Cleaning companies on WhatsApp: answer every quote request on the job
Cleaning businesses live on WhatsApp. New customers ask "how much for a 3-bed end of tenancy?", regular clients write "can you come Thursday instead of Wednesday?", and your cleaners send photos from the job, all on the same number and usually while you are mid-clean yourself. An AI agent can answer the simple questions from your price guide and schedule, collect what you need for a quote, and leave damage, complaints and key questions to you. This playbook shows the note to write, what the agent should and should not say, and how to keep your number inside safe sending limits.
Why customers message instead of filling in forms
Most cleaning enquiries are short and practical. People want a rough price, a date and to know you are reliable, and WhatsApp feels like the quickest way to get all three. Many of your regular clients already have your number saved, and they expect a reply on the same day.
The difficulty is that you are usually cleaning when the messages arrive, with gloves on and the phone in a bag. A new customer who waits half a day for a price may book someone else. An AI agent on your own number answers within moments, asks the right questions for a quote and keeps your diary moving, so you can finish the job in front of you.
What customers ask on WhatsApp
- How much for a deep clean of a 3-bed house?
- Do you do end of tenancy cleans, and will the landlord accept it?
- Can you move my regular clean from Wednesday to Thursday this week?
- Do you bring your own products and equipment?
- Can you do the oven as an extra?
- I will be at work, can I leave a key for you?
- Do you clean offices at weekends?
- Is it the same cleaner every time?
An example conversation
This illustration shows a new enquiry that arrives on a weekday lunchtime. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Daniel | Hi, how much would an end of tenancy clean be for a 2-bed flat? I move out on the 28th. |
| AI agent | Hi Daniel. End of tenancy cleans for a 2-bed flat start at £220, which includes the kitchen, bathroom, inside cupboards and windows from the inside. Oven cleaning is £45 extra. Is the flat furnished or unfurnished? |
| Daniel | Unfurnished. Can you do the 27th? |
| AI agent | The 27th has a morning slot free from 9am. To give you an exact price, could you send a couple of photos of the kitchen and bathroom? Sam, our owner, checks every end of tenancy quote before it is confirmed. |
| Daniel | [3 photos] Should I be there? |
| AI agent | Thank you. You do not need to be there. Sam will confirm the price and how to arrange access here today. |
| Sam | Thanks Daniel, that all looks standard, so £220 plus the oven at £45. I have booked you in for 9am on the 27th. I will message you on the 26th about access. |
What the agent answers
- Prices for standard cleans, deep cleans and end of tenancy cleans, from your price guide.
- Asking for the number of rooms, photos and a preferred date, so a quote is quick to confirm.
- Moving or adding a regular clean inside your schedule and notice rules.
- What is included, what costs extra and whether you bring products and equipment.
- Your areas, hours and cancellation policy, in your words.
- Confirming the day and time of a booking back to the customer.
What it always hands to you
- Keys, alarm codes and access arrangements: the agent never asks for or repeats codes in the chat.
- Damage, breakages and anything that might need an insurance claim.
- Complaints about a clean and requests for a re-clean or refund.
- Commercial contracts and large or unusual jobs that need a site visit.
- Anything about a cleaner's conduct or safety.
- Disputes between a tenant and a landlord about a deposit.
Keep keys and codes out of the chat
Access is the most sensitive part of a cleaning business. Tell the agent never to ask for door codes, alarm codes or key-safe numbers, and never to repeat them if a customer sends one. Instead, it should hand access arrangements to you, so you can agree them in the way you normally do. That keeps the details in your own records rather than in a long chat history that several people may read.
The WhatsApp limits that matter here
| Limit | Spaces limit per WhatsApp account |
|---|---|
| Messages | Up to 200 a day |
| Gap between messages | At least 15 seconds |
| New conversations you start | 5 an hour, 10 a day |
Replies to people who message you are not held back by the warm-up, so customers get answers from the first day.
Set it up in an afternoon
- Write a note: services and prices, what is included, extras, areas, working days, notice and cancellation rules, and what always goes to you. There is an example below.
- Connect your business WhatsApp number in Spaces. You scan a QR code with the phone that has the number, the same way you would link WhatsApp on a computer. The phone keeps working as normal afterwards.
- Connect your AI agent, such as Claude or ChatGPT, using the steps for your client on our agents page. Give it the note and, if it can reach it, your booking calendar.
- Tell it to collect photos for deep cleans and end of tenancy cleans, and to let you confirm those quotes for the first few weeks.
- Decide when the agent should answer and write it in the note, for example only between 8am and 7pm. Reminders you schedule can carry their own working hours.
- Read the first week's chats every evening and add anything it got wrong to the note.
The note your agent works from
Write the note as if you were training a new member of office staff who will answer the phone while you are out. Keep prices as "from" figures where photos might change them. Here is an example you can copy and change.
CLEANING NOTE (example)
Services
- Regular clean: £18 an hour, minimum 2 hours. Weekly or fortnightly.
- Deep clean, 3-bed house: from £260.
- End of tenancy, 2-bed flat: from £220. 3-bed house: from £300.
- Extras: oven £45, inside fridge £20, interior windows included.
We bring all products and equipment. Eco products on request.
Areas: Bristol BS1 to BS9. Monday to Saturday.
Moving a regular clean: free with 48 hours' notice.
Cancelling on the day: half the price of the clean.
