Thanks for your hard work and dedication.

A Day In The Life Of Crystal

You already know how great our Operations Manager is in Panama City. If you don't, click here to find out why.

There's also another reason our office in Panama City has gotten off to such a fast start. Her name is Crystal. Crystal is our Training Manager. It's her responsibility to train all new employees that work for Two Maids & A Mop. It's also her responsibility to be our company's best ambassador. She has to sell the new employee on the benefits of her new job. Because we want to make sure that the new employee shows up the next day. It sounds silly, but it is absolutely essential.

Crystal does all that and then some. You see, when Crystal isn't training...she's cleaning. Or she's filling in for Melissa. Or she's doing whatever else we need her to do that day.

There's one other thing that she does everyday. And I mean everyday. She smiles.

I've yet to find Crystal in a bad mood. I've yet to see her upset. I've yet to even see her tired. Of course, I'm sure she has her days. But you'd never know it. Because she's always smiling.

Take a look at a day in the life of Crystal. (Notice that she's smiling in every picture.)

8 AM-Crystal posing with everybody else in Panama City
8:45 AM-Crystal arriving at her first customer's house
9 AM-Crystal making the bed
9:30 AM-Crystal tackling the bathroom
10 AM-Crystal finishing the bathroom
10:15 AM-Crystal moving on to the kitchen
10:45 AM-Crystal dusting those pesky ceiling fan blades
11 AM-Crystal loading up the car

Thank you Crystal for smiling everyday.

Ashley & Rachel

That's the name of two of our brightest stars at Two Maids & A Mop. You may recall an awesome letter sent in from one of our customers detailing our company's greatest strength - customer satisfaction. If not, click here to read it.

Both of these stars work in our Fort Walton beach location. Thank you Ashley and Rachel!!!

Our customer said it best, "Where have you been all my life? Never the less, I'm glad you're here now!"

I'm Glad You're Here Now

From one of our satisfied customers...............

"I really enjoy the two girls that service my home. They are wonderful. In my opinion, I think you have such a wonderful company that provides excellent service for which this area so desperately needs.

I can recall when I initially inquired about Two Maids & A Mop. I was listening to the radio and decided to give your company a call. I must admit I was hesitant at first because now a days one has to be very careful in letting people that you don't know into your home. However, I decided to take a chance to see for myself. I figured that that I would find out if your company lived up to the expectations that was described on the radio.

I even put these two girls to the test by setting out baits to see if they were honest and yes they passed with flying colors. I've become so comfortable with the two girls that I have begun to feel like they are part of my family and now feel as though I don't want anyone else to clean my place. They were very professional and clean with excellence.

It makes a great difference when some of the loads of cleaning can be taken off me since I am a student taking classes online to further my degree. When I schedule my appointment I only request the two girls because I have connected a bond and I don't refer them as the cleaning ladies but as professionals who clean my home. When you interview these two ladies you chose the right ones for your company. They are truly dependable, kind, thoughtful and they know my name - which is a plus.

If a concerns comes up or a question I may have they communicate to me professionally and give me an open eye contact when answering any questions or concerns that I may have. In my book, these two ladies are a 10+ because of their mannerism and the consistency in doing a fantastic job in cleaning my home. I now tell everyone at my work about Two Maids & A Mop and the wonderful job that these ladies do for me. I am forever thankful for your company and the two ladies but I just have one question to ask you?

Where was Two Maids & A Mop when I needed you so long ago? Never-the-less, I am so glad that you are here now."

In The News Again

We made the Pensacola News Journal last month.

And this month, we've made the Pensacola H&G Magazine.

Now all we need to do is start getting some pub in our other two locations.

Thanks to our employees Regina and Michelle for volunteering to be photographed for three hours (while they cleaned). And thanks to our customer Joyce Cobb for letting us use her home as photo studio.

Something's In The Air

It must be the springtime air because cleaning is in the air right now. It seems that everybody along the gulf coast needs their house cleaned all of sudden. And we're not complaining.

Nope. We're not complaining at all. Take this for example. Our Panama City office has gained 21 new customers in the last eleven days. That's an amazing feat. But now we have another problem to worry about it.

Now that we've got all these new customers, we can't forget about our old ones. In addition, we've got to make sure that we perform at a high level during our first few visits with these new customers. But the good news is that we have a shot to really take the Panama City office to another level.

