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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be furious at the way our cleaner has been treated?

45 replies

listsandbudgets · 08/07/2015 08:39

Our cleaner has been with us just over a year and shes brilliant. She actually has a waiting list for people who want her so what's happened can be repaired but I'm so angry for her.

She's been on the waiting list for an operation for ages and a few days ago was suddenly told that there had been a cancellation so her operation is now today and she'd need 4 weeks of after that to recover.

She phoned to tell me and obviously I'm not pleased but I accept she'll be back eventually and as its nearly the summer holidays we'll be away for part of the time anyway.She's also been in pain so its best she gets this done.

I phoned her last night to wish her good luck with the operation and to talk about giving her some sick pay to tide her over and she burst into tears and said 2 of her clients had sacked her over the phone as soon as she'd told them what was happening. One was apparently really vicious and told her if she wasn't there next week there wouldn't be a job waiting for her as there were plenty willing to work harder for less. (she charges £10 an hour and brings all her own cleaning equipment)

Our cleaner is hard working, honest a good cleaner and normally bar family emergency reliable about time (then she phones) and the single mum of 2 children one who has ADHD. She was quite open about all of this when I interviewed her and also told me she was on the waiting list for the operation so may need some time off at some point.

AIBU to want 5 minutes alone in a room with the client who treated her like sh**t so I can tell him exactly what I think of him? She's a human being not a robot.

OP posts:
Aussiemum78 · 08/07/2015 08:42

Those clients will regret it when they get someone unreliable who does a poor job.

Can you recommend her to friends but say she charges £15 and get her a pay rise?

What's wrong with people's compassion these days? People aren't disposable.

muminhants1 · 08/07/2015 08:48

I gasped when I saw your post. How shocking. People can do their own cleaning for 4 weeks FGS.

SnakeyMcBadass · 08/07/2015 08:51

Some people are just utter shits. Hopefully she can find new clients who aren't such bastards.

Floundering · 08/07/2015 08:52

Poor woman, as if she hasn't got enough on her plate!! But then with clients like those she's better off without them, & I bet if you spread the word that she is good she'll have filled those slots in no time with nice clients like you!!

Hannahouse · 08/07/2015 08:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

winkywinkola · 08/07/2015 08:56

If she has a waiting list then she can those people who sacked her to get lost can't she?

morelikeguidelines · 08/07/2015 08:57

Shocking.

It would be good if more people were like you Op and offered sick pay even when they didn't strictly have to. Can't believe this other client could be so unfeeling.

LilyMayViolet · 08/07/2015 08:57

What disgusting people. I agree with you OP. I would like to give them a piece of my mind too. Absolute pigs. No excuse for this whatsoever.

cleoteacher · 08/07/2015 08:57

If she's got a waiting list of clients it shouldn't be a problem though. She can just get the next person on the list and tell them she can start in four weeks.

Not very nice though. Our cleaner has taken 3 weeks off for a wedding and then holiday, it's a pain but I wouldn't sack her over it

Greenrememberedhills · 08/07/2015 08:57

Yes, some people are utter shits. How horrible.

ShirleySmears · 08/07/2015 08:59

This is why I pay a lot more than £10 an hour and use a cleaning company. It means that when emergencies or ill health crop up I can be all decent and caring but still know that the company will send someone else.

I absolutely wouldn't treat anyone the way your cleaner has been treated but if they suddenly told me that they wouldn't be around for four weeks, it would feel like a disaster, even though I would know it wasn't really and that I was being unreasonable, I would be very stressed over it. I employ a cleaner because it's the only way I can make family and work life work.

I'm not excusing the behaviour at all but I can see why this news at very short notice, on top of all the pressures of work and family could make a person behave badly.

Original poster
listsandbudgets · 08/07/2015 08:59

Yes I pointed that out to her winkywinkola. I'm sure she'll fill the slots but just so angry that she's been treated like this

OP posts:
Greenrememberedhills · 08/07/2015 09:04

I used to juggle a very busy professional job and several children, as well as a DH who did little domestic work. I can attest that a cleaner going off sick is a stress and pain, but it is not the end of the world and we all coped. We were not wading in filth. Some people are just selfish and shortsighted.

CMOTDibbler · 08/07/2015 09:07

My cleaner has had the same attitude from people. So she drops them and gets new clients (shes had a really terrible year). She says thats the great thing about being a self employed cleaner as she doesn't work for anyone she doesn't like.

Doesn't stop me raging on her behalf though!

saturnvista · 08/07/2015 09:08

Awful.

Nromanoff · 08/07/2015 09:12

Unfortunately some people are dicks.

My hair dresser dared go on Mat leave. I saw her being shouted at by 2 clients. Both ended up banned from the salon. One even said 'I knew a woman hair dresser would let me down eventually'

It was awful. Luckily the salon owner won't take any shit like that.

Jinglebells99 · 08/07/2015 09:24

ShirleySmears, my friend works for one of the big cleaning franchises and they treat their cleaners really poorly, charging £54 minimum to clients and yet paying their cleaners around £6.50 an hour. They have no sick pay and pay their own public liability insurance. I guess they are on zero hours contracts because she often sacks the cleaners with no notice. My friend is asked to go to a job half an hour away at short notice, for half an hour! How would that ever be financially viable for her? An hour's traveling for half an hours work paying about £3.25?! I would rather employ a cleaner who works for herself.

ShirleySmears · 08/07/2015 09:27

I'm sure there are downside Jinglebells but the two women who come to me have been there 10 years plus each, so it can't be that bad.

For me, it provides what I need better than a SE cleaner working for me would.

LapsedTwentysomething · 08/07/2015 09:27

It's their loss. It would follow that with attitudes like that they weren't great to work for anyway. Perhaps you can encourage her to advertise online and give an excellent testimonial.

GoodbyeToAllOfThat · 08/07/2015 09:29

It's true that some people are indeed dicks. It's not on, and I really feel for your cleaner. Hope she has some savings stashed away.

AlpacaLypse · 08/07/2015 09:29

Jinglebells99 I run a dogwalking agency - a very closely related business in that we travel to people's homes, have access in their absence, and perform a service that they could do for themselves but have either run out of time for or just don't want to do. However I pay travel time and expenses unlike the agency your friend works for!

Mintyy · 08/07/2015 09:32

Yanbu. All I can do is hope that their treatment of your cleaner comes back to bite them on the bum in some shape or form. Who the fuck do people think they are?!

Hygge · 08/07/2015 09:34

They have behaved really badly.

Okay they have to go four weeks without a cleaner, but she has to go four weeks without work, as a single mother who has just had a much needed operation.

I hope that she feels better soon. I'm sure she's thankful that some of her clients have a bit of human decency and empathy about them.

AuntyMag10 · 08/07/2015 09:35

Yanbu what horrible people. Poor thing. Hopefully by the time she is well again new jobs will come up. How dare they be vicious to her over an illness Confused

OTheHugeManatee · 08/07/2015 09:37

Yanbu. Some people really are cunts. And a cleaner who you like and trust is gold dust. The other client is foolish as well as unpleasant.

Jingle I won't use a contract cleaner for that reason. For one thing, if there's an issue you have another layer of management to deal with instead of a direct relationship but more importantly I don't see why an agency should get to skim off an already modest wage for doing basically eff all.

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