Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To set some traps for the cleaner?

204 replies

Dothetwist · 05/11/2015 21:20

Not thinking the wire abd bucket kind...

I have never had an experience with a cleaner before, she starts tomorrow morning

I was wondering how people manage to gain trust in someone coming in to their house, I've given her a key and asked it to be posted back through each time..

Wibu to set some little traps? Like a dirt patch somewhere i would expect to be cleaned or a £10er somewhere?

OP posts:
ilovesooty · 05/11/2015 21:23

Why can't you just assess whether she does a decent job?

Wolfiefan · 05/11/2015 21:24

Um. Take up references? Employ a reputable firm?

brokenmouse · 05/11/2015 21:24

I read on a previous thread before someone who always left a £5 note just next to where she leaves her clothes on the first day, as if it had fallen out of her pocket - with most cleaners she found it prominently on the bedside table, or the cleaner gave it to her when she got home.

listsandbudgets · 05/11/2015 21:24

YANBU and I say that as someone who has previously had a cleaner who stole from me.

Not a tenner though. Better a bowl with about £10 in change in it. Count it before you leave and when you come home. I'd suspected for ages this particular cleaner had been stealing small sums of money on a regular basis but not been certain. However when my £9.55 turned into £6.92 while no one else was in the house, I was certain

MotherOfFlagons · 05/11/2015 21:24

Are you afraid of trusting someone new in your house or afraid of your house not being cleaned properly? Those are two separate things.

listsandbudgets · 05/11/2015 21:26

Oh and the cleaner was through a well known agency with references so that does not always count for anything

Original poster
Dothetwist · 05/11/2015 21:26

She is from word of mouth, has recently set up on her own.

Seen a reference, dbs and insurance and also met her. Set out expectations etc..

It's very odd for me to be able to do it, however i need help.

How about i scoop some crumbs underneath some items in the kitchen? See if she cleans thoroughly

OP posts:
usual · 05/11/2015 21:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Dothetwist · 05/11/2015 21:28

mother

It is a bit of both i think, more so the worry of someone being in the house... Or coming home from work to an empty shell!

OP posts:
dustarr73 · 05/11/2015 21:28

If she posts the key back each time,how will she get in.

GrannyGoggles · 05/11/2015 21:28

Reverse the situation: how would you feel starting a new job with your employer setting 'traps'?

Original poster
Dothetwist · 05/11/2015 21:29

I wouldn't want a cleaner who calls clients twats to be fair... Luckily we're not in business together hey usual..

I'm talking about the first few times not indefinitely

OP posts:
AlongcameMolly · 05/11/2015 21:29

I'd just let her do her job and see what you think, as the pp said Although I did put a small blob of yoghurt in the corner of my window to try and catch my window cleaner out, and it worked so I finished him

ilovesooty · 05/11/2015 21:29

I think it's really patronising and disrespectful to suspect someone of dishonesty and laziness before they've even started working for you. How would you feel if you started a new job and your employer set traps for you?

usual · 05/11/2015 21:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ilovesooty · 05/11/2015 21:30

Sorry cross post there.

Original poster
Dothetwist · 05/11/2015 21:30

Thing is, working alone is quite different. Most employees have induction / probabtion periods and managers to check their work on the job as such.

OP posts:
donajimena · 05/11/2015 21:32

Seriously? I have been a cleaner and how I laughed when I found crumbs in places that they were highly unlikely to have occurred naturally.
I'd often find piles of money lying around too. I'd either clean around it or stack it.
Its a shame you think so little of the hard working people in the profession.

ilovesooty · 05/11/2015 21:33

Well you can finish her any time if you aren't satisfied. And you can check her work after every visit.

I still think your suspicions sound unpleasant.

Original poster
Dothetwist · 05/11/2015 21:33

Not at all usual.. She is a lovely lady, if i didn't trust her i would not be letting her into my house based on instincts.

However, how do i know i can trust her without seeing if she does things thoroughly and not just on the surface.

I would never look down on anyone i really am not anything special or have any standing to claim to be.

I'm purely using a cleaning service to help me through a struggling time.

OP posts:
MotherOfFlagons · 05/11/2015 21:33

I would just let her get on with it, to be honest, and if something isn't cleaned to your liking, speak to her about it.

We've had cleaners for the last 10 years and I've never felt the need to lay traps for them.

I really think you're overthinking this.

tbtc20 · 05/11/2015 21:34

What a sad thread. If you don't trust someone, don't let them in your home.
If they're not doing a good job cleaning then you'll notice and you can raise that with them.
If they steal from you, report to police.

MildVirago · 05/11/2015 21:35

I could just about imagine doing this if I'd been employing the cleaner for some time and had doubts of her thoroughness or honesty, but it's pretty strange to start off by 'setting traps' for a new person. Just check whether she's cleaned what you asked when you get home, and if you're not happy call her or leave her a note!

Honestly, if it perturbs you that much in advance, with no evidence that this cleaner is anything other than responsible and reasonably efficient, you might maybe want to rethink having a cleaner. I'm getting a vision of you all gimlet-eyed and suspicious, checking the tops of doors in white gloves...

Original poster
Dothetwist · 05/11/2015 21:35

don i don't think little of anyone in the cleaning profession. I also work in a profession often looked down on

You've missed the point of my question.

OP posts:
LineyReborn · 05/11/2015 21:35

How is she going to get in next time?