Licensed, Bonded and Insured is a catch phrase used by all businesses you invite onto your property, or into your home. We had the opportunity today to work for one home owner who was using the phrases to an extreme. They wanted us to clean up after a contractor who had gotten dust through out the entire house. This is something we do, but they wanted the contractor to pay, and they were concerned about the lead content of the dust.
We passed on the work because of the liability issues involved. The contractor’s insurance company would have to be involved, and we might get stuck without payment for our work. Even if we collected up front that would become another liability to the situation.
Now here is where it gets tricky because the home owner invited the contractor into the home. Would this be a matter for the home owners policy or the contractors? You may think that the contractors insurance company would just have to pay, but these owners had already cleaned, the contractor had cleaned, the contractor contacted us to clean, and the home owner objected to us doing the work.
In an earlier post I had said most people blame the work people for damage first, before figuring out the true cause. We had a long time client claim we had broken a window. It was really impossible for us to have done that, and in all honesty the husband had a weight set that looked more like the culprit.
When I told my insurance agent about it he said they would fight it. Even if we had broken the window it was a matter for the insurance company because the price was well over my deductible. Taking the window out and replacing it was going to be two thousand dollars. In the process of replacing the window, it was on a second story, picture window, anything could have happened.
In hindsight the home owner was trying to get us to make them a concession while they shifted the liability to their insurance company. They would have had us work off the debt of replacing the window while they had their insurance company pay for the work. In thinking about todays home owner, they could have the insurance company pay to clean the house while they refused to pay the contractor.
Insurance is a great thing to have. You have to be careful and use it wisely. Most things you should just work off, or give, as a matter of keeping a good client. Other times you have to decide if it is worth the future expense of having you insurance company handle the situation.
Since 1968, high school, I have worked on properties for rent and sale. My first company was formed in 1972 with a partner. Over the years the business grew. Last year in 2008 my main company A Spring Cleaning won an award for Cleaning Service by the U.S. Local Business Association.
A Spring Cleaning was my own creation. In the 1980s and 1990s we did many things. Dry rot repair, yard work, paint, pressure washing, hauling, and design. In 2000 we changed to a regularly scheduled house cleaning company with the trade name Seattle House Cleaning.
The transition was gradual. A Spring Cleaning got a boost in 2005 with a mention on a national TV show, then a few interviews in the local media, and business was very good. I was also a licensed Real Estate agent with some project properties.
In 2005 I became concerned about the housing market and concentrated on finishing my projects full time. We sold off properties in 2006 then concentrated on the Seattle House Cleaning business. Three years later the cleaning business is good.
Blogging is a part of my daily routine. Most of the time my focus has been on Real Estate and economics. To go along with that we encourage people to be in business. Our cleaning business has branched off into other cleaning businesses and we consult with other business owners.
This site is an extension of what we already do. By sharing what we have learned about the cleaning business we hope you will see it's more than just a bucket and rags that get you the fresh feeling of a clean home. These are just some tricks of the trade and some of the pit falls we experience.