It's exciting times at Two Maids & A Mop. Panama City is rocking. Fort Walton Beach is plugging along. And Pensacola is doing what it always does - kicking butt and taking names. This year is on pace to be our biggest and best year yet.

Sorry for the rah rah post. But I couldn't keep the excitement to myself. Go TwoMaids!!

Meet Elicia

Here I am typing away in my office at home. Meanwhile, there's about thirty-six cleaners out there headed your way. Right to your front door. Ready to make your life a little bit easier. 36 employees! And I'm sitting here typing. How in the world do I get away this? Because I have three unbelievable managers. I've already spotlighted Colleen and Melissa. Now it's Elicia's turn.

Elicia Coff is the Operations Manager for our Fort Walton Beach location. Elicia used to be one of our cleaners. Just like Colleen and Melissa. But Elicia didn't clean for long. Just like Colleen and Melissa. It was obvious that Elicia was able to handle more responsibility. At the time, Colleen was running the show in Fort Walton Beach. However, Colleen lived in Pensacola. And Colleen wanted to run the show in Pensacola. But we didn't have a real good answer because we didn't have anyone to replace Colleen. Then came Elicia.

Elicia cleaned for maybe two months before we decided that she was ready to tackle the job of being boss. And we've never looked back. Until now that is.

Elicia has taken a small cleaning business and transformed it into a real, legitimate cleaning business. Some would even call her location a large cleaning business. Elicia manages thirteen employees on a daily basis. She cradles countless numbers of customers on a daily basis. And she manages to withstand one overly stressed man every day. Yeah, I'm talking about me.

Take a look at what Elicia has contributed to our company:

- We relocated our office about one year ago. Elicia (along with her husband) voluntarily relocated everything. Her husband painted. Her husband removed sheetrock. She reorganized everything. And she found the office to boot. All for free. All without me doing one thing.
- Elicia gets all the crap work. She gets all the crap work because her office is in the middle. So she knows a little bit about Pensacola. And she knows a little bit about Panama City. So when Colleen or Melissa step out of the office, guess who gets their phones? Elicia. There's times when Elicia is answering every call from Pensacola to Panama City.
- Right now, Elicia is saving my life. Melissa is on vacation. And I'm in Gulf Breeze. About 100 miles away. But Elicia is handling everything for me. She's running Panama City and she's running her own office as well. And all I'm doing is typing. Man am I lucky.
- Elicia has contributed many ideas that have been put to use. For example, it was her idea to get our business involved in the Christmas parade. She did everything- again. I did nothing- again.

Thank you Elicia for all your hard work. You're dedicated to the success of your location. And it shows everyday. Keep up the hard work and keep making me look good.

One thing about all three managers for my company is that I don't look at them as my employees. Their much more than that. Their my partners. We're in this thing together.

Six Questions With Elicia Coff

Getting Some Pub

We've made the newspaper.

Click here the read the article. Learn how to get rid of your weekend to-do list.

Meet Melissa

It was a bad day. The manager for our newest location had just been terminated. I was depressed. Sick. Tired. And scared. I was scared that the business wouldn't make it because I didn't have anybody qualified to hire to replace the manager.

So I started thinking. Which of our current employees had an entrepreneurial spirit? Which of our current employees could I depend on to open the office every day? Which of our current employees did I trust the most? And it was the same answer every time. It was Melissa.

Melissa Teaver is the Operations Manager for our Panama City location. The location started off with a bang, but sales were pretty much stagnant for months after the grand opening. We were bleeding money. And nobody seemed to know that we existed.

We had poured thousands of dollars into advertising and employee training. But the ball hadn't even thought about rolling yet. So we decided to start over. And that's when we hired Melissa. And that's when the business started to prosper.

Melissa has been our manager since October 2006. It's only been about five months. But she has absolutely transformed the business since her arrival. Here's just a few of her remarkable contributions to the company.

- Melissa has willingly worked on many Saturdays to cold-call potential customers.
- Melissa has spent hundreds of hours folding, stuffing, and mailing direct mail letters to potential customers.
- Melissa asked to join the local Chamber of Commerce. Her local involvement in the community has been her greatest contribution.
- Melissa has spent countless hours with me brainstorming new ideas.
- Melissa consistent dedication to her work has given me more time to concentrate on growth opportunities.

Long story short, Melissa works. And she works hard. She's dependable. Honest. Sincere. And just like Colleen. She's a manager's dream employee.

