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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be a bit miffed with my cleaner?

70 replies

Whirliwig72 · 15/01/2013 17:34

My new cleaner started for 2 hours today but I don't feel she got much done. I was out for the time they were here and in that time they:
Washed kitchen floor, emptied dishwasher, cleaned surfaces in kitchen, unloaded dishwasher and re-loaded it, loaded and unloaded (washing machine) loaded and unloaded tumble dryer (folded clothes) and gave play room a cursory once over. Looking on my computer history they were also on Facebook during the time :(. I pay £10 an hour - I think i've received poor value for money but just wanted to check before I text her. Have I been ripped off? - this is my first time using a cleaner.

OP posts:
WipsGlitter · 15/01/2013 17:54

Terrible. Unless you want her to do the dishwasher, washing and tumble drier stuff then tell her to leave it. It's not really cleaning is it? I would expect a good clean done in that time. Facebook thing is ridiculous. Get a different cleaner.

flossy101 · 15/01/2013 17:54

Re amount of work done, did you set out your expectations on what you would like her to prioritise in the time?

Not acceptable to ask to use your computer on her first day!

deleted203 · 15/01/2013 17:55

I'm sorry, but I don't think she should have been on the computer at all, personally. That is taking the piss when someone is paying you for 2 hours cleaning. Why would you have a genuine need to go on someone's computer for anything, when you are supposed to be working? Whatever it was that she desperately needed she should have done it in her own time. Not yours.

I have a cleaner for 2 hours a week. We have a large house and in that time she manages to hoover the whole of the downstairs, tidy living room, clean kitchen and two bathrooms, mop all floors downstairs and often does random things like clean grubby lightswitches if she has time. So I don't reckon yours has done much at all.

DeepRedBetty · 15/01/2013 17:55

If you didn't give her a list of jobs and the order in which you'd like them done you can't complain about her not reaching the bathroom. But I do think she should have managed more.

And regarding her being on your computer, that time should never have been billed to you, whether it was FB or sorting out some issue. It was work or pleasure for herself, not you.

ZZZenAgain · 15/01/2013 17:55

tell her that you weren't happy with it. Outline what you need her to do, ask her if she thinks she would manage that in 2 hours. If so, give her another chance since she comes so highly recommended.

When she is there, ask her not to use the computer in future. You don't need to give any explanation. I think it might be good to be there once or twice when she is working so you know what is happening. Thing is you don't know really if you can trust her, if she is using your pc for facebook, what else is she doing?

Original poster
Whirliwig72 · 15/01/2013 17:56

Yes she asked if she could use the computer (quickly) for something urgent. If more work had been I would not have had a problem its just with the amount she'd done (far less than I would have hoped) I'm tempted to imagine she spent a good part of her two hours FB-ing :(

Oh I hate confrontation but I'm going to have to talk to her aren't I?

OP posts:
dixiechick1975 · 15/01/2013 17:56

I wouldn't be happy.

Mine came today for 2 hours £10 an hour. She has cleaned my kitchen and bathrooms (we have 4 toilets!), vacuumed and eg cushions plumped so it is nice to come back to.

Dishwasher/dryer is not something I would want doing.

Re load dishwasher implies there were dirty pots about. I make sure we have a good tidy before she comes - I pay her to clean not tidy.

schoolchauffeur · 15/01/2013 17:57

But I don't understand why you would even set her up as a "guest" in your PC? Why does she need to use it?

My cleaner comes with her sister so I have two of them for 1.5 hours- so three woman hours of cleaning and in that time they clean two bathrooms, 1 cloakroom, the kitchen, sitting room, TV room and usually one or two bedrooms depending on who is at home.

They do a great job and sometimes I am here sometimes not, but the standard is always the same. I don't get her to do things like load dishwasher/put way or laundry as I think its a waste of her time.

I don't think what she achieved in two hours for you was good value.

idococktailshedoesbeer · 15/01/2013 17:57

We pay our lovely cleaner the same for two hours a week. She does:

Full clean of kitchen, including some washing up, bit of dishwasher stacking
Full clean of bathroom
Cleans lounge and main bedroom
Empties bins
Mops floors
Vacuums carpets
Changes bedlinen in main bedroom, spare room when needed

She doesn't do laundry. But I still think yours seems to have done a lot less. And the computer thing is pretty cheeky considering it's the first time she's been. Ours is always on her phone but she multitasks and cleans at the same time!

Samnella · 15/01/2013 17:58

I would call it quits. If she's going on FB now what she going to be like in the future.

ZZZenAgain · 15/01/2013 17:58

don't do confrontation if you don't like it.

Say what I need done in the time you are here is : ...... Can you manage that?

You can plug your pc out or you can tell her there was a virus after she used it last time, could she tell you which sites she accessed, you are having problems getting it fixed. That will put the wind up.

cozietoesie · 15/01/2013 17:59

Yes, you should be talking to her - but bearing in mind that as you seem to have no usage monitoring software, you have no idea how much time she spent on it. It might have been only a minute or so.

