I’m shocked to hear that she only charges you $50!! I know you say you have a small house, but I’ve never heard of a price that low. We have a 2000 sq. foot house (so, not huge, but not tiny) and pay $100 biweekly for our cleaning lady. I don’t know if offering her more money would help, or if you’re better off finding someone else? But yeah, for $50 I wouldn’t expect much. Funny that that’s what she said she’d do it for. She could probably charge $100 without even doubling her time there, and do a much better job. Definitely try to figure something out. You should come home on cleaning lady days, walk into your house, and feel awesome about how it looks!! Good luck.
Unfortunately, that has been my experience, as well. Maybe you are being too friendly and familiar with her. Make her think that you’re nice but scary if crossed.
I was going to suggest that you leave her a checklist. Type out a form with checkboxes and details, and make copies. For each session, write the date on top. Put the first one in her hand and explain your expectations. Depending on your relationship, you might want to create space on there for your comments following each task and leave it for her.
I don’t get the logic that nobody will clean your house like you will. If they are getting paid to do it and that’s what they do and they don’t have to do it between other tasks like minding children and cooking and working a separate full-time job, then I DO expect them to do it better than I ever would. Otherwise, they are in the wrong line of work. I can half-ass clean my own house.
I think you need to understand the distinction between “not having it done exactly the way you would do it” and “not having it done at all”.
At my job, I am expected to help my clients. If I respond to a client, giving them advice as is my job, and my boss thinks she would have done it differently, fine. All great minds will have different ideas. However, if I just completely ingore a client, I should be terminated.
Your cleaning lady simply not cleaning your daughter’s room (or not dusting the entire thing) is completely unacceptable since she knows that is expected. She isn’t doing her job, period.
I have had 4 cleaning ladies in the past. One of them did what they were supposed to, and I was devistated when she moved out of state. The others, I would come home and something wouldn’t be done. So I knew I wasn’t expecting too much, since the “good” one did what was expected and didn’t complain, and did it at the same price the others charged who weren’t doing as well. She also did it the “right” way consistently for over a year.
I encourage you to not give up. There is good help out there. And you deserve if you are paying for something like that to have it done well. If she dusts and misses a spot, unlike you would do, let it go. Not dusting at all, not ok. She shouldn’t have quoted you $50 after you told her what you wanted done if she didn’t intend to do it.
And I agree, this has been my experience also. That doesn’t mean it is ok, nor does it mean there aren’t people out there who will do it the right way. I encourage you to let her go and find someone who will provide you that much needed peace when you come home. I work full time with 3 children and it is so extremely disappointing and stressful to come home from work after the cleaning lady has been there to see things not done. Don’t allow someone to do that to you. You are paying them.
The conversation prior to hiring my current cleaning lady went like this:
“I need someone who can do the deeper stuff, as that is what I don’t have time to do. I can sweep quickly and run a rag over the countertop, but I need someone who can get under the furniture dust all rooms, etc.” I then proceeded to demonstrate how easy it was for me, 5’7" 125lbs and not that strong to move the couch just enough to clean under it (it slides super easy on the hardwood). I asked if that would be a problem for her to do. She assured me it wouldn’t. I paid her $110 for 2300 sq feet.
I have yet to have under my couch cleaned among many other things and she was hired a year ago. She has recently been terminated.
Ps - I don’t have a cleaning lady right now, I gave up and just started doing it myself. =(
From what I can tell, most cleaning ladies have some jobs that they do every single time they come, and other jobs that they do occasionally or as-needed. For example, kitchens and bathrooms are done each visit, but windows, dusting picture frames or high up places are done every few visits.
If there are things that you absolutely want done every time, tell her again. When you discussed it the first time, she may have misunderstood and thought that is what you wanted that day, not always. Dusting every other week is great, but I know plenty of people who do it less frequently, so she may think it’s only necessary every other visit. Tell her if you need it done each time.
As for the expectations, her cleaning won’t necessarily be worse, it will just be different. My cleaning lady is great at actually cleaning - the bathrooms, kitchen, floors, etc are perfectly clean after she leaves (I’m a terrible cleaner so I know she does it better than I would). But, she moves things around and puts things away in the wrong places and that is my biggest frustration. So just remember, the more things you leave out, the more things she may hide away. : ) Sometimes it takes us a few days to track things down!
Well, I stink at cleaning, so anything is an improvement. But…my experience with cleaning people, they do a great job the first few times and then they slack off each time after that. I usually ended up with a new one every few months for this reason.
I you want constancy, hire a company with a cleaning crew, but be prepared to pay more money..
$50. for two people and every other week.. is cheap..
Unfortunately, I have to agree with your hair stylist.
Years ago when I had two babies (15 months and a newborn) I hired help for a few months. It was a corporate cleaning company ( I honestly don’t remember the name) and when they started coming they did a great job. They came once a week and had a checklist of what needed to be cleaned. A whole team of ladies came in and I paid $120.00 wkly. Well one week they came in and I was there while they did the cleaning. I heard the team “leader” say “You don’t have to wipe down the master bath, it already looks clean.” Yeah it looks clean, that’s because we are not slobs! Then the following week they came in and I heard her say “You don’t need to vacuum the master bedroom or any of the upstairs, it looks done.” They even knew I was there and I could hear them. That week I called the manager and told them my complaints and cancelled my service. Two weeks in a row they didn’t do something that I was paying them to do because I was keeping the house semi-clean on my own. But they weren’t giving me a discount!! Well now I’m just rambling, I was so upset that I couldn’t count on a professional cleaning service to come in and do what they were being paid to do that I will never hire someone again. I know I can do a better job doing it myself!!!
You get what you pay for. $50? Send her to me!
Well, your MIL’s take on the situation is pretty accurate. I’ve used a number of different cleaning people in the past (small companies, individual people, large companies, etc) and it’s exactly as you’ve described.
They start out GREAT! OMG, my house SPARKLES! This is AWESOME! Then after a while, it’s like, Hmm…this rug hasn’t been touched. But the rest of it is still AWESOME, so I’ll let it slide.
Several months later and it’s like did they not see all the fingerprints on the fridge? And what’s with the bathroom mats crumpled in the hallway? Why didn’t they put them back? Ugh, there’s still soap scum on the shower door.
Then I start trying to find ways to bring it up with them, but it’s hard because I’m shy and don’t like confrontation. So I just clean the parts they miss.
If you’re anal about having your house perfectly clean, the ONLY person you can count on is yourself.
Sorry hon, but if she were my cleaning lady, she would have been let go of after the first 3 times of this.
It’s just not true that people get worse. Only bad employees do that. I had wonderful ladies who worked with me for 2 years and they were GREAT. I would have kept them if I hadn’t moved. I have a wonderful lady now (after firing one after two weeks). If I hadn’t continued to expect good work, I wouldn’t have found the lady who I have now.
Keep looking. It’s worth paying more money to have a good cleaner.
Oh, she brings her sister with her so there are actually two people that come in. I have no idea how long they stay since I’m not home.
ETA: Yes, she does know what needs to be done. We verbally discussed it and then her first visit I left her a check list. She took that with her the first time, but I do think it’s a good idea to leave one each week and ask her to check off each item on each room. I like that.
Oh and she has all the tools, I leave them out for her each time she comes and I provide the cleaning supplies.
We have set no time frame for the cleaning. As long as it takes is my thinking. I didn’t offer her the rate we’re at, she suggested the rate and I readily agreed. Also, she added in the sister coming with her after we agreed to the price and terms.
We are a family of 3.