Thank you Melissa. Thank you for all your hard work. You're the only reason that our newest location is finally out of the red.

Six Questions With Melissa Teaver.

Meet Colleen

Colleen Kealey is the Operations Manager in Pensacola. Colleen's been with us for more than two years. I remember the day she walked into our office for the first time.

It was a particularly bad day. Absenteeism had reared its ugly head that day. Customers were extremely unhappy with us because we were forced to reschedule a few of them. And I had nobody to hire. Nobody good to hire that is.

Until Colleen walked in. Colleen walked in dressed nice. She brought a resume. A college degree. And a professional attitude. It was like my throwback days when I worked in the lab. Colleen seemed too good to be true. But I was desperate. And I wasn't going to let Colleen just walk away.

So I talked to Colleen about more than just housecleaning. I gave her my plans for the future. She must have thought that I was crazy. After all, she just wanted a job. A career in the housecleaning industry was the furthest thing from her mind. But alas, she bought the story.

And she worked in our Pensacola office for about two months before opening her own office in Fort Walton Beach. Colleen was instrumental in the early success of the Fort Walton Beach office. She ran the business by herself because my time was required in Pensacola. I probably averaged about 4-5 hours per week in Fort Walton beach. It was Colleen's business.

Colleen now runs our Pensacola location. The large customer and employee base had just gotten to be big for our former manager. So Colleen transferred back to Pensacola. And that's where she's at right now. And boy am I glad she's there.

She's a manager's dream. Sometimes you just get lucky. And I got lucky. I got lucky when Colleen walked in that front door. Without Colleen, we may have never opened another location. Without Colleen, we may not be where we are today.

Thank you Colleen for your dedication, loyalty, professionalism, and caring. Thank you for walking into my office.

If you want to know even more about Colleen, check this out.......

Six Questions With Colleen

Calling All Entrepreneurs

So here's the deal. Two Maids & A Mop almost opened its newest location in Jacksonville, FL. It was the eleventh hour and the door slammed just before the first yellow page contract was about to be signed. It was a tough blow, but I'm glad it happened now rather than later.

The would-be owner let me in on a little secret. It was just one, little comment. She didn't even know she had said it. Her comment...

She looked forward to spending more time with her children. Nice thought. And one that I can understand. But her comment puzzled me. Because she didn't currently work. At all.

So the question had to be asked. How did you envision spending more time your children? Her response....

Because she would no longer need day care services. Because she could just take the kids to work now. Because it's her office. Her business.

And that's when the dagger swung into my heart. I knew that I had just wasted the last two months courting her. I knew that we would not be open in Jacksonville any time soon. And I knew that this lady needed to find another career.

Owning a cleaning business is one thing. Running a cleaning business is another. The job takes time, discipline, and patience. The early days really stink. Nobody knows you. Nobody cares to know you.

So your first twelve months brings lots of free time. You could do a number of things with that free time. You could just wait on the phone to ring. You could just sit there looking out the window. And yes, you could even spend more time your kids.

Or you could join every local club in your area. Or you could go door-to-door selling your services. Or you could personally visit every new customer to make sure that they are satisfied. Or you could do a lot of things besides just waiting on the phone to ring.

Two Maids & A Mop wants to grow. But growing to just grow is not what we are about. We want you. We want you if you want to work. We want you if want to be an entrepreneur.

Because that's what you'll be. An entrepreneur. Not an employee.

Click Here If You're An Entrepreneur

Panama City Grand Opening

We recently joined the Panama City Chamber of Commerce. As a result, they're sponsoring our "grand opening" tomorrow (February 8th, 2007). So, if you like free food, free drinks, and lively talk about the business of housecleaning.....come by and see us at 4 PM. Everyone is invited.

You can find the free food and drinks at our office. We are located at 1815 W. 15th Street, Suite 8.

The Company Party

The fourth annual TwoMaids company party was held this past Friday night in Destin.

This year was a far cry from our first attempt at a company party. It consisted of three employees. One of them being me. The other two being two very valuable employees. It was held at Whataburger. A fast food joint. Not too exciting. Or fun.

The second attempt was a little better. It still only consisted of four employees. And it was held at a steak house in Pensacola. A little better. But still not too much fun.

The third attempt was even better. We had five employees present and we held it at a seafood restaurant in Navarre. The food was great. And it was even a little fun that night.

