Ask nine things before you hire: proof of insurance, whether the people are background-checked, whether the same crew returns, who brings the supplies, what exactly is on the checklist, what the price is based on, when you pay, what happens when something goes wrong, and how you’ll know what was done. Each question is below — why it separates companies, and how we answer it ourselves.
The logic of the script is simple: a trustworthy company answers with documents, a risky one answers with adjectives. We’ve already written the negative of this picture — the red flags to watch when hiring a cleaning service — so this post is the positive: what you ask, and what a good answer sounds like. Wherever we cite a JAS commitment, it’s linked to the page that states it — hold any other company you interview to the same standard. Hiring for an office or a building instead of a home? The questions change — a certificate naming the building, who badges in after hours, a scope with a frequency next to every task — and they have their own guide: questions to ask a janitorial or commercial cleaning company.
That’s what to ask before anyone gets a key. Our answers are published: $2M general liability, background-checked teams, and a CleanCheck photo report on eligible completed visits. Message us and we’ll send a price for your place alongside them.
1. Are you insured — and can you email me the certificate?
Anyone can say “licensed and insured.” The differentiating half is the follow-up: ask for the certificate of insurance (COI). What JAS publishes on its legal page: $2,000,000 of general liability coverage, every cleaner background-checked, and a certificate available on request — email bookings@jascleaning.com with “COI” in the subject line, most certificates returned within 2 business hours. A company that hesitates, stalls, or explains why you don’t need the paper has just answered a bigger question.
2. Who exactly is coming — and how are they screened?
Ask whether the cleaners are the company’s own people or a marketplace of subcontractors, and how new hires are screened — because crews change. JAS’s answer, published on the residential cleaning page: every visit is fulfilled by JAS-supplied, background-checked cleaners working the same checklist. The full safety logic around this question — keys, theft, what to put away before a first visit — is in our post on whether it’s safe to hire a house cleaning service.
3. Will the same crew come back each visit?
What you’re listening for here isn’t a “yes” — it’s an honest answer. People get sick, routes shift, and a company that promises “always the same person, guaranteed” is promising something staffing math can’t keep. JAS’s published version: we prioritize team continuity when availability allows, and because every visit works the same 28-item checklist, quality doesn’t ride on any one person — that wording is on the residential page. The useful follow-up: “if the crew changes, what keeps the result from changing?” The answer should be a checklist, not a name.
4. Who brings the supplies and equipment?
This matters for two reasons. The first is honest price comparison: a quote that assumes your vacuum and your products is not comparable to one that includes everything. The second is your own home — allergies, delicate surfaces, a product you prefer. JAS’s published answer: we bring everything, eco-friendly products by default and fragrance-free on request; if you’d rather we use a specific product or your own vacuum, leave a note on the booking and we follow it — it’s in the FAQ on the residential page.
5. What exactly is included — is there a written checklist?
“A standard clean” means nothing until it’s a list with countable items. Ask for the checklist in writing, and ask what is NOT on it — the items off the list are where arguments are born. JAS’s residential clean works a published 28-item checklist — kitchen and bath reset, floors mopped and vacuumed, surfaces dusted, linens straightened, trash out — and the difference between it and a deep clean is a difference of lists, not adjectives. Compare them yourself on the service page.
6. What is the price based on?
Don’t just ask “how much?” — ask what moves the number. A company with a real pricing model can tell you in a sentence: at JAS, bedroom and bathroom count sets the baseline, a first visit can run longer if it’s been months since the last professional clean, and frequency works in your favor. Our Miami-Dade rates, for the visit described on the residential page: starting at $189 (studio or 1BR/1 bath), $243 for a 2BR/2 bath, $265 for a 3BR/2 bath, $319+ for a 4BR+/3 bath — a 2–3 hour visit with a 2-person team — with up to 15% off on recurring HomeCare plans. A company that can’t explain its pricing basis before arriving is a company that will surprise you at the door.
7. When do I pay — and do you require a deposit?
The most underrated question on the list. JAS’s buying order is in our published terms: nothing is charged at booking, and after each completed visit an invoice is issued. A company that bills after the work has to finish the work — a large upfront payment to an operator with no traceable identity is where most of the genuinely bad stories start. Ask about the cancellation policy too, and expect numbers rather than vagueness: ours is free up to 24 hours before, $25 inside 24 hours.
8. What happens if something is wrong — or broken?
Two questions wearing one coat, and both deserve a written answer BEFORE the first visit. On quality, JAS’s published route in the terms: if something is not right, contact JAS within 24 hours of completion, include your CleanCheck report when available, and qualifying service recovery is arranged at no charge under the reclean guarantee. On damage: tell us within 24 hours at support@jascleaning.com — the damage is documented in your CleanCheck and resolved through our insurance. That is what it is for. Ask any other company to describe its equivalent; “that never happens to us” is not a procedure.
9. How will I know what was done if I’m not home?
Most recurring customers aren’t home during the visit, so the last question is the proof question. In Miami, access has modern answers — a door code, a lockbox key, a smart-lock invite, or front-desk registration in a condo tower — and visibility does too: eligible completed JAS visits include a CleanCheck report with checklist items verified and customer-safe photos, as published on the residential page. Ask any company what exists AFTER their visit. If the answer is “nothing, you check when you get home,” you have just been made the quality department — unpaid.
The short version
Four of the nine have paperwork behind them — the insurance certificate, the written price basis, payment after the work, the written guarantee — and those four alone screen out most of the companies you shouldn’t hire. The other five decide who you’ll be comfortable with for years. If you’d rather run the same exercise as a verification procedure — document by document instead of question by question — it’s in our guide on how to choose a good house cleaning service.
FAQ
Do I really need to ask all nine questions?
No. The four with paperwork behind them — the insurance certificate, the written price basis, when you pay, and the written guarantee — catch most bad outcomes on their own. The other five tune the fit: crew continuity, supplies, checklist, access, and proof.
What is the single most revealing question?
“Can you email me your certificate of insurance?” For an established company it is routine — JAS publishes that most COI requests are returned within 2 business hours. For an improvised operation it is the question that ends the conversation.
Is it rude to interview a cleaning company like this?
Not at all — an established company answers these questions every week and usually has them published somewhere. Hesitation, vagueness, or “trust me” in place of a document is itself an answer, and a useful one.