Cleaning

I think a lit of cleaners especially if not from an agency start off going great guns in order to keep the job then the cutting corners sets in. DIL has a cleaner who I woukd sack and have said this time and time again. DIL's response is that given the size of the house she knows an agency would want twice as much. The current cleaner is paid 50% above basic hourly rate for 3 hours! What she does I have done in half the time when I have been looking after GS and cleaner on holiday. Make a written schedule for your cleaner and give her an estimate if how long you woukd take to do the tasks. Does this match with her estimate. This shoukd show up why she is managing to leave early.

sorry that should have read £45. for one & half hour. not three hours

I would mention it as she may not have noticed or forgotten ❤️

I would go through a cleaning agency rather than word of mouth or pot luck with a private cleaner, then you pass the issue over to them if you feel unable to deal with it yourself.

Sadly, complacently creeps in and it starts well and finishes badly. Mine was always late ..late on her first day even, we are talking 20 minutes late when she lived 10 minutes away and she never made the time up. Her work was acceptable ...the house stunk of bleach which is ok but after a while you wonder why a whole bottle goes in one day!
Unfortunately, I found she used to run all her other 'clients' down and I realised I must be on the list also and when I overheard her on her phone talking about me by using a nickname which was blatantly rude(and yes I know it was about me)the time to part company came. She was also doing other jobs in my time. Found that out by accident when I came home early to find her car parked down the road and waited for her to come out!She was quite upset and I tried to do the decent thing and let her down gently saying I was no longer able to afford her. She said I've never left a job without them having died. That was the last straw,I told her straight she wasn't up to par and I paid for work not idle chit chat, lack of confidentiality and downright fiddling her work times. I later found out she had 8 clients and declared no income!
Since then I've got a lovely young mum who works around my timetable and hers and always does the full amount. What a difference! There are excellent people out but there are also scammers!

I've had 2 different cleaners and neither were any good. The first just wanted to chat to me all the time about her domestic problems so after 3 weeks I let her go. Then I went to an agency. First week was perfect. Second week she left 20mins early and forgot to do the kitchen. Third week arrived 10mins late left 20mins early, stairs top 6 hovered and rest left, kitchen not touched, bathroom half done etc etc. Have now given up and manage as best I can. If you get a good one pay them extra to keep them, otherwise stop wasting money if you can manage on your own.

I'm afraid it seems as if complacency has set in and it will only go downhill from here. Yes, it's difficult to have 'a wee word' with her and will very probably leave an atmosphere, of sorts.

Maybe move on to a new cleaner?

Exactly why I have given up with cleaners. I have always worked on the principle that I treat others as I would like to be treated myself, but no more. We get off to a flying start and both seem to understand what’s needed then slowly but surely things tail off leaving me feeling cross and uncomfortable in my own home - do I say something or not? I am not a shrinking violet but dread the inevitable sulky interview. I wonder how stupid they think I am - do they imagine I won’t notice they have merely mopped round the cat’s food bowl when the floor beneath is scattered with old food, the breakages concealed, or their trimming of time at either end of their booking will go unnoticed.
Nowadays I keep on top of the kitchen and barhroom daily and do a room/area in rotation and instead I got a chap to mow the lawn to save time.

wow, this an eye opening thread!
I am actually employed by a well know "Charity for the elderly" as a Home helper (cleaner really) I take great pride in my job, and personally I would want to know if my client had any issue that they needed to address so long as it is discussed appropriately (nicely!) then I would not have an issue.
It is the salaries quoted which surprised me! I earn WAY less than some of the posts above, and I charge two of private clients £10 per hour.

My friend has a cleaner through an agency and this works well as you can ask the agency to speak to the cleaner if you're dissatisfied.

It is perhaps more expensive to have a cleaner through an agency so I suppose you have to weigh up pros and cons.