This year we invited 24 employees from Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, and Panama City. We took it one step farther this year. Each employee could bring their family or friends with them. The party was held at a Japanese restaurant in Destin. The food was excellent. And it was very fun.

And that's the name of the game. Work hard, but play hard too.

I can't wait until next year. Every year has got to be trumped.

More Pictures From The Company Party

Fort Walton Beach Customer Advisory Board Meeting Notes

Click on the link below to read notes from our most recent Customer Advisory Board meeting in Fort Walton beach.

Customer Advisory Board Notes

The Christmas Parade

Assume that you work for Two Maids & A Mop. You've just finished a long day of housecleaning and you're beat. Now what if I told you that you're day isn't over yet? You've still got another 5-6 hours of work left to complete. To make matters worse, you've got to perform that work in near freezing conditions. And one more thing, I'm not going to pay you for it. You're going to do the work for free.

As crazy as all that sounds, it happened. But there's one thing I'm leaving out. I didn't tell anybody to do it. They volunteered. That's right. Five of our employees in Fort Walton Beach volunteered to take part in this year's Christmas parade. Better yet, it was their idea.

Thank you Angelique, Sandy, April, Lori, and Elicia. Also a big thank you goes out Sandy's family for providing so much help. You all have not only made me proud, but you've proven yet again that we're not just another cleaning company.

Just three years ago, I was scared to death that my employees were going to kill my dream. Today, my employees are the only reason my dream is still alive.

One More Picture From The Parade

Does this look like work to you?

Employee Number 50

Yesterday we hired our fiftieth employee. Just three years ago, we only had three employees. Times have certainly changed.

I remember plenty of days wondering how in the world we would ever make this business work. Turnover was out of control and customers didn't know that we were alive. I was frustrated.

A lot of things combined to help turn the business around. One of the biggest reasons was our pay for performance program. Not only did it decrease employee turnover, but it also created a tremendous competitive advantage. I can't believe that we're still the only cleaning company doing it.

But the pay for performance plan doesn't account for all of our success. At each location, we have managers who really believe in our business. They operate the business as if it were their own business. Some days I wonder if I get in the way because they do such a wonderful job without me. Without our managers, our business would be dead today. Thank you Colleen, Melissa, and Elicia.

I also want to thank Julie. Julie managed our Pensacola office for the first eighteen months. The worst eighteen months may be a better way to describe that period. It was chaotic everyday because we never had enough employees. Scrambling took on a new definition during those days. Without Julie, our business would be dead today.

And then there's Cheryl, Trenetta, April B., Armanda, Hazel, April F., and Pam. Each of these employees really made a difference. They all have contributed different things to our business. Many of them are still with us today. And yes.... without them, our business would be dead today.

We've come a long way in short time. I can't wait to see where we are in another three years.

How To Open Your Own Two Maids & A Mop

Two Maids & A Mop has three locations today. That's a far cry from the three customers we had just over three years ago. We've learned a lot from those humble beginnings. And we know a lot now.

We know that we have a unique operating model that is unparralleled in our industry. We know that customers get sold in seconds once they hear about our pay for performance plan. And we know that we can make the pay for performance program work in multiple cities.

Our next goal is to expand into even more cities. To do this, we need you. If you need us, click here.

In The News

Two Maids & A Mop was profiled in the Pensacola Business Journal this week. Click below to read the story.


Success Story

Customer Advisory Board Meeting Notes

Another informative and fun Customer Advisory Board meeting has come and gone. We had five attendees this time and I think everyone had a good time. Read the notes.......


PensacolaCAB.pdf

Mid-Year Update

The Pensacola Location
Two Maids & A Mop got its start in Pensacola. There were days when we had nothing to do but wait for the phone to ring. The phone didn't even ring some days. Times have changed. There's days when we want the phone to stop ringing. There's days when we want just four customers. But then I remember the work that it took to get to this point. And I start answering those phone calls like we're only getting one call per day. It's exciting to be so successful. And that's what we are in Pensacola. We are a success.

We're now cleaning more than 30 homes per day. We're on the verge of hiring our first office assistant. We've been used as an example in a customer service course at the local college. And we're regarded as THE best cleaning service in Pensacola. Times are good and getting better every day.

The Fort Walton Beach Location
The second location took a while to get started. Combine a nasty hurricane with an inexperienced entrepreneur and that's what happens. The hurricane forced us to have two grand openings. The inexperienced entrepreneur forced us to try several unsuccessful marketing ideas. Two years later, we're flying high.

