To sack the cleaner after coming home and crying my eyes out

[OlderMummy1]

I had a cleaner for 6 months when I was pregnant as I had hyperemesis, severe PGP and a 2 year old. She was fantastic! We have a modest 3 bed semi and she used to get it all cleaned and a basket of ironing done in 3 hours. I paid her £10 an hour. She worked for herself and had insurance, references, CRB etc.

3 weeks ago her father became very ill and needed full time care so she had to give up work. Since then I have been looking for someone else as I am struggling to the point of depression with a refluxy newborn. Just surviving the day is an achievement for me let alone doing the housework.

I have found it hard to find anyone. Everyone I found who was self employed had no insurance and no references. To be honest, some came across as quite dodgy. So then I thought I would go through an agency. It is a national one so seemed good. They found someone for me and she came today. I decided to have 3 hours clean and 1 hour iron as I know my last cleaner was superwoman and I didn't want it to be unmanageable. Also, as it was her 1st time here I didn't leave any ironing to be done as it's always slower when you don't know the house and we did have 3 weeks of dirt.

We don't have pets and mainly have laminate floor so it doesn't get too dirty apart from the usual mess with 2 kids. I'm also not a clean freak, as long as it's done reasonably well then I'm happy.

Well! I just walked through the door after a long day at the hospital with the newborn trying to get his medication sorted out and I honestly thought we had been burgled!

The dining room table was crooked with all the seats pushed back, the coffee table was at a 90 degree angle to where it usually is , a highchair is blocking a doorway, 2 kitchen cupboards are wide open, the Hoover is half pushed back in the cleaning cupboard so the door won't shut and she's left a note saying she's broken a vase (wedding gift) and that she didn't have time to do any bedrooms! As I walked around in shock I slipped on a duster she had left in the middle of the floor and fell over with the baby in my arms. I couldn't save myself, only him, so have now got 2 very painful knees.

My husband has just got home and I've cried!

I don't want her to come again but I feel bad about sacking her. She only gets £27 for 4 hours, the agency gets the rest - it doesn't seem enough really. Maybe I am deluded as to how much can be done in 4 hours and our last cleaner was a one off.

Am I?

I used to cleana massive houSe in 2 hours- often did other specific bits and bobs required. (I got paid less than that too) A basket of irnoning would generally take longer than and hour though tbh. (Depending in whAt is in it)

Anway! The fact is she didnt do well at all, phone and complain. Awful. I hope your lo reflux is ok now?

I am really shocked how she left things lying about. What's wrong with people?

YANBU

She didn't do what she's paid to do, and your contract is with the agency and not with her. You are perfectly right to call them and complain, and ask for a new cleaner.

Sorry this happened, how disappointing!

in terms of insurance you don't have insurance to clean your house

I hope the agency respond well to your complaint. It should be even more important to them that you are happy.

curiousgesrgie
I live in a village in South Wales

little the OP has a two ear old and newborn with reflux you insensitive boot! Back in the day extended family would be helping her clean and rear the kids whilst she bf etc.

It is only in this daysnd age women are expected so much of. This comes from someone go used to clean!

Feel free to get a new cleaner, but when you do, bear in mind that they may be a bit slow for their first couple of visits because it takes a bit of time to get used to a strange vacuum, learn the layout, read the back of your cleaning products etc. I'd expect most cleaners to have sped up by the third visit.

Phone the agency and ask for another cleaner to come out and clean for free

That's the benefit of using an agency.

Crikey! This is making me rethink our agency cleaner! She does 3hrs fortnightly in out 2 bed terrace for £11ph (we have a small baby and I'm currently on mat leave, so I keep it tidy and do top-ups so it's never really a grimy build-up!).

Last time I came home to the vacuum cleaner in the middle of our bedroom, cleaning products left out in the bathroom (they're all kept in the cupboard in the kitchen), no shelves in the bedrooms dusted, all skirting boards and along the edge of the stairs were all dusty (I always include these things on my list of things I specifically need doing). I can also see where she never vacuums under chairs or the dining table.

This is the second cleaner from the agency, the first was pretty hopeless and wanted to come in the evening, which doesn't work for us with family time when DH gets in from work and we have the baby's bedtime.

I need to find an independent cleaner, don't I? What do you do about their insurance though? To me that's the big benefit of an agency.

