Although Amazon launched a marketplace for its customers to connect with local handymen, landscapers and housekeepers three years ago, the e-commerce giant is now quietly hiring direct employees in Seattle for a housecleaning service, Bloomberg reports.
Amazon's housecleaning service, called Amazon Home Assistants, provides home cleanings in Seattle that vary in cost based on home size and frequency of visits. A weekly cleaning of a 1,500-square-foot home costs approximately $156. In 2017, U.S. consumers spent $16 billion on home cleaning, according to ServiceMaster Global Holdings.
"All our technicians are Amazon employees who are trained professionals," the Amazon Home Assistants website states. "We use 100 percent eco-friendly and kid-safe cleaning products which are rated 4 stars and above on Amazon. All our services are backed by our happiness guarantee. If you're not satisfied, we'll come back and fix any problems."
By swapping the low cost of contract workers for having greater control of employing its own workers, Amazon is putting itself on the hook for minimum wage, workers compensation and overtime pay, Bloomberg reports. However, the move also allows Amazon to decide how the workers are trained, which cleaning products they use and how they organize their schedules.
Amazon's experiment signals the online retailer is concerned that saving money by using independent contractors may compromise its customer experience, making it another online matchmaking platform, according to Bloomberg. In this way, the experiment serves as a way for Amazon to see if investing in its own housekeepers will change its services by more directly connecting them to the company's popular brand.
If Amazon's entrance into the housekeeping market succeeds, it could expand more quickly into other service-oriented categories, such as home improvement products and advanced electronics that require assembly and installation.
Amazon declined to comment to Bloomberg on the service.