We're now cleaning nearly 20 homes per day. Just two years ago, we cleaned six homes during our first week. Last week, we cleaned 97 homes. We're on the verge of catching our big brother in Pensacola.

The Panama City Location
The third location is still a baby. There's lots of work still left to complete. The calls started off with a bang, but they've slowed lately. We're only cleaning about 5-6 homes per day. But we're only three months old. Nobody knows us yet. They will. Our pay for performance program is too contagious. I can't wait to see where we are nine months from today. I have a feeling that we'll be missing these days soon.

Expanding The Business

Two Maids & A Mop is at a very important juncture. We can go in a lot of different directions. The most common method to open mass outlets is to franchise the business. In my opinion, franchising is not the way to go.

Paul Orfalea, the owner of Kinko's, sums up the idea of franchising.

"Franchising sets up an adversarial relationship. The franchisee has an expectation that the franchiser will make him successful. In a franchise relationship, the store manager is not a full partner."

What he's saying is that the franchise owner doesn't get to utilize his entrepreneurial skills fully. The franchiser sets policies and procedures that each franchisee must follow. The franchiser is responsible for making the franchise owner successful. This limits his true entrepreneurial skills.

If we were a franchise, we would have never devised the pay for performance program. We would have never created a customer advisory board. And we would have never been allowed to open other locations.

Each idea that we implement is born from our true entrepreneurial spirit. Our managers own 20% of their location. They are partners. THEY make the business successful, not me.

Partnering with other entrepreneurs is how we plan to expand in the future. We're not franchising or licensing. The partnership model for our expansion will be posted on our website in the next few weeks. It will be easy to understand, easy to join, and exciting to watch. Partnerships stakes will vary from 20% - 60%.

Every major cleaning company chain franchises their model. Like everything else, we're not going to do the same thing as everybody else. Stick around and watch David beat Goliath.

The Rocky Road To Success

The first day was unbelievable. Almost too good to be true. The second day was just as good. It all started so good.

Then the turnover bug stung us. It hurt a for a little bit, but we shook it off and regrouped.

With the sting gone, we got back to business. Calls were coming in one after the other. We talked to more people in one week than we did in our other two locations combined. Times were good.

Then came today. The bottom fell out. We lost half of our staff in one single swoop. More specifically, we lost three of our six employees without any notice. So goes the cleaning business. So goes our new location in Panama City.

The good news is nobody knew it. Each of our customers in Panama City received their housecleaning. Each of our customers were happy. We know they were happy because we asked them. To them, the duck just floated. Forget the feet that were paddling frantically.

You've now heard the bad news. But wait, there's more news. And it's good. Here goes.

Today proved that our new manager can handle anything. 50% absenteeism is not an elementary problem to solve. But he did it. And I'm proud of him. Today proved that he is going to succeed.

Today proved that our business can handle anything. Our other two locations banded together and we all made it happen. Pensacola handled all of the incoming customer calls. Fort Walton Beach handled all of the day-to-day calls. Today proved that I'm not quite as important as I thought I was.

Today proved one other thing. Today proved that we're going to make it. We're going to succeed. We're going to succeed because our people believe in our mission.

The mission. To become the dominant housecleaning company in America. And nothing less.

P.S. We hired more people.

One Month Later

Tomorrow is our one month anniversary in Panama City. The first week started off with a bang. We generated more than 350 phone calls on our first day. Calls kept pouring in over the course of the next few days. The last three weeks have been just as good. Just last week, we received 45 inquiries about our services. In contrast, we received 21 inquiries in Pensacola and 18 inquiries in Fort Walton Beach. Obviously, the word is out in Panama City.

We've learned a lot during our short time in Panama City. We've learned that customers from other cleaning services have the same complaints as they do in our two other locations. We've learned that our employees continue to be the most important part of our business. And we've learned that our rates are still higher than every other cleaning service in the area.

Many of those 45 calls last week were surprised to hear our rates. They're used to paying a lot less for a "simple" housecleaning. We're not the perfect housecleaning service. You pay us more. But, you get more. What you get is a highly motivated cleaning team that is paid great if they make you happy and paid poorly if they don't make you happy.

The funniest thing that we've learned is the fact that we're the only cleaning company that utilizes the pay for performance compensation system. Of course, we're still the only cleaning company in our other two locations that utilizes the program.

I wonder when they'll wake up?