I am in Shropshire too and I have a cleaner for our 3 bed bungalow. She comes for between two and two and a half hours and I pay her £20. She cleans (dusts, hoovers, washes floors and surfaces and bathroom) the whole house except for our bedroom which I prefer to do myself. No ironing as I only do the minimum. Once a month she does the windows inside as well. I have never had a single complaint about her. She works for herself and also cleans the church, the bank and some other private houses. Most pay her 7.50 an hour but I choose to pay more.

Did that make you feel better, Littletigers? Have you had your Insensitive Flakes for breakfast?

Littletigers, ODFOD. Can't imagine what you thought you were adding to the thread there.

OP, yanbu. Ring the agency and refuse to have her back. My first attempt at a cleaner took 5 hours for the downstairs of a 3 bed semi, made the house stink of fags, and left a bottle of bleach on the floor where my toddler could reach it. That was what I sacked her for, Not the terrible cleaning.

It would have taken your lady three minutes to put the chairs back and close the cupboards, but she didn't so she can't be that desperate for the job.

littletigers DFOD, the OP has enough on her plate without unhelpful PA comments.

Older Concentrate on getting yourself & baby into a better place, you sound shattered. Hand the responsibility for the cleaner back to the agency who are used to dealing with this sort of thing & really need the honest feedback of their clients to keep up the quality of staff they are supposedly employing. Sometimes you need to go through several cleaners before you find one that "fits" you & your family & it's not always the one with the best paper refs/ insurance etc. Word of mouth is your best bet, ask around.

Yes I would contact the agency to tell her not to come anymore, she sounds below standard.

Little tigers that is uncalled for, if you cannot comment appropriately, don't comment at all. Op has a lot of problems at the moment and sounds very down.

I think OP's demand for insurance must be a huge barrier. Most cleaners are PT & casuals, can't afford business insurance.

If I was a mn moderator I would suspend LittleTigers for that comment.

On littletiger's reckoning presumably we should all be milling our own flour to bake bread and spinning wool (from sheep we've shorn) to knit clothes

I think it's fine to subcontract stuff you don't want to do, don't have time to do or aren't good at. You do need to treat people decently. That doesn't mean putting up with rubbish service.

I think it's definitely worth complaining to the agency.

Hi everyone, thanks for the advice. I am going to give the agency a call (or get DH to do it when he is back from working away tomorrow). Today I have to go and as the minister to sort my nan's funeral for Tuesday so I can't face dealing with it today.

I do really need some help at the moment, hence getting a cleaner. If I could afford one I would get a nanny in for a while to help me as I am in such a mess. Little one has absolutely no routine whatsoever and we are struggling h through on about 3 hours sleep a night. He is so different to my 2 year old who put herself into a lovely routine at 3 months and has slept 12 hour nights since she was 6 months.

Maybe I need a new thread for advice on sorting myself out.

Fuck off littletigers - if it's so easy, why don't you go and clean the OP's house for free

I have an 18 month old and a 5 month old. I've got a ckeaner for 5 hours a week. I trust her so much, that she looks after my DS for two hours a week too so I can pop out if needs be

In her 5 hours, she cleans all of a 5 bedroom house and does one hour of ironing. The ckeaning includes changing beds, taking out recycling etc and putting away clean washing

During the 2 hours she looks after DS, she will often give the kitchen a quick clean if she gives him his lunch - even though I have never asked her to do that

older - is there anything we can do to help you on this thread? Would save you having to start a new one. You said that you had been to the hospital with your LO. Reflux? That's hard

It's great that OP wants to employ somebody (a cleaner), if she can afford it, why not? We need more employment in the UK, not less, especially at the relatively low skill end. Hope you find a better cleaner soon, OlderMummy1.

OlderMummy, you are doing a brilliant job! You've had a lot thrown at you, the last thing you need is someone not doing the job they are paid to do. You trusted them and they've let you down badly.

Do as nearly everyone here has said, go for recommendations for the next cleaner. But, a messy house isn't the end of the world when you're dealing with everything you have on your plate. Be kind to yourself and don't worry, it'll get sorted.

Unacceptable level of service, get your money back and never have the individual return. Second, damage should also be paid for, no question. They are insured. Thirdly, have you tried advertising locally? You might also speak to a local school to see who they use.