I used an agency to take on a cleaner. That way, they are insured and if I'm not satisfied I can notify the employers about it. Two young women come for an hour every two weeks which is enough for my small house and it saves wear and tear on my ageing joints!

I would ask her why she is leaving early. After all you are paying her for a certain number of hours which she isn't fulfilling.

If she needs to be somewhere else, then try to re-arrange her schedule so you get the hours you are paying for, otherwise tell her you will be deducting the time she owes you from her pay.

Ask her too why certain jobs have been left undone. She may think she has done them satisfactorily, but you don't so you need to discuss the matter.

If you say nothing, she can't know you are dissatisfied.

I have a very funny cleaner! She lurches from one crisis to another in her life or else is whizzing off on holiday. I pay the same as when she first started with me £9:00 ph.
She is swoops round cleans 2 x bathrooms, the kitchen/ diner & cloakroom. She vacuums and dusts 2 living rooms / 4 bedrooms & finally mops the wooden floors all in 3 hours. She is not perfect but who cares..I am not doing it..& I am certainly not perfect!

Thank you, much appreciate everyone’s comments, I did talk to her today, she didn’t really have a reason for leaving early than everything was done, so I gently explained that there were some bits that hadn’t been done, she then asked for a pay rise ! She’s doing 4 hours today. Then we are going to part ways. Ref agencies. I had used them in the past, but discovered that the staff were often being paid little more than the minimum wage, but I wanna paying double that. So I’m off to DIY, and a couple of jobs a day in rotation should keep it under control. Thanks again my first ever forum post and I found the response really helpful.

PECS. Your cleaner sounds such fun and a hard worker so pay her more !!

I think you ought to have a chat with her. l used to clean for several people but we always discussed what was required and what was priority. I was friends with all my clients but work was work and that came first.

No 1 is she trust worthy more important than anything else but if u can't stand the way she does things not much you can do to change her ways without wearing yourself out in which case look around for replacement.

Msoz.
I'm glad you got it all sorted out , you'll be feeling a bit happier now . Happy DIY ing !

PECS - mopping wooden floors? - ours are parquet and I have yet to find a good way to clean them- any hint of wet on them leaves water marks.

It is a bit of coincidence that today I have employed a cleaner! I used to have one years ago when the children were small and I was at work, but find it hard to justify when I am retired. But then I thought to hell with it - I can use some of the attendance allowance.

So new lady today who lives just down the road and has children at the school down the road. She has done her first two hours today - we have a large living/dining room and she has "bottomed it out" - the big sofas have been moved for the first time in (blushes with shame) years and she has scrubbed the inside of the big windows and cleaned all the surrounds and ledges - it looks just great! I hope very much that it continues to be so!

She is asking £10 an hour and she brings hr own cleaning materials - I feel I ought to pay her a bit more really.

Cleaning lady lucky you. Did cleaning fir a teacher when I had two young babies. But she kept leaving more and more to do. Only did two hours a week. Gave it up in the end.

He who pays the Piper calls the tune! You're paying for a service which she has agreed to deliver. If she fails, you are perfectly entitled to change to someone who will!

I've never fancied the idea of a cleaner, and as I always find myself redoing things if someone else does it I think it would be a waste of money. I manage even if I do sit down to hoover. Cleaning takes me a while but tbh it also keeps me as active as I can be and I like a clean home.

Nanann2
Please be careful. Age UK sent a cleaner to my late eighty years old friend. Age UK do the background checks.

They became very close and she was a wonderful helpful girl. I spoke with her on the phone over numerous little problems my friend was having. She kept an eye out.

Not much useful cleaning got done but she did shopping and little odd jobs.

I'm 6hrs drive away and friend is housebound.
I'm sure many of you can guess the ending to this.
She was stealing large amounts of cash from my friend.
Also others clients.
She had a sob story about missing her late Mother.

Lots of tears from my friend, she will never trust anyone again.

*My friend is in her late eighties.
Still alive!
I've just phrased her as "my late eighty years old friend".