Tales From The First Week

The first week of our new location in Panama City has come and gone. There were some highlights and lowlights.

Highlights:
The week started out with a bang. We attracted a lot of buzz with our grand opening promotion. Calls kept rolling in during the entire week. We even had a few people decide to drive to our office. It's safe to say that the cleaning industry is awake in Panama City now. We've been alive six days now and we're already serving nearly 20 customers per week. Unbelievable!

Lowlights:
Turnover has reared its ugly head. We've already lost three employees. Each employee has her own story, but it doesn't make it any easier. This job is certainly not for everyone. Some people think that it is too hard, some people think that it is too dirty, and some people think that it is too strict. Getting paid for performance is brand new for most of our employees. Sometimes, you just have to face reality. Our reality is that the cleaning industry has an abnormally high turnover level. That's obviously going to be our toughest struggle. We've been there before and we'll get there. Growing a business doesn't happen overnight.

We learned a lot during this week. We'll use that knowledge when we open our next location. Stay tuned for the next victim.

My Ultimate Goal In Business

A man without a goal is a man without direction. This isn't groundbreaking news. Yet, most people wander aimlessly in their personal and professional lives everyday. While in college, I learned that you must set a goal if you expect to achieve any type of success. Success doesn't always mean that you need to reach the goal. The fight towards the goal is sometimes more rewarding than the reward itself.

My ultimate goal in business is to be acquired by my hero's company, Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett is my hero and I try to run my business as if he were my boss. I've never met him and I doubt that I ever will meet him. However, every decision that I make is based on the assumption that he is watching me. This may sound a little weird to you some of you. Heck, it sounds a little weird to me once I think about it. But, it works.

There's only one way to be purchased by Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett tells you how right here. We've obviously got a long way to go. A real long way. But that's what goals are for.

Find your goal. Work toward it every day. You may or may not achieve your goal. It doesn't matter. The most important part is the struggle.

350

That's how many phone calls we received yesterday for the grand opening in Panama City. It's safe to say that yesterday was a screaming success. It's also safe to say that we woke the housecleaning industry up yesterday in Panama City.

Things were good for the industry. The status quo had remained steadfast for years, maybe decades. There weas no reason to fix a broken system because everybody else used the broken system.

Enter TwoMaids and its pay for performance plan. The game is now changed.

To all of our new competitors, welcome to the new game. To all of our new customers, welcome to the way it's supposed to be.

The Grand Opening

Next Monday is March 20th. Just another Monday for most people. For me, it's the most exciting day of my life. It's the official grand opening of our newest office in Panama City.

We've hired the employees. We've stocked the office. And we've designed our game plan. All we need now is a customer. Today is your lucky day if you live in Panama City.

We're giving away $2 housecleanings to the first 60 qualified homeowners. The deal is so good that the entire city of Panama City will be calling us by this time Friday morning. If your're reading this before Friday, hurry up and call. You've got a headstart on everybody else. Every radio station and newspaper in the area will be promoting the giveaway. Call (850) 769-6646 and claim your $2 housecleaning.

I feel bad for the other housecleaning companies in Panama City. They don't know what's coming.

A Little Self-Promotion

Ok, we're a little proud of ourselves. We've just recorded our first radio advertisement. Take a listen.

TwoMaids.mp3

18 Months Later

The day was August 14th. Outside the office, it was the normal hot and muggy day in northwest Florida. Inside, we were in serious trouble. Turnover was staggering and morale was at an all-time low. Meanwhile, potential customers were calling like crazy to set up new service. We had no place to put them because we didn't have enough employees. That's when it hit me.

We need to treat our employees better. Why should they care about this job if we don't give them anything but a tiny paycheck? Let me illustrate what tiny means. Tiny means 22 hours per week at $7.00 per hour, $154. That was the average weekly gross for an employee. Try paying rent, eating, or even driving to work on that amount of money.

Two things happened that day. The pay for performance plan was born and our customer's rates were raised. That day was the single most important day of my life. Without it, we'd be out of business. Without it, I'd be working for somebody else.

Instead, that day did happen. We've grown from four employees to more than thirty-five employees. We're on the verge of opening our third location. The future is indeed bright.

Here's the funny thing. We're still the only company in the world that's doing it. We get calls and emails every day, but nobody else has taken the initiative to make the change. Why? Because nobody else is doing it.

I never thought that we would be the pioneers of the housecleaning industry. But we are. And I hope it stays that way eighteen years from now.

