Why Top Rankings Don’t Always Mean Top Quality
If you’ve ever searched “best cleaning service near me” or “top 10 cleaning companies in Malaysia,” chances are you’ve landed on a polished-looking website that promises to list the best providers out there. It looks trustworthy. It feels neutral. But here’s the truth:
Many of these ranking sites don’t rank companies based on actual service quality — they rank them based on who pays.
In this post, we’ll reveal:
- 🕵️♂️ How cleaning service rankings really work behind the scenes
- 💸 Why some companies are “top” even if their service isn’t
- 🚫 Why we refused to pay for top placement
- 💡 What you should look at instead when choosing a cleaning company
Let’s pull back the curtain.
How Cleaning Service Rankings Really Work
When you visit a ranking site, it might seem like they’ve done in-depth research. They may list companies in order, write short summaries, and even add “verified badges.” But behind the scenes, many of these sites operate on a pay-to-play model.
That means:
- Companies pay a monthly fee or advertising package to be placed on top
- Reviews can be curated, filtered, or removed based on relationships
- New or smaller companies with good work may never appear, simply because they don’t pay
- These companies who review, they are not even based in Malaysia. They operate as a syndicate from other country.
So when you think you’re seeing “top-rated” cleaners, you’re actually seeing a list of highest bidders, not necessarily the highest performers.
One of the shoes cleaning kiosk in an suburban town are even misplaced at the top 10 best too . They don’t really know the industry.
We Were Asked to Pay Too — And We Said No.
We’ve received emails from ranking platforms offering to list our cleaning service at the top spot… for a monthly fee. The offer just gets lower and lower to a point its cheaper than to buy a round of Kopi for ourselves.
Some examples:
- 💰 RM 50–RM 1,500/month just to appear first in the list
- 📝 Reviews that could be “managed” for better image
- 🧼 Promises to “guarantee more leads” if we signed up
But here’s the thing:
We don’t believe in buying trust. If our service is good, our real customers will speak for us. And once we commit into the scheme, we worry that we are forever manipulated by them to pay even more to stay in the spot.
So we said no — even if it meant getting buried under companies who paid more. We did lose out our position at some site despite being one of the top cleaning service company in Malaysia.
Why You Should Be Skeptical of “Top 10” Cleaning Lists
Here’s what these ranking lists often don’t tell you:
| What They Say | What It Means |
|---|---|
| “Best cleaning companies of 2025” | Based on ad spend, not real service |
| “Top-reviewed cleaners” | Reviews may be cherry-picked |
| “Editor’s choice” | May be part of a paid sponsorship |
| “Ranked #1 on [platform]” | Could mean highest payment tier |
| “Top Brands in Malaysia” | CEO paid RM5000 so he can appear on stage in a tuxedo |
| “Best CEO 2023” | Boss can’t speak english in interview. No refund on the RM10,000 he paid. |
🚩 Red flag: If every “top company” has a link to a sales form or paid ad, it’s probably not unbiased.
What To Look For Instead
If you really want to find a quality cleaning service, don’t just trust a random list. Look deeper. Here’s how to do your own due diligence:
✅ 1. Check Google Reviews
It’s harder to game this system. Look at patterns: Do reviews seem real? Are they recent? What do unhappy clients say? If theres a british without profile picture named dorothy anne commented in bahasa melayu? How can a company have 3200 + reviews while every other in the industry only have 200 ?
✅ 2. Visit Their Website
Do they show real project photos? Do they explain their process? Real companies show real work. Most kids nowadays build website with AI without any substance. Their SEO friendly website just crank in as many “cleaning service” keywords as they can to appear on top.
✅ 3. Ask Questions
Ask how many staff they send. Ask what machines or products they use. A good company won’t hide behind vague answers. They cant be coming to your site bringing only items they bought from kk mart. Customer service knowledge shows real professionalism in dealing with various situation.
✅ 4. Check Social Media
Are they active? Do they post behind-the-scenes stories or client feedback? Social proof tells a lot.
The Bottom Line: Be an Informed Customer
We’re not saying every ranking site is fake, but most of them certainly are. But as a customer, you deserve to know that many of those lists aren’t as neutral or honest as they seem.
If someone has to pay to be called the best, are they really the best?
