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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To expect cleaner to do more?

55 replies

Mum2onefabson · 07/12/2011 21:00

Hi
I am new here so please be gentle. I would appreciate some opinions so I can decide what to do.
We have recently hired a cleaner (5 weeks ago) and i am some what dissapointed with what she manages to do within the the two hours we pay her for.
She charges £10 an hour and comes for two hours each week.
We live in a typical 30's three bed house with two reception rooms, a downstairs loo and a conservatory. The house is very tidy and I move all clutter so she can clean and not tidy.
Today she has hoovered the lounge, dining room, hsl and one bedroom. Wiped kitchen surfaces/cleaned sink, mopped floor and cleaned the bathroom. No furniture/kitchen appliances have been moved and the hoovering is a rough job ie. not done round the edges. The bathroom tiles have not been touched although the sink and bath have been cleaned. The conservatory has not been done at all.
She does not enter two of the bedrooms at my request, one is my Son's and way too messy the other is a small box room which we hardly ever use so I don't see the point of cleaning it on a weekly basis. She also doesn't go in the downstairs loo, not sure why?
We have really stretched ourselves to be able to afford this and it is a real luxury so I wanted to feel really pleased with the end result but afer today I am so dissapointed and wonder if my expectations are too high?

OP posts:
candytuft63 · 08/12/2011 22:27

just to add...my standards are way much higher when i clean privately.i dont buff my taps..or tickle my skirting boards.

oksonowwhat · 13/12/2011 14:55

mosp i agree, it always takes me a few weeks to get used to cleaning a new house. Once you get in a routine you then have time to do the necessary stuff and then tackle the extra thing now and again.

But speak to her!!! I would always rather discuss problems or expectations than be moaned about!

porcamiseria · 13/12/2011 15:25

look she may be a crap cleaner. give her a list and if she does not do it, sack her

RomanChristingle · 13/12/2011 16:00

I've never had a cleaner but surely you should set out what you want doing before you take them on and ask if they can do it in the time you were thinking of/how long they will need. If they say they can do it in x hours and then don't then you have cause for complaint.

zipzap · 13/12/2011 16:33

Give her one more chance. Tell her that as her list hasn't materialised, you have created your own. I would also mention that you have spoken to other friends with cleaners to find out what most people think is reasonable because you don't feel that she has been doing very much nor is it up to the standards that she led you to believe she could deliver.

I would itemise everything you want doing, in reasonable detail. Eg for hoovering the lounge, I'd put shake out the rugs, hoover the floor including using the nozzle around the edges, put rugs back and Hoover, Hoover under one chair a week on a rotation basis so they are kept clean on an occasional basis. I'd also make sure you list anything that needs doing in order in the correct order - so dusting the room, window sills, bookcases, lamp, skirting boards etc before doing the hoovering otherwise you just know she will blame any bits on the fact you gave her the things to do in the wrong order.

Put every week stuff on there - definitely include bathrooms/loos/cloakroom - and also have a list of back up jobs that need to be done every other week or month or whatever.

Tell her that you can get through the weekly jobs in an hour and a half (assuming you can) and also tell her of any expectations you have re standards (eg hoovering mustn't leave any bits or edges unhoovered so you are setting your standards high.

She will either realise she has been rumbled and not want to hang around ( especially if you were going to get rid of her if she's not able to do it as you want) or she will pull her socks up and you will get the cleaner you want!

But you have a second chance to get in and set the standards you want, don't try to be nice and treat her like a mate, she has shown that left to her own devices you can't trust her to do enough so go for it. Easier said than done I know, but sit down and go through it with her with a cup of coffee and a biscuit and hopefully it will be good for both of you.

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