To wonder about Mumsnetters and their cleaners?

[MrWallet]

I notice quite a few posts on here with people sharing various gripes about their cleaners and their lack of satisfaction with their work. I wonder why they have so much difficulty talking it through with the cleaner? Is it because they fear the cleaner taking offence? Walking out? It is not as if there is a shortage of cleaners especially in the SE where I live.

You can always ask for what you want doing and then the cleaner can do their best to comply, allowing for detail work, eg. Skirting boards, cleaning behind furniture etc if it takes more time. Appreciate your thoughts on this.

Chipping accused the OP of being a man running a business and being dim and someone else used the old chestnut " welcome to MN "

Troll hunting in my book.

My first cleaner was amazing. I would have married her. Sadly she moved house so I lost her.
The next one was very rude, turned up and took the money without cleaning anything. Told her not to return after the first two weeks.
I've just done the same to the third cleaner after having had her for a few weeks because, to be frank, she cannot clean. I am a crap cleaner. If I wanted my house in that condition I'd do it myself and save myself the cash.

All of these were employed through the same company btw.

Am now in the market for a good cleaner. Again. Why can't my first cleaner come back, why oh why?!

The problem with advanced search is that a long term poster who name changes around a theme, eg TarkaTheOtter, TarkaHarryPotter etc can look like they have only made a few posts when actually they have a long posting history. It's quite easy to verify that in this case before calling the OP out.

I think the idea of a cleaner makes a lot of people feel uncomfortable. I think any job where you pay an individual directly is like this for me, it's too personal.

hahaha at 'still on your brooms from Halloween'

Worth reading the thread for that line.

As for the rest, dunno I don't have a cleaner.

Still on your brooms from Halloween was pretty spot on!

Fair play to the OP for that

Fastwindow, the op is the cleaner wondering how best to talk to her clients and where does it say shes never been in management? am I missing something here

No ssd i said my mum has never been in management so she finds it hard to direct her cleaners

No I didn't, poor grammar. Excuse me!!

Fail :(

It's awkward correcting someone who you are asking to do something that you can't be arsed to do yourself

MiddletonPink (not sure why you have singled ME out, but hey ho)

Chipping accused the OP of being a man running a business

Troll hunting in my book

How is that trollhunting?

The OP reads very 'mansplaining research'. Plenty of men post here, that's fine by me, but people are not allowed to post business/research threads in AIBU.

The OP gets 5 responses and then posts...

Typical hostile and paranoid responses from AIBU. Still on your brooms from Halloween?

OP if you have ASD and I have upset you I am genuinely sorry.

I am surprised that if you are a regular poster, you have chosen AIBU to start a thread like this, then responded so nastily after 5 replies.

Oh chipping I didn't know that about the business thing.

Agree with you- don't think you were trollhunting though. Just raised eyebrows over posting style iyswim.

In that case OP your choice of AIBU was truly terrible!!

I singled you out because your response stood out. For the wrong reasons.

And I didn't just single you out. I quoted someone else for saying " welcome to MN " to me that is suggesting someone isn't genuine.

TheGirlwiththeShittyTattoo

If we all did the stuff we can't be arsed with millions of people would be out of jobs.

Not just cleaners but also dog walkers, nannies, waiters, chefs in restaurants, hairdressers, cab drivers, beauticians, teachers - we could all be homeschooling.
List is long.

Don't put some jobs down.

We had a fantastic cleaning lady for many years. I don't think we ever told her to do anything, she came around, looked at our house and told us how many hours she thought it would take. Every week she cleaned everything that needed regular cleaning plus one one off task (like polishing the brass or cleaning the kitchen cupboards). Sometimes she put things away in different places than we did. Usually we just started doing it her way. She was lovely and I was sad to say goodbye to her when we moved house.

Would love to have a cleaner again but where we live now it's all companies and very expensive. Not that I begrudged paying our old cleaner at all, but it only takes our family two hours to clean the house so $100 a week seems a lot for the time saving and I would much rather liaise/get to know one person than a company.

sorry fastwindow, I misread you there.

Hi All. I am what was previously MrWallet and I think this has been a bit of a misunderstanding so here I am to explain. I think I have been on MN for about two years or so but remember the site was hacked, so I was advised to name change and password etc. Well I changed it to MrWalletwithMothsonBoard (in memory of a tight boyfriend) and as people called me MrWallet I shortened it recently. This is probably why I seemed like a newcomer and of course the name has a manly vibe.

Anyway, the only reason I posed the question as it seems a shame that people feel they cannot ask their cleaner what they want them to do. There really was no ulterior motive other than to wonder why. As I use my tablet I suppose I did not really elaborate enough on my reasons. Also I did not quite understand it was wrong to post in AIBU, only my second time in fact. I do work as a cleaner and I am very fond of the people I work for so I would be sad if they felt they could not speak to me honestly about their needs.

It really was that simple. Thank you Chipping. I hope this clears matters up and I apologize for the witch on broomstick comment. I was just a bit shocked.

Thank you so much for all your replies. :)

Magnanimous of you to apologise OP. I don't think you needed to though.

No need to apologize for the witch on broomstick comment. It was very funny.

I apologize for the witch on broomstick comment. I was just a bit shocked.

Don't apologise! It was brilliant

Well specifically chipping was market researcher hunting, which isn't technically against the rules.

Your op makes a lot more sense with the dramatic revelation that you are a cleaner and hate to think that your customers think of you in the way some people seem to think of theirs.
To which I would say, some people are just arseholes and best avoided.

I do find it difficult to say to my cleaner if something is not to my liking, it's not a situation I'm used to.
Somewhere I'm my head I know that she's rather I said "please put the things on the bathroom shelves back in approximately the same places, I know it doesn't look like there's any order but there is" than stomped around grumpily putting them back but actually I'm overall so happy with the effort that she puts in when she's here and the standard she sets herself I just let it go

Thanks Middle Usual and Worra :). X