I led research to match cleaners and clients in a dual-sided app

Rafaela Kwiatkowski
21 de jun.
5 min de leitura

Atualizado: 23 de jun.

🧹 This is an app for hiring cleaning services

An UX research for a dual-sided mobile platform designed to connect cleaning professionals with clients looking to hire services quickly and safely.

📋Overview

The project aimed to support the development of a mobile app (under NDA) for hiring residential cleaning professionals in Brazil. The challenge was to understand the needs of both user groups (clients and professionals) and define clear and efficient flows for each side of the platform.

🎉Results

The research revealed that clients prioritize trust, clear pricing and scheduling flexibility. While cleaning professionals seek control, clear job details and respectful communication. These insights helped define key product directions.

👩‍💻My contributions

As the only designer, I did the process from end to end. This included stakeholder alignment, research planning, interviews, benchmarking and persona creation.

📅Phases

Competitor analysis → Interviews → Survey → Personas

🧐 Competitor analysis

To understand the landscape of cleaning service platforms, I conducted a competitive analysis of brazilian and international apps that connect service providers with clients. The goal was to identify standard patterns and potential differentiators for our product.

Services	Parafuzo	Maryhelp	Diarista Fácil	Donamaid	GetNinjas
Daily cleaning	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Deep cleaning	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅
Ironing	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Commercial cleaning	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅
Other domestic services	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅
Other services	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅
Available in all of Brazil	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅

Key takeways

Coverage & Specialization: Most apps are either highly localized (e.g., Diarista Fácil, Donamaid) or cover a wide range but with quality inconsistencies (e.g., GetNinjas, Mary Help).
Trust Mechanisms: Platforms with ratings, service history, and profile pictures (like Donamaid) offer better decision-making for clients. Others lack enough transparency.
UX/UI Maturity: Some apps (like Mary Help) have outdated interfaces or unclear service categorization, which affects user trust and engagement.
Opportunity Area: There is room for a platform that combines geographic reach, profile clarity, and a smooth, trustworthy user flow for both clients and professionals.

🗣️ Qualitative research: potential users interviews

Insights from clients

I conducted interviews with 5 people who hire cleaning professionals to uncover their needs, expectations and patterns. Interviewees varied in experience, ranging from frequent users of app services to those trying to establish long-term relationships with specific professionals.

Trust and safety come first

Trust is a decisive factor when letting someone into one’s home. All participants described initial discomfort with leaving professionals alone.

“In the beginning, I didn’t like leaving them alone. I felt safer when I had met them before or had a good reference.”

Preferred professional profile

Participants showed a clear preference for professionals who were: punctual, proactive, and independent; brought their own cleaning materials; are able to adapt services to specific needs (e.g., type of dirt, type of home, pets).

Platforms: frustrations and workarounds

All participants had experiences with cleaning apps, where communication often happened via WhatsApp and satisfaction was measured through simple NPS questions.

“There was a form to fill out, then I talked to someone on WhatsApp. But if something went wrong, there wasn’t really support.”

Customization

Clients expressed frustration when platforms didn’t allow them to share specific instructions or preferences during booking. Those who had recurring services wanted to avoid repeating details every time, while others valued platforms that allowed them to “filter” or “match” based on characteristics.

"I wish I could just choose someone that fits my rhythm and doesn't charge extra if I’m not home."

Insights from cleaning professionals

To understand the routine, expectations, and challenges faced by the professionals, I conducted interviews with 4 people who work in different regions and under different conditions (fixed clients vs. occasional).

Routine and work model

All professionals preferred working in the mornings, and most of their jobs came from fixed clients or referrals through WhatsApp or family connections. None of the them used digital platforms or apps to find work

“I already have enough referrals. I don’t see the need for apps. It’s always someone new and that can be risky.”

Services and pricing

They perform a variety of tasks including laundry, ironing, cooking and organizing, but only when agreed in advance and mostly for long-term clients. Professionals define pricing based on size of the house, number of windows or glass surfaces, type of cleaning (light vs. heavy).

“If it’s just maintenance, it’s cheaper. If it’s the first time or if there are a lot of kids or pets, I charge more.”

Preferences and needs

They avoid certain tasks like cleaning ceilings or exteriors, and prefer having boundaries on what is included in the agreed job. When working in a new environment, they prefer:

Information in advance (e.g., whether the client has pets or stairs).
Knowing the specific tasks expected and their priority.
Scheduling to avoid overwork or long commutes.
Clear and respectful communication.

“If the house is very big, I ask what’s most important to clean first.”

📝 Quantitative research

To complement the qualitative insights, I conducted a survey to validate assumptions and identify usage patterns among potential clients. The questionnaire received over 100 responses from people who have hired, considered hiring or regularly hire cleaning services.

Frequency of hiring

46% of respondents rarely hire cleaning services, while only 11% do it daily and 13% weekly. This suggests that the platform needs to be flexible and accessible for both one-time bookings and recurring users.

Types of services hired

Respondents mentioned hiring a range of services, including: 62% house cleaning, 23% laundry and ironing, 10% window cleaning, 7% occasional deep cleaning (e.g., after parties or renovations). There was also mention of niche tasks like, cleaning devices and air duct cleaning.

Frictions identified in apps

Unclear or changing prices;
Difficulty in trusting unknown professionals;
Lack of support or follow-up from platforms;
Poor communication and limited customization;
Long waiting time between request and confirmation.

Trust features

Respondents expressed stronger willingness to book services if the platform offered:

Verified professional profiles
Star ratings and review history
Safe in-app communication
Service guarantees or support in case of no-shows.

👥 Personas

🧠 Learnings

Researching a dual-sided platform taught me how to design for very different users while keeping the experience unified. Some key takeaways:

Trust is built: Both clients and professionals had strong concerns about safety, reliability, and transparency — and these can't be solved by design alone, but design plays a key role in reinforcing them.
One product, two journeys: Balancing the needs of clients and workers required separating their flows without making the platform feel fragmented.
Insights come from listening: User interviews revealed pain points and behaviors we wouldn’t have predicted, especially from professionals with low digital adoption.