Tis The Season

This month reminds me of the holidays. Lots of work to get prepared for the big day. Lots of anticipation for the big day. It's Christmas all over again.

The grand opening of our new office in Panama City is just a few short weeks away. We've been training, planning, and planning some more for the last couple of months. In about 27 days, it's time to start working.

Panama City doesn't know it yet, but things are about to change. We're about to raise the wages for all housekeeping employees in the city. We're about to raise the level of customer service for all service related companies in the city. We're about to take over the housecleaning market. And it's all because of three words.

The best three words an employee can hear. The best three words a customer can hear.

Pay for performance.

Countdown 30 Days

Thirty more days left. Thirty more days to the next phase at TwoMaids. Yes, it's a new year. But more importantly, it's a new office. A new manager. A new city to dominate.

The Operations Manager for the Panama City location starts on January 2, 2006. He will train for one month in each current location. March 2006 is go-time for Panama City. I can't wait.

Some of our customers in Pensacola or Fort Walton Beach will see him. His name is Tim Chappell. He'll be cleaning a few houses, inspecting a few houses, answering telephones, scheduling housecleanings, and providing estimates. He takes customer service to another level. I can't wait to watch him take his new office from zero customers to market leader.

Heads up Panama City, we're coming.

TwoMaids Katrina Fund

Thanks to you, these four children will have a Merry Christmas. Each child received $250 from Two Maids & A Mop this week. Each family has relocated to Pensacola as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Conventional Wisdom

Conventional wisdom tells us to take it slow. Don't rush into anything. Think about the risks involved. Be cautious. Don't fail.

That's the problem with convention. The real risk is not risking. There can't be a reward if there's no risk. The real failure is to not risk anything.

We're going headfirst. The mistakes will be there. The failures will probably be there also. But there's going to be some rewards as well. Those few failures will be remembered because we must learn from our mistakes. However, the rewards will be remembered the most.

Nobody talks about our 1000% turnover level anymore. Nobody talks about our failed night shift anymore. And nobody talks about our lousy pricing structure anymore.

A lot of people talk about our devotion to customer service. A lot of people talk about our professional employees. And almost everybody talks about our bright future.

We buck conventional wisdom because everybody else follows it. We may have failed more than we've succeeded. But our successes have outweighed our failures every time.

Following conventional wisdom makes you conventional.

Under The Microscope

Sam Decker has written a review of the Two Maids & A Mop website. Take a peek at what others are saying about our little company.

http://decker.typepad.com/welcome/

Job Opening

We're expanding into the Panama City, Florida market and we need an operations manager. An operations manager is responsible for pretty much everything related to the success or failure of the business. An operations manager must be able to say the following things:

- I have been paid to clean a toilet
- I have hired a great employee
- I have resolved a difficult situation
- I have made someone smile today
- I live below my means
- I enjoy working alone

Needless to say, but we're only looking for individuals that are serious about customer service. The primary job responsibility will be to serve our customers and employees. You will be responsible for starting a business from the ground up. You will not have one customer or one employee on your first day. Your job is to find them. Your job is to keep them.

We like smiles. We like energy. We like passion. We like frugality. And we like confidence.

The position needs to be filled by December 1, 2005. The winning applicant will receive a decent salary, but the real compensation occurs when profits roll in. An operations manager receives 25% of the location's profits. First year profit sharing is a fixed number since start-up costs will outweigh revenues.

This is a way to own a business without actually owning a business. We want you to run this business as if you're the owner. Email me if you're interested.

two_maids@yahoo.com

Panama City, FL

That's going to be our third location. We've got about four months before our first day. A bunch of things have to happen in order for our scheduled opening to occur. We've got to find a suitable office location. We've got to hire and train a suitable Operations Manager. And, we've got to prepare our current locations for the expansion. It's a lot of work.

But, it's fun. It's fun knowing that good things are in front of you. Our future competitors don't know what's coming. Our future customers don't even know what's coming. They've all gotten used to the sad status of the housecleaning industry. Things will change in about 150 days.

The marketing begins now.

Get ready Panama City. Here we come.

Housecleaning = Boring

The logical man asks the Maid Man, "What person would strive to build a housecleaning empire? Housecleaning is boring. Vacuum, dust, clean the bathrooms/kitchen, empty the garbage, and you're done. Any fool can build a housecleaning business."

