Cleaner - am I expecting too much?

[mummasaurus]

I've started noticing recently that our cleaner is cleaning 'around things', for example moving the bathroom bin to find a build up of dust in the corner behind it and our lounge rug to find it clearly hasn't been hoovered underneath. My house is really tidy, we have a lot of built in storage so there's not a lot of obstacles in her way that would be time consuming to move for example. AIBU to expect her to be more thorough and clean under these items? I pay £17ph, so I don't feel like I'm paying too low to expect a good quality clean. DH also noticed on the CCTV when she's cleaning and I am not in she's leaving at least half an hour earlier. We pay by the hour. Again, AIBU to feel a bit let down by this?

No you’re not being unreasonable but you should definitely confront her on these 2 things. Just say you’ve noticed some things aren’t being cleaned underneath. You would like her to move objects and rugs to clean underneath. With regards to her leaving early you should just say I have noticed you are leaving early some days. Please let me know if you need to leave early and I’ll make sure I leave the correct money. I would keep a note of the conversation and date it just in case you need it further down the line.

Once you’ve told her, if either of these things happen again I would be replacing her. £17ph is definitely not cheap so you are not being unreasonable to be disappointed about either of these issues. If you don’t face it, the boundaries will continue to be pushed.

Def nbu.
£17 ph I would expect her polish everywhere.

Good honest cleaners are like gold dust . £17 is a lot and I would pay that if the job was worth it. Leaving early is tricky, is she paid for the job or per hour?

Yanbu

Get a new cleaner - there is nothing more depressing than coming home thinking the cleaner hasn’t been, then realising they have

For £17 per hour, I would be expecting it to be done better than I could do it myself. Cleaning around a bin or rug is a very poor effort and if they are leaving early too then it is not because they ran out of time. I would leave a note explaining that you were a bit worried there has been some kind of problem completing the job because you noticed that things such as xyz haven’t been done and yet they left the house at x o’clock. Say they should let you know if another booking has clashed with yours and you are happy to cancel the arrangement for now to give them a chance to sort things out and perhaps resume later on when they are less busy. And if the standard of work doesn’t improve the following week simply cancel and find someone cheaper/better.

@MaryBoBary

What she said

Yanbu
£17 an hour is a professional cleaner rate rather than someone who just does it on the side. I would expect a proper job that means you move stuff like bins, rugs and sofas (if possible!)
Also, leaving early is a massive no no. I've sacked a cleaner for that.

Good, insured, reliable cleaners are so hard to come by though.

Thanks for the advice. I'm glad I'm not being unreasonable in my expectations, I'll raise it with her, hopefully it will improve. I know it's so hard to find a good cleaner. To be honest that's why we were keen to pay a good hourly rate, assuming it meant a stellar job!

How long have I given her. And how big is the space. I clean the top two levels of a huge house. Four bathrooms. Two flights of stairs and hoover the bedrooms. Takes me 3 hours. But I pick up all the bins and clean them every week. I clean all the skirting boards. Window frames. I pull out the drainer in the shower every week and clean in there. My houses that I clean are spotless when I leave and I would never leave before my time. You need to let her go. Start a fresh.

When I am looking round a new house. I write everything down they have asked me to do. I then write it all down and share it with them. I then do what is on the list so there is no confusion.

I always want to ask where you are in these types of threads. Just incase ur near me !

£17/hr I’d be expecting her to build an extension as well! 😳

Just don't hire a shortage cleaner! My old one only used to clean as far as she could see, meaning I'd always notice dust on shelves that weren't really that high.

Shortass not shortage

@Aintnothingbutaheartache ok I'm so glad you said that!

I really did think paying a good rate would get me a super clean house with everything scrubbed within an inch of its life! Then I felt I must be expecting too much, but this thread has helped me realise I should raise it with her to ensure the arrangement is working for both of us. I am especially annoyed at the leaving early now. I didn't want to be too micro managing, but with the cutting corners too I do really feel we aren't getting the best deal.

@Dontgiveamonkeys1350 we're Greater London, move out to have a family area in SW