AIBU to tell her to fuck off if she can't afford it?

[cleanerlondon1]

So I’m advertising on the next door app for my cleaning services, and this woman decides to send me a long message saying ‘how dare I charge £13 an hour, when the going rate is £8-9 ‘ ‘ people can’t afford it, and I’m being unfair’.

I just feel like there’s millions of cleaners out there advertising, and if she can find one she can afford she should go for that. Why send me a message complaining about the price? I could understand if it was £50 an hour or something like that. I even offered her a discount and said I’d do it for £10 an hour for her first clean, but no she wanted it under a tenner

I’m in East London btw, and I know people here charge £12-13 an hour.

I was quoted £20 per hour today! I'm in the SE, but not in London. I just texted back and said it was a bit high and thank you for coming back to me anyway. I assume when people quote crazy high prices its because they don't want the job but don't want to tell you to piss out outright.

Anyway, I certainly didn't send her a rant in return!

She’s trying it on. She’s trying to get you on the cheap.

@cleanerlondon1

YANBU!

You need to ignore and block.

Reminds me of when I used to sell a lot on ebay. I sold a few posters, and they were £3.99. In addition, it was £2.00 for postage/shipping, (including cardboard tube,) and £3.50 for Europe, and £5.00 to outside Europe. I had checked the postage, and sorted the costs - including the packaging, and it was correct.

One woman (from America) bought a poster (before I had everything on buy-it-now,) and didn't pay for the item. After 3 or 4 days, I sent her a polite reminder that she needed to pay before I could post it. She emailed me to say 'you can fuck right off honey, if you think I am gonna pay more for the shipping than the poster cost!'

I said 'well you knew the postage and shipping costs when you bid on the poster.' (She was the only bidder, so got it for the £3.99.) She ignored me, she didn't pay, and she gave me a negative feedback

I gave her one back (you could do that to buyers then but you can't now... ) I said 'terrible ebayer - do not deal with this person. Bids on item, refuses to pay, and leaves bad feedback for nothing.'

But yeah, If I thought something was a bit costly, I would moan under my breath and then move on. Messaging someone to say that is weird, and rude. I would have ignored tbh.

Keep charging what you do OP. And keep up the good work! I find cleaners invaluable and very underrated.

£8 an hour is under living wage for London- plus being self employed you are liable for NI contributions. She is out of touch. Ignore

East London you say? I feel you should do mine for £2.50 ph as I feel that’s what I want to pay 😉

Seriously, calmly reply you recommend she goes to another cleaner for that rate and wish her well.

She’s behind the times. I’m down in East Sussex and pay £11 ph and everyone I know round here charges £10-15 so I’d expect to pay the upper end of that in London. Regardless, no one’s forcing her to pay so her argument is bonkers, plus as others have said, she’s got ‘nightmare client’ written all over her. Tell her you’ll do her a special price of £25ph based on how much of a nuisance you imagine she’ll be.

I'm looking for a cleaner in SE London for £17 an hour (the London living wage). Haven't found anyone yet that isn't one of those horrible agencies where the staff get paid a pittance.

There's always one! She's a time waster and you don't need to keep engaging with her.

West Sussex here. I pay £12 per cleaner per hour plus a tip at the end.

She's thinking she can negotiate you down to what she's prepared to pay. Don't engage.

I haven't replied to her since she declined my offer of doing it for £10 for her first clean.

I wouldn't say she's an elderly woman, probably in her late 50s, early 60s. Basically a CF trying her luck. I'm sure I'm not the only one she's sent that message to.

I agree with PPs who say I need to toughen up, offering discounts does make me look unprofessional. It's £13 per hour or nothing.

Thank you.

Up your rates to £13.50 per hour and we have a deal

£13.00 per hour is reasonable tell her to piss off OP.

I pay £13.50 an hour in rural Scotland. So not unreasonable at all

I wouldn't even have replied!

Be strong OP.

I’m confused by a previous poster as well though :

My cleaner charges £15 an hour as a basic rate, if you also have laundry she charges £18. It’s worth every penny.

How does she charge £3 per hour more for her time just because it involves laundry?

Ignore & block her!

I'm a part time window cleaner so I meet lots of women working inside the house.
You're definitely not overcharging.
If they work for a firm the firm charges £15/20 per h and they pay the girls minimum wage £9. If they work for themselves they charge £15 minimum
And I live and work in Kent so I'd expect London to be dearer if anything.
People do make me laugh. They never think about the time travelling between jobs etc.
And I love it when they say "the last one only charged £..."
"And one day he just never came back"
Yeah because youd only paid him peanuts you numty lol
Good luck 👍 x

£13 an hour in Gloucestershire. Good cleaners are gold dust.

If £8 were really the going rate, then she wouldn't be so outraged that you charge more, because she'd have no trouble finding someone else. She knows full well and is just hoping someone meekly rolls over.

We're on North Wales and paid £8 an hour 15 years ago. She's being a knob, ignore her.

I have quite a responsible job and was pretty pissed off when I found out the office cleaner's hourly rate was quite a bit higher than mine!

12-12.50 in Bristol seems to be the going rate around here. In my experience if a business dealing is bad to start off with it doesn't get better. I would avoid working for her, you will always feel like you aren't going fast enough or something for the money and she wouldn't be satisfied.

Ignore!!

I agree with PP , you need to stand up for yourself , setting up your own business is hard work and you will know how much your products, fuel , time cost she can go any buy her own stuff and do it herself if she doesn't want to pay you.

I dont have a cleaner but from what I have read on here in the past even at £13 you are under charging for London.
If you do respond to her again you need to keep it very professional,
Thankyou for your inquiry my going rate is £13 , if you would like to arrange a appointment please let me know. Rinse and repeat.

If you do decide to give a discount it must be across the board and on your terms only ;
£11 for one clean on the 1st anniversary after you started working for them.

£11 for one clean if they recommend you a friend and the friend signs you up for min x amounts cleans ( otherwise you will keep getting recommended just so they can get a discount )

Good luck with your cleaning business .
Any if you ever move up north be sure to PM me

People like this are time wasting cheapskates. It's helpful when they do this because it shows they are the exact type of customer you do not want. Good customers are happy to pay for a good service and are even sometimes suspicious of low rates. Charge what you like and ignore people like this.