The Maid Man agrees with logical man. Housecleaning is not the sexiest business in the world. Heck, it may be one of the least sexiest businesses in the world. But, you know what? Nobody does it right. That's why I'm doing it. Two Maids & A Mop is going to do it right. Get rid of your current image of a maid and replace it with one that is professional, courteous, and customer friendly. The sad status of the housecleaning industry makes it easy for a customer focused company like ourselves to gain ground on the market leaders.

The logical man asks the Maid Man, "There is already a number of nationwide housecleaning businesses. They have hundreds of locations, millions of dollars, and much more experience than you. What makes you think that you're better?"

The Maid Man agrees again with the logical man. Sure, we have an uphill fight. They have more money than us. They have more manpower than us. They probably even have more experience than us. However, they don't have the same amount of energy that we do. They don't have a leader that's ready to turn the industry upside down and they've all gotten used to the status quo.

They don't know what's coming. They don't know how successful we are going to be. They won't know until it's too late.

We're successful today because our customers know that we care. We will not lose that focus. Our number one focus will always remain customer satisfaction.

If you can't tell by now, I think housecleaning is pretty exciting. I can't wait to change the world.

The Church Agrees

Katrina Charities

Here are a list of charities that benefit Hurricane Katrina victims.

http://instapundit.com/archives/025235.php

The End of the Evolution

We had corrected operational problems, improved our marketing practices, and motivated our employees. We had changed 100% from that fateful April Fool's day. But still, how was I going to tell everyone how great we were now? How was a potential customer going to understand our pay-for-performance plan? So, I tossed and turned every night for several weeks. Still, no solution.

Something weird started to happen. People were calling our office and they were already aware of our pay-for-performance plan. Word of mouth marketing was alive. Our current customers had noticed the improvement in our business and they were telling their friends and family. At last, it was happening. We weren't replacing one unhappy customer with a new customer. We were now adding a new customer to our schedule. The business was growing, and growing fast.

The outlook for the business' health was so strong that we decided to open a sister office in Fort Walton Beach. That's where you find us today. Today, we clean nearly 175 houses per week and staff more than 36 employees. Problems are still brewing and everything is not perfect.

The evolution of Two Maids & A Mop will never end. We change everyday. We change because our customers expect us to change. They know that we promise to satisfy them every time, so we work everyday to improve our quality control and customer service skills. Today's TwoMaids will not be tomorrow's TwoMaids.

The Evolution Continued

At last count, there were 10 billion cleaning companies throughout the country. They all have one thing in common. They're paid to clean your home. A consumer obviously has many choices when it comes to housecleaning, so why choose us?

That's the question I asked myself not too long ago. We looked the same, we acted the same, and we cleaned the same. The million dollar question: How can something as simple as housecleaning be different?

My first reaction was to create services that no one else offered. Services like the TwoMaids Rewards Program and the TwoMaids Riddle Game. The Rewards Program was a big hit. You get a point for every dollar spent on our services. At different point levels, you receive all sorts of free gifts and services. We've had customers receive free rounds of golf, free meals at restaurants, and free gift certificates to department stores. Of course, the most popular reward is a free housecleaning. The Riddle Game is a little kooky. We leave a riddle in your home after every cleaning. Originally, the first three people that answered the riddle correctly received an additional 25 Rewards points. Today, each correct answer rewards the customer with 25 TwoMaids Charity points. We support a local charity by paying 10% of the total number of charity points. In other words, we pay $2,000 if 20,000 points are accumulated.

The different service offerings helped. However, they weren't enough. People were still calling other companies and we still had a lot of market share that needed to be stolen. How could our service provide something different?

It was a eureka moment. My idea was to align the interests of our employees with the interests of our customers. What mistakes were we consistently making? What upset our customers the most? What upset us the most? We addressed our top four problem areas using a pay-for-performance compensation plan. Absenteeism/tardiness, lost equipment/supplies, late arrival to customer homes, and poor quality/customer service were specifically addressed. Our employees were now being paid to produce. If they produced, they were paid well. If they didn't produce, they weren't paid very well at all.

Good things started to happen. Employees began arriving on time for work and their jobs, customer satisfaction skyrocketed, qualified applicants came pouring in, and the entire company morale changed almost overnight. I had found the magic formula.

We still had a lot of work to do. We were far from perfect. We had changed our business 100%, but no one really knew except our current customers. What could we do to inform everyone of our new dedication to customer service? As usual, check back later and find out....