To request an AMA thread about centre parcs cleaners.

[Lovestonap]

It's so stupid but having had a lovely time at cp this week, a lot of our conversations (well more than one) were about the operational side of things. How many cleaners per Lodge? How long do they get? How do cp manage all the cleaning when they have full occupancy?!
So silly but it's such a great operation I was interested in the behind the scenes aspect.

If you are or have been a member of the housekeeping staff at CP I'd be very interested in info about it.

aaargh - nothing? I'll have to give reddit a try :)

Haha go for it! I would be intrigued

I was late leaving my lodge once and the cleaner turned up (she was lovely said take your time etc) and she was on a bike with a basket of supplies. There was also cleaning vans in the road. I think it’s one cleaner per lodge. Check out is 10 and check in is 3 so they have loads of time to get through!

Well yes there's 5 hours, but there's the best part of 1000 lodges! How many do they each have to do?! Mind blown by the scale :)

Not CP but Butlins. Used to clean the supervans. We got about an hour a van. Chalets were less. You're basically given a list of chalets and work down it.
I was employed by Butlins but we had weekend cleaners in, the "Bristol bedmakers", they were paid by the chalet so obviously the more they did the more they e arnt.
I actually worked for staff accom. Now the stories I could tell you!😆

Am also interested but they won't need to do every lodge as some people will do two weeks, some there 4 nights and some 7etc.

I actually worked for staff accom. Now the stories I could tell you!

You cannot leave it there with the stories I could tell you

Spill !!

I’d love it! Only went once and would never go back due to the fact that the executive lodge we stayed in was filthy and smelly, even the bedding smelled of poor body hygiene when we arrived. We complained straight away and nothing was done at all. It was disgusting. The children in our party were wearing white socks and by the end of the first evening after checking in, the soles of them were pure black.

On the last day we saw the cleaner going in and politely told him it really was filthy when we arrived and needed a deep clean, letting him know in advance of some real problem areas. He went bright red and said it was him that did it last time. He’d arrived on a a bike with his caddy and only looked about 15. My mum asked if he had any help and he said no he had to clean it on his own and that he’d do a better job this time. He’d only just finished his GCSEs (it was the first week of July) and it was his first job so told us he was still learning and didn’t know much about cleaning. We all felt really sorry for him. As we were talking, an older woman in uniform arrived and asked if there was a problem. We downplayed it and said that we were just warning in advance of some areas that hadn’t been cleaned before we arrived. She cooly replied, “Yes, that’s why I’m here, to make sure he does his job PROPERLY this time.” It was really obvious that the poor lad didn’t had a clue and hadn’t received proper training. He had such poor self esteem when we spoke to him.

I'd love to hear from anyone who works at a CP.

They cleaned them daily when we were there. That probably helps!

Awww I feel sorry for that lad, cleaning doesn't come naturally to me either, I'd have to be trained how to do it properly and I'd probably need the full 5 hours on one lodge! Like, with all the cutlery and stuff, obviously we left everything clean and out away, but do they double check we've done it properly? Do they have to clean the shelves and the dishwasher each time or does a lodge have a deep clean every few weeks? Such mundane questions :) I also have questions for people who have stayed in the tree houses, we'd love to but they're out of our price range... What are they like? Are they worth the money? Can staff stay there for discounted rates? Also is working in the pancake house as hellish as it looks?!
What other questions do I have...... Oh yes, how are the poor drivers of the land train not suicidal with boredom? 😂

I used to work for CP in the training department. At that point (8-10 years ish ago) we had coach loads of housekeepers brought in on Friday and Monday changeover days to clean all the lodges. They have from around 10-3 to clean them and it would depend on the size of lodge as to how many each cleaner got. It was a military style operation and very well coordinated by an office full of supervisors/managers. Every housekeeper had a full induction and training so I'm baffled as to why a young lad wouldn't have had this, unless things are different across the board but knowing CP I doubt this. For future reference if you have any issues on cleanliness etc then guest services should definitely be helpful and I'd be making a complaint if they weren't. Sounds like standards may have slipped all round there, which again surprises me because the customer service training every member of staff receives (at induction and ongoing) is, or was second to none in this country.

So interesting! I've got to say I've always found the standards of cp second to none and I've been a few times.

There was a thread over the Summer about cleaning villas in-between guests. It started as an AIBU to leave my accommodation late on check-out day, with owners who replied explaining just what they have had to do in the 6 hours in-between guests in some cases, e.g. repainting, replacing fridges.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3654931-To-not-leave-holiday-villa-at-designated-time-tomorrow?pg=1&messages=100

Incidentally I now work for a holiday cottage company and we do checks on changeover days of property cleanliness standards. All those aspects you mentioned in your last post, the answer is yes. We check how things are left by guests, cutlery, pans, ovens etc and whether the cleaner has gone over everything including the outside and inside of the dishwasher, microwave roof and every single nook and cranny. This is on a rota basis as there are hundreds of properties. Deep cleans are done from one-three months depending on the owners requests and whether they'll pay for it.. a lot won't. I don't know all the ins and outs of CP housekeeping operations but I'd imagine they do have checkers and that a 1-3 month deep clean will be carried out or they'd just get so mucky with forest, you're fighting a constant battle!

I now work for a holiday cottage company and we do checks on changeover days of property cleanliness standards

Can I ask, what standard do people usually leave properties in?

I’ve rented four holiday homes over the summer (one via AirBnB, the others through a management company) and I’ve had follow-up emails/messages from three to say a special thanks for leaving the property so clean. One said she was delighted that the house was left so “remarkably clean”- just wonder if this is the exception?

