Melissa from Toronto

I HAD been a client of Anna’s Housekeeping for SEVERAL years. I actually left a positive review on Homestars at the owner’s request when I first started using the service because I was so satisfied with the cleaning lady I had been assigned. So much has changed that I feel compelled to post a new review because of how terrible the service has gotten. I can get over the fact that prices have shot up from under $60 for a 3 hour clean to closer to $90, that dishes have been broken, my coffee table broken, my Dyson broken but what I’ve been most offended by was the treatment of me, a very loyal customer, by the owner over the years. In fact, as soon as I left my original review, “Anna’s” friendliness disappeared. Still (mostly) professional, but quite rude and sometimes even accusatory. In fact, Anna rarely lets you finish a sentence without talking over you. If someone is nice to you when you call, you can be SURE it’s not the owner although the women who answer do sound similar. I won’t go into too many specifics about how every great cleaning lady seemed to “go on vacation” never to return but what I will address is how I was treated after referring countless people to Anna’s. I’m going to begin with what was the last straw for me in case this review is too long. I came home to find the insert to my automated trash can missing. I immediately knew it had been tossed by accident and reported it but Anna was away. I waited a week or so and no one got back to me. After calling again, Anna told me it was “impossible” that the cleaner could toss the insert (I say that a 1.3 litre bucket is easy to dump into a larger bag if you’re dumping trash) and that she could “never just take the customer’s word”. That’s when I knew I was finally done. “What if it’d been a diamond ring?!” I asked. “How can I feel safe?” Anna’s response was that she’d reimburse me but SHE would no longer trust ME!! I’m the one who had something go missing and I’M the one who can’t be trusted?! I reminded her I was a loyal, longtime client and I’d rarely complained (mostly because Anna simply doesn’t care). She did reimburse me but it was an ORDEAL. People should know that there are other, comparable cleaning companies out there that value their clients and who will treat you with respect. That is far from true about Anna’s. Other issues I think are worth mentioning: One of the cleaners sent to me had been badmouthing other clients of hers, talking about how she went through their drawers and made some negative comments about me having cats because she hates animals on her first visit to my home. When I called to report this, Anna wouldn’t let me tell her my reasons for having issues with this cleaner (Anna consistently cut me off whenever I would try speaking to her - this treatment of me went on for years but I let it go because I’m loyal to a fault and the cleaners were usually average), but she switched my cleaner, promising the one I had issues with would not come back. Unfortunately she was sent to fill in again when one of my many, revolving, “vacationing” cleaners was away. Thankfully I was home to supervise since I felt very uncomfortable with this woman in my place with my pets that she hates and my valuables. On a different occasion, when I mentioned some VERY, small issues I was having with a new cleaner, Anna told me it must be because my place was suddenly too messy! Another time she sent someone who had to be sent back to redo the cleaning because it was just that bad. Anna again refused to let me articulate my concerns and cut me off when I wanted to be heard about all the issues I’d had with this particular cleaner. Again, Anna’s interest is solely based on volume business, not on customer satisfaction, in my experience. Lastly, the final payment I made by cheque (what year is it, by the way?? Accept credit cards! It’s 2019!) was returned to Anna due to a scanning issue at HER bank. As soon as she contacted me that there’d been an issue, I jumped on the phone to my bank where I spent half an hour trying to sort out why my payment had been deemed ineligible for clearing. My bank informed me there was no record that she even tried to deposit but it sounded like there was an illegible aspect to my cheque. I called Anna to tell her I was happy to reissue a cheque or do an etransfer but I wanted her to contact her bank and ask why my bank has no record of her attempting this transaction. Of course she had to argue with me that it would take her too long to get through, she knows what they’ll say, she doesn’t have time, she’ll have to go into the bank... every time I tried to speak, she cut me off as per usual. I was finally able to tell her I wanted to be sure to do my due diligence in case she tries to redeposit my original cheque. Well, Anna was greatly offended that I don’t trust her just based on her word to me and our professional relationship thus far. I reminded her that she outright told me she couldn’t just trust me as her (VERY long term) client so why should I trust her? After she had her bank contact me and they assured me there was no chance she could try to redeposit the original cheque, I did an email transfer. This was not good enough for Anna because she didn’t want to enter any information to access the funds. I tried to explain that this is the only way I transfer money and, not only is it secure, I won’t have access to any information she may have to input through the bank. Of course she had to talk over me and demanded that I transfer money the way SHE likes to receive it and that she would allow me to deduct the $1 fee. I did so even though EVERYONE I told this to said I shouldn’t have been so accommodating. They’re not wrong. I should’ve told her this is the 2nd time I’ve tried to pay her and she could figure it out but I was tired of having to deal with her awful treatment of me and did as she asked. Now we’re both out of each other’s hair and I feel compelled to warn everyone that Anna’s Housekeeping doesn’t deserve your business. Hire someone who values you as a loyal client and treats you with respect. There are countless cleaning companies in Toronto and this is one to avoid at all costs.