to think my cleaners should get my house clean in 3 hours?

[Bigbaubles]

I really might be BU but I don't have enough experience in this area to know if I am or not!
I have cleaners (agency) once a fortnight, 2 cleaners for 1.5 hours, ie 3 man hours. I have 5 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and one reception room. The 3 hours was how long the agency decided it would take. Having never actually cleaned my house from top to bottom I had no idea how long it would take
I have OCD am quite minimalist and tidy so the surfaces are always clear. There's no tidying for them to do, or ironing, though I do ask that they change my bed. It's mostly just a case of hoovering and dusting.
Lately I have come back to find obvious things not done.
I have raised this issue wih the agency before and asked if the problem is that they need more time. They say no, 3 hours is fine for a thorough clean. Manager of agency seemed to think anything being missed was unacceptable and last time offered me a partial refund or to get the cleaners to come back and do the bits they'd missed. I don't want to be a slave driver but I don't want to be taken for a ride either.
Other relevant info may be that I pay £13ph and I have on more than one occasion come back from work early to find they have gone without staying all the time they are paid to do.
I have guests this evening and am a bit cheesed off to find I will have to get the vacuum cleaner and duster out myself as the stuff that's missed is so glaringly obvious. I am tempted to call the agency and say stick it, I'm going elsewhere.
But AIBU?

oh gosh yes completely agree, but then that's kind of what hapened to me/them - they found me on here and not recommended at all! yikes!

I am honest, honestly!!

I don't have a cleaner but have a 5 bed house. I would think that 3 hours on a regular basis should get it clean, especially if you are a tidy person ( I'm not!) Cleaners can vary. When we stayes in Center Parcs, there was one couple who used to clean who did a lovely job in 30 minutes.When the other couple would come, it wasn't half as good.

I think there are 2 issues here.

First, yes, I feel they should be able to clean your house to a reasonable standard in 3 man-hours. It probably wont be super super clean everywhere all the time, but in theory it can be done, perhaps without pulling out sofas, etc, but a good regular agency clean will achieve a situation where something they did "quickly" last week they do more thoroughly next week, etc, so in theory it should be do-able if you have reasonably realistic expectations. Have they ever done it? Because that's a good clue, if they once used to achieve it and now dont, then its an attitude thing.

Which brings me to the 2nd point, attitude, and leaving early. Some cleaners will be tempted to do this if you are not around and the only way to avoid it is make a point of being there when they arrive and leave or to pull them up on the lack of standards, or catch them out. Thing is, if this is an issue then it makes the "is 3 hours enough" thing tricky because if you throw some money at the problem and pay them for 4 hours, it will be no cleaner, but you will be paying more for the same.

So its really a case of, have they ever done it? If so, they need to keep doing it to keep your custom. If they have never quite achieved it, you could pay an extra hour and make sure you enforce that extra hour and learn what standard can be achieved and make sure they maintain it...

TD I am sorry you're having this hassle. It's taken me 15 years and 8 cleaners to get a decent one. I find that you can either clean properly or you haven't got a clue, no grey areas. I used to put the issues down to the presence of 5 ppl in our house, despite my OCD/extreme tidiness & cleanliness, thinking that dust is basically human skin cells ... but all of them were great for the first few weeks (including agencies) then gradual degrees of rubbish. Now the DCs are grown and away we thought we'd try again ... first agency was a pi**take, £50 for a basic clean which was not exactly perfect - so we kept trying, changed to a lovely lady I found through contacts at the school where I teach, and she is WONDERFUL - £40 cash for four hours, absolutely thorough (5 beds, 3 bathrooms, 4 receptions). She loves is because the place is tidy and clean when she arrives - but she gives it that lovely extra four hours of thoroughness it needs even with just the two of us, out at work all day. I'm so pleased that we kept trying, didn't accept second best and have finally found a decent one. I think lots of ppl's perception of 'clean' is not the same as those of us with OCD !

I have one cleaner for three hours once a week (2 bed 1 bathroom + 1 toilet but large downstairs + ironing) and she does probably a lot less than yours but she is good and thorough, so I'd say three hours was pushing it for your cleaners. The agency may well have underestimated what was necessary.