Before leaving a rental, I’d always empty bins or at least tie up the bags (if an outdoor bin wasn’t accessible for a short let), leave dirty towels in front of the washing machine, make sure dishwasher is empty, put away any dishes or cutlery so counter tops and draining board are clear. Would usually strip the bed if I had time, but not always. Generally clean as we go like we’d do at home so there wouldn’t be dried-in stains, or soap scum on the sink etc.

We always have our dog with us, so I tend to vacuum every day because she sheds so much, we would be destroyed with hair after more than two days, but it wouldn’t be a thorough vacuuming- just enough to kee the worst of the hair at bay.

I used to work at CP as a lodge cleaner. Many years ago now. The only reason i did it was so my family could use the facilities there for free for so many times a year. And get heavily discounted stays.
But my goodness it was hard hard work for minimal pay.
I used to have to clean 3 x 2bed executive lodges between 9-2.45 on my own....that was one almighty challenge I can tell you. I literally only just managed to finish in time.
I quit after only 6mths because I actually never used to use the facilities and discount and got sick and tired of slogging my guts out whilst some workers on other teams only used to be given 2 woodland lodges. Which of course do not have the en- suites that the executives do. Some staff were really lazy.
I also knew that if you worked on a 4 bed exec or exclusive at my park, you only got the one to do. That was then, not sure what it’s like now though.

The hours are very child friendly and there were clubs in the holidays for a cheap rate for your children to attend, so they didn’t suffer people calling in sick etc.

Amazing, thanks for sharing. Amazed its minimum wage though, assumed because cp's mark up on everything is so expensive their wages would be competitive.

I know someone who worked there for a while and it was really high pressured. The standards were really high and no allowances were made if customers lefy late.
I think she had to clean a couple of lodges.

I think she did one 3 bed executive lodge and half a 4 bedroom

I don't work there, but live in a neighbouring town to a CP. The amount of people that work there is phenomenal, everyone knows somebody that works there! The housekeepers are an absolute army of mums, they do 10-2.30 on changeover days to fit around school hours and get transport from the town centre. Most of the people I know that do it do it for the perks of day passes etc. I'd certainly consider it myself although I know it's bloody hard work!

For future reference if you have any issues on cleanliness etc then guest services should definitely be helpful and I'd be making a complaint if they weren't.

This was Sherwood Forest, a couple of summers ago. We called Guest Services the first evening. We were particularly upset about having to sleep in unclean beds (mine had hair and body fluid in it). They didn’t send anyone out until midday the next day. We came back and literally all they’d done was change the bed linen even though we’d explained about everything else (crockery was unclean with mouth shaped chocolate rings on cups, knives in drawers that had food on them, filthy floors and a terrible smell throughout.) We called again asking what had happened as only the beds had been changed. They then sent a maintenance man round. For a cleaning issue. Luckily we were able to get him to look at the light bulbs that were out and the fact the oven wasn’t working! He couldn’t fix the oven but changed the lights and said he’d been sent because they thought the smell might be caused by damp in the roof as they’d had very bad rain. There was actually a leak we’d not noticed and a big damp patch. He did what he could and said that unfortunately it would take a few days to dry out and that the smell would probably remain for the rest of our stay. He agreed a cleaner should have been sent out.

In the end we went down to see someone and, yet again, nothing was done. By this time we were fed up of wasting our time back and forward with customer services. We’d been asked to wait in to see the maintenance person and wasted most of the day because he was about 4 hours late. The Customer Services people just said that they were full and there was nowhere to move us to so unfortunately we were just going to have to accept it was part of staying in a forest environment. They reluctantly agreed to send another cleaner out and she arrived with a manager and accused us of making the mess and treading in mud everywhere when we explained that’s how it looked when we arrived and that the kitchen floors had been muddy on arrival. I sent an email the day we got home and only ever received an automated response. They sent out a how was your stay survey and again I was honest about how disappointed we were but never heard anything back.

We’d never ever stay there again and wouldn’t recommend it to our friends and family.

I've cleaned lodges for CP - about 6 years ago now.

It's a very precise operation with scores of cleaners clocking in and being handed out their allocated lodge numbers. There are teams which focus on specific areas of the park which mean when you're hired you know the area you'll be regularly cleaning. I was unfortunate enough to have the lodges furthest away from the supply room which definitely makes a difference when you've got a 10 min ride before you even start

You'll normally be given 2/3 lodges to complete depending on the size of them and how quick you are. I know from my experience that standards are ridiculously high and each lodge was checked by a supervisor at the end of the shift.

You got into a pattern of tackling certain areas first - I always did the bathroom first, others took bedroom. First thing I'd always do however was check dishwasher and put all crockery in there for a refresh. You got really good at fitting everything in 😂

I never had an insanely awful lodge but you'd very often get tonnes of food left in fridges and all sorts left in bathrooms. Thankfully most people were pretty respectful.

I left as it was only an interim job but the pay was awful and was very high pressure. Although hours were short it was a real battle to get everything done and if you didn't meet standards you would definitely know about it. The perks were good however and I made a few good friends. Staff turnover is quite high.

I just want to know who polishes the dome.

@TheCatsACunt it varies but on the whole they're left in decent condition. Guests are on holiday and the majority have paid a lot for their property so we understand if they don't want to spend it cleaning. Having said that, all have vacs/mops/cleaning products etc and it's appreciated when people do keep on top of it. Guests are asked to take rubbish out and to strip beds prior to leaving, which the majority do do. The company I work for takes a deposit on booking that can be deducted all or in part should the place be left in a state, whether that be dirty or damaged. Must've been nice to get an appreciative email- it does make you wonder how some folk must leave places doesn't it!