
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 15, 1994                   TAG: 9405130078
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: F3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHAT LOCAL CLEANING SERVICES SAY

DORIS HARRISON, owner of the Roanoke franchise of Merry Maids: We have grown tremendously. The Roanoke franchise opened March 1, and it's keeping me so busy I practically have no life outside the office. I have trouble getting office personnel to keep up with the computer work. We have no trouble getting housekeepers because we pay well.

MARY JANE WSZOLEK, owner of Happy Housekeepers: We've been doing it successfully for 15 years. Our customer is the working woman, the family situation where the husband and wife both work. We all lead such a busy life, especially working women. At one time house cleaning was for the rich, but not any more.

BOB JESSUP, owner of Spiffy Maids: It's hard to give an average cost. It depends on the size of the house and the size of the rooms. Some people do partials to save costs, having a certain number of rooms done. Most houses have about 11 rooms or areas, and we may clean five or eight. Most people like us to get the tough stuff like kitchens, bathrooms and family rooms. I charge $27.95 for the first four rooms and $4 for each additional room if the rooms are average size.

BARBARA BALDWIN, owner of Barbara's Cleaning Service: I've been in business eight years, but business has grown tremendously in the last four years. I went from a gross of $40,000 four years ago to $105,000 last year. The demand is for a professional job because more women work. Even those who don't work are more active in their children's activities and don't have time to clean the way we did in the olden days.

by CNB