My occasional cleaners came to do the house yesterday and used water on a varnished parquet hallway. The wood is now stained dark in patches as the water has seeped between the wooden blocks and not been able to evaporate. It'll cost a lot to get it rectified. (We once a had small leak from a radiator and the stains from that remains, although in a much smaller and more discrete place than where the cleaners have damaged the floor).
The cleaners actually said to me, when I returned from being out, having left them, as usual, to get on with things, "I know you've said you don't like us to use water here but it looked so dirty...." At the time, I just muttered OK, not realising the damage caused and they'd already done it by then.
There were other things that were not so good, that had distracted me from this main thing - like they'd arrived 45 minutes early and were rather surly as I couldn't let them in yet - having just sat down for lunch with the family and not tidied up enough for them to work.
They'd sat in their car, chain smoking right outside the house/open windows and weren't pleased when I had to make them wait another 15 minutes - although still much much earlier than I'd wanted them there. They're a couple and they'd brought their grown up 'son', although I don't think he's even registered with the company they work for, who isn't good at all at cleaning etc etc.
Before they left, I had to point out some really obvious things that they'd not done but which I'd particularly asked them to do - thick, thick dust on carpets round furniture, entire area of kitchen floor not cleaned at all etc etc. Once they'd gone, I then saw far more stuff undone - had to reclean the bathrooms and vacuum everywhere.
I'm by no means a perfectionist, so it's not that I have unusually high standards. I've had to do this before with them but sort of accept this. They insist on using their own vacuum cleaner, rather than my more powerful one and I don't think it sucks up the dirt efficiently. They seem use a whole roll of my kitchen roll to 'clean' surfaces rather than the sponges I'd bought specially for them to use and that were obviously there with all the other cleaning materials.
I guess I'm less than satisfied with the company anyway but am not sure whether to take it any further re. the floor damage - or just dump the company. I have little time for major hassles but am feeling angry today and wonder if I should complain?
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Cleaning company - should I pursue damages?
18 replies
BlogOnTheTyne · 14/10/2012 09:35
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