February 25, 2012
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Maids who buff in the buff and plumbers who strip off more than just the grime in your pipes -- these are the services on offer at a new South African company.
Natural Cleaning Co., which bills itself as "the world's only all-naked service company," was founded a month ago by Jean-Paul Reid after he struggled to find work as an accountant in a country with a 23.9 percent unemployment rate.
The company offers housekeeping, accounting, legal, computing and other services, with a twist -- staff show up either topless or fully nude, depending on the client's request.
"Cleaning is the popular one, and then handyman services for the ladies," Reid, 29, told AFP.
He said he currently gets about one client per day, typically white middle-aged men.
His employees, who are featured in various work for him part-time and have day jobs ranging from model to personal trainer to law student to accountant.
The service is "purely entertainment", Reid stressed, saying: "We don't offer prostitution or anything like that."
The company's website, naturalcleaning.wozaonline.co.za, features a svelte shirtless man thrusting a vacuum across a rug, a slender young woman ironing in nothing but socks, a nude chef with a tastefully placed salad bowl, and a host of other naked services available in the country's four largest cities.
Prices range from 175 rand ($23, 17 euros) per hour for "semi-naked services" to 450 rand for professionals like lawyers, accountants and plumbers.
"You choose your service provider and what they wear," the site advertises.
Reid said he takes about 20 percent and workers keep the rest.
"I'm making ends meet," he said. "I'm not making lots of money, but I'm covering the expenses. It's still early days."