Clear the air and if you still want her to do your place, agree a proper schedule.

ToomuchWaternotWine · 15/01/2013 18:01

She's taking the piss, totally. I would bin, but if you want to give her one more chance then write out a list of stuff to be done. Say explicitly to leave laundry/dishwasher if you want and prioritise bathrooms/whatever. Try to stay home next time if you can. But yes she is a chancer I think! Anything mega urgent could have been done on her phone in her own time, surely, why would she need fb??

cathers · 15/01/2013 18:02

I wouldn't be happy either. It appears she did strange jobs rather than cleaning . I would ask for either a refund or time in leiu for the computing time she took and print out a list of jobs for her to do in her 2 hours.

In 2 hours ours Hoovers floors and skirtings of all 3 bedrooms and lounge, cleans the kitchen, cleans 2 bathrooms and mops any hard floor. All rooms dusted and polished too. I wouldn't get her to touch the dishwasher or laundry.

cozietoesie · 15/01/2013 18:04

She might have had no phone credit or something.

That aside, the OP doesn't know how long she was on it - and she did ask to use the computer and received permission.

If she's a lousy cleaner, then she should be let go for that reason.

EuroShagmore · 15/01/2013 18:09

I find the internet use really odd.

I think she did quite a lot, but it's not what I would want my cleaner to prioritise (the washing and dishwasher I can do myself in the evenings - I want mine to actually clean and iron). We have a cleaner for 4 hrs a week. She's not brilliant, but pretty trustworthy and reliable, so we stick with her. In the 4 hrs she:

Irons everything we want ironed for the week (for 2 of us)
Puts new sheets on the main bed (we take the old ones off)
Hoovers
Mops hard floors (but not every week I think)
Cleans kitchen surfaces and sink
Cleans two bathrooms and two toilets
Dusts a bit (but this is her real weak point)

None of it is particularly dirty as it is a two adult household. We also make sure that she has as clear a run at things as possible, so we tidy away shoes or whatever, so she doesn't have to stop to move them when hoovering. She doesn't do everything quite as thoroughly as I would like, but gives it a decent enough once over.

CloudsAndTrees · 15/01/2013 18:12

That sounds like the work of about half an hour to forty five minutes to me.

There isn't a shortage of cleaners, get another one.

nextphase · 15/01/2013 18:13

2 hrs gets the whole house clean at £10/h. No dishwasher / washing machine / tumbling of clothes tho.
Shock at asking to use the computer. What can't wait 2 hrs or get done before you leave?

EuroShagmore · 15/01/2013 18:14

Oh yes, ours empties the bins and recycling box too.

maddening · 15/01/2013 18:15

Kitchen floor 10 mins
Dishwasher 2 unloads and 1 load - 20 mins
Laundry - 20 mins
Playroom - 30 mins (being generous)

How many cleaners are there? Is it 1 cleaner? For 1 person that's max 1 hr 20 mins work.

DeepRedBetty · 15/01/2013 18:23

EuroShagmore unless you have her ironing your knickers that's not very much in four hours!

littlewhitebag · 15/01/2013 19:10

I had a cleaner for my previous house (4 bedroom). In that time she could dust whole house, hoover whole house, clean all (4) bathrooms, clean kitchen and mop floors. I didn't want her to do washing/dishwasher tasks. I would complain to the agency. If she is not an agency cleaner - sack her and go to a good agency.

Tryharder · 15/01/2013 19:18

I was going to say YANBU but given that you had given her permission to go onto your computer, I don't see that you can complain. She may have been doing something trivial but again, she might have accessed or sent an important message.

So in that respect YABU.

But YANBU with regard to the tiny amount of work she did. In that time, I would expect the kitchen and bathrooms to be done well and for her to have hoovered the whole house as well as unloading the dryer etc which incidentally I wouldn't consider to be a cleaner's job.

Unless of course you have 5 bathrooms and live in a mansion!

RuleBritannia · 15/01/2013 19:20

So she used your computer, albeit with permission, but you don't know how long she was on it. If I were in your boots, I would look at my itemised telephone bill and see if any calls were made during the time your 'cleaner' was in your house! If there are any, how long were they for and what was the cost?

BackforGood · 15/01/2013 19:21

I'm very surprised you didn't
a) agree a list of what you would like to be done, or at least, leave a 'suggestion list' in order of what you wanted doing most
b) arrange for her to come when you could be there the first time
c) express surprise as to why she thought it acceptable to use your computer during her work hours.... surely if - as others have suggested ^ - she has a page for her business to check into, then she would have a mobile phone that can access the internet ? Confused Any other urgent message (sick relative, etc.) could be told she was at work so please send a text. there can't really be a good reason for being expected to be allowed to go on an employer's computer when you are being employed for just 2 hours to clean.