For deep cleans and end of tenancy: ask for the number of rooms,
photos of the kitchen and bathroom, and a preferred date. Sam confirms.
Never ask for or repeat key-safe numbers, door codes or alarm codes.
Always hand to Sam: access, damage, complaints, re-cleans, refunds,
offices and commercial work, anything about a cleaner.
Tone: friendly and clear, first names, no slang.Put the rules about access and damage near the bottom, written as short instructions. These are the lines that protect you, so they should be impossible to miss.
A second example: something got broken
This message needs you, not the agent. Its job is to stay calm, take the details and hand over quickly. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Grace | Hi, I just got home and the glass lamp in the living room is broken. Was this during the clean today? |
| AI agent | I am sorry to hear that, Grace. I have passed your message to Sam straight away, and she will contact you today. Could you send a photo of the lamp so she has everything in one place? |
| Grace | [photo] |
| Sam | Hi Grace, thank you and I am so sorry. I have spoken to Ana, who cleaned today, and she knocked it while dusting and should have told you. We will cover the cost. Could you send me the link to the same lamp or the receipt? |
The agent did not admit fault, deny it or mention insurance. It apologised for the situation, asked for a photo and got the owner involved within minutes. Sam could then answer properly after speaking to her cleaner.
Before and after: replies that win the job
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| It depends, can you call me? | End of tenancy cleans for a 2-bed flat start at £220. Could you send a photo of the kitchen and bathroom so we can confirm the price? |
| We are fully booked. | This week is full, but Monday at 9am and Tuesday at 1pm are free. I can also add you to the list if a slot opens this week. |
| Noted. | That is moved: your regular clean is now Thursday at 10am instead of Wednesday. Same cleaner, same time. |
The better replies give a price, a time or a confirmation in the same message.
Reminders and reviews, done gently
A short reminder the day before a clean helps customers remember to leave access or move the car. Spaces can schedule a message for a set time, with working hours so it never goes out late at night. A routine can also send a set reply you wrote when a message matches a keyword, such as "reschedule". Routines send your words; they are not an AI.
After a first clean, one polite message asking for a review is usually welcome. Send it only to customers you have just cleaned for, once, and stop if they do not reply. If anyone replies stop, Spaces refuses further messages to them in that chat.
Common mistakes cleaning companies make
- Letting the agent fix a final price for deep cleans without photos. Ask for photos and let a person confirm until you trust its judgement.
- Keeping access codes in the chat. Agree them your usual way, and tell the agent never to repeat them.
- Answering complaints with stock phrases. A fast handover to the owner works far better than a scripted apology.
- Sending offers to every past customer at once. That is bulk messaging, which WhatsApp's terms prohibit, and Spaces refuses copy-paste blasts.
- Forgetting to update the note when a cleaner leaves or your areas change, so the agent promises a person or a postcode you no longer cover.
What if...?
| If | Tell the agent to |
|---|---|
| A customer sends a key-safe code | Thank them, say it will not be repeated in the chat, and hand the access question to you. |
| Someone cancels on the day | Accept it, give your cancellation rule in your words, and hand over if they dispute the charge. |
| An office asks for a contract clean | Collect the size, the days and the hours they want, then hand over for a site visit. |
| A customer asks for a particular cleaner | Check the schedule in the note, offer that cleaner's next free slot, and hand over if it needs a swap. |
One number, several cleaners
Many cleaning companies run on one business number while the team uses their own phones. That works well with an agent: customers get one place to ask, and the agent books from a single schedule. Agree who picks up handed-over chats each day, usually the owner or an office manager.
Who you message
In short
For a cleaning company, the AI agent is the office you never had. It answers quotes on the job, moves regular cleans, and gathers photos so you can confirm prices quickly. Keys, damage and complaints stay with you, and the note makes that clear.
Spaces paces every message and keeps your number inside its limits, but no tool can promise WhatsApp will never restrict a number. Keep the agent to customers who message you and the reminders they expect, and your WhatsApp stays a place where jobs get booked.
Pricing
FAQ
Can the agent give exact quotes?
For regular cleans priced by the hour, yes, from your price guide. For deep cleans and end of tenancy cleans, most owners have it give a "from" price, collect photos and let a person confirm. You can let it confirm more once you trust its answers.
Can it read the photos customers send?
It can receive them and pass them on with the chat. Tell it not to judge the condition itself, and to hand photos to you for anything that changes the price.
What about keys and alarm codes?
Tell the agent never to ask for codes and never to repeat one a customer sends. It should hand access arrangements to you, so you can agree them your usual way.
Can it send reminders before each clean?
Yes. You can schedule a reminder for customers with a booking, with working hours so it is never sent late at night. Keep it to one short message with the day and time.
Can my cleaners still use WhatsApp on the same number?
The number stays yours and the phone keeps working as normal. When you or a team member takes over a chat, the agent stays out of that conversation until it is handed back.
Can I stop it replying while I deal with a problem?
Yes. You can pause sending in Spaces, which stops every reply, scheduled message and routine at once, and resume when you are ready. You can also take over a single chat and leave the rest running.
Can it chase unpaid invoices?
It can send one polite reminder in your wording to a customer you have cleaned for. Disputes and repeated chasing should go to you, because they need a person.
Does it work for office cleaning too?
It can answer first questions and collect the size, days and hours an office needs. Commercial contracts usually need a site visit and a proper proposal, so the agent should hand those to you.