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

Question - Help me work out if they are taking the piss please

34 replies

MenopausalMaud · 10/10/2019 16:15

Hi,
We have gardeners every month to help us with our unruly garden.
I am usually at work when they come, am generally happy with their work but sometimes question just how much work they have managed to do in the time I pay them for.
Today I was at home when they came but because we have road works right outside our house at the moment, my car was parked away from the house and they did not see me in the house.
They came at 2.15pm and left at 3.45pm, so here for 1.5hrs.
Now for the maths........... if a 'visit' is 2 people for 2hrs (what I am meant to pay for), how much are they taking the piss to let me know that they have done 'a visit and a half' with 3 people present?
My brain will not work this out and I may be the one being unreasonable, but until I know for sure I will remain annoyed!!

OP posts:
nicknamehelp · 10/10/2019 16:17

Well 2 x 2 = 4 and 1.5 x 3 = 4.5 so they actually did more today.

TheTrollFairy · 10/10/2019 16:17

If you are paying 2 people for 2 hrs you are paying 4hrs work. If you have 3 people for 1.5hrs you are getting 4.5hrs work.
Therefore you are getting .5hrs more of work (providing they are all working)

butterandbread · 10/10/2019 16:18

I used to work on the admin side of a company that offered cleaning services and they would always say that the length of the visit should be multipled by the staff attending, so in this example, 3 people for 1.5 hours is a 4.5 hour visit.

HollyGoLoudly1 · 10/10/2019 16:18

I'm not sure I'm understanding...

You are supposed to pay for 2 people to come for 2 hours. 2 x 2 = 4 hours in total.
3 people came for 1.5 hours. 3 x 1.5 = 4.5 hours in total.

Is that what you mean? So you've had an extra half hour?

fallfallfall · 10/10/2019 16:21

Well you’re paying 2 people for two hours work 2x2 is 4 hours of work.
If I understand your post 3 people showed up for 1.5 hours so 3 x 1.5 is 4.5 hours of work accomplished.
You got a deal if you paid for 4 hours of work.

Yummymummy2020 · 10/10/2019 16:22

Hmm it doesn’t sound like they took advantage to be honest it sounds like you got a bit of bonus time in there assuming they did all indeed work for the duration. Are they meeting your expectations in terms of what you feel you are paying for per visit or has the leaving at an earlier time just thrown you off as such?

whatisheupto · 10/10/2019 16:22

If they are claiming they were there for a visit and a half, and a visit is 2 hours, then to my mind that means they are claiming they were there for 3 hours. 3 people for 3 hours. You are being had!

MidCenturyVintageWoman · 10/10/2019 16:23

Did you see 3 people or only two? I would be very honest with them and say "I was home when you came to the house and observed you arrive and leave, so I know that you arrived at 2.15pm and left at 3.45pm. I also noticed that there were two of you working on the garden and not three. I am happy to receive your amended invoice, reflecting the accurate timings and man-power, at your convenience". I would not put up with this. If your area is anything like ours there is no shortage of gardeners looking for work.

whatisheupto · 10/10/2019 16:24

I mean you are being had if they are charging you for 3 people x 3 hours when in fact there were only 2 people there for 1.5 hours. Is that what has happened?

Passthecherrycoke · 10/10/2019 16:24

We have gardeners and tbh they don’t always spend the full time but in winter not as much needs doing so we figure it evens out

WhenISnappedAndFarted · 10/10/2019 16:26

What @nicknamehelp and @TheTrollFairy said. More work was done.

Original poster
MenopausalMaud · 10/10/2019 16:28

Thanks for your replies - I did not actually see 3 people, only two but I am giving them the benefit of the doubt as I know they have done this before. To be clear I pay for (what is in simple terms,) 1 person to do 4hrs, so a visit and a half in this case would be 6hrs - am I still getting the better deal here?

OP posts:
TheTrollFairy · 10/10/2019 16:31

You got 4.5hrs work so if you are paying for 6hrs then this is not what you have got in the 1.5hrs they were here with 3 of them

Original poster
MenopausalMaud · 10/10/2019 16:32

I think my thoughts are the same as butterandbread but maths isn't my strong point Smile

OP posts:
VeniVidiVoxi · 10/10/2019 16:33

Did you expect 2 people for 2 hours (4 hours of work) but they sent 3 people for 1.5 hours (4.5 hours) but they are claiming 'a visit and a half' so suggesting 3 people for 2 hours, the additional person being the half, (so asking for 6 hours) but they only stayed for 1.5 hours (back to the 4.5 hours)?

If they are asking for the 6 hours when they did 4.5 hours in total they are being unreasonable. I they are giving you a free half hour that's great. How would you know if two or three people had turned up or the time spent if you weren't in? Could you move to a task based payment structure where they have to ask for authorisation to increase the price if something is taking far more than the estimate?

Crusytoenail · 10/10/2019 16:34

So you normally pay for 4 hours work (2 people doing 2 hours work)

Today they did 4.5 hours work (3 people doing 1.5 hours work each)

However you say they have told you they did 'a visit and a half' (which I presume they want you to pay for?)
A visit and a half is 6 hours, (as a visit is 4 hours work so half of that is 2, added together is 6)

So in effect they are charging you for 6 hours work but completed 4.5 hours work?

Do they charge by the hour or by the 'visit'?

MrsSmellersIsntMyName · 10/10/2019 16:38

I think a visit and a half isn’t an hour and a half but 3 hours?

Multiplied by 3 workers = 9 hours?

mrsm43s · 10/10/2019 16:40

I would suspect that there were 3 people there for "2 hours", but actually they only did 1.5 hours, and rounded up.

Had you been paying 1 person for six hours, leaving half an hour early wouldn't be such a big deal, but because they have split it amongst 3, that triples the effect of leaving half an hour early to 1.5 hours.

Personally, I'd pull them up on it. It's too much to be paying for nothing.

Josette77 · 10/10/2019 16:45

So the half is the extra half hour? That makes sense.

noroominthefridge · 10/10/2019 16:47

What needed doing in the garden? Did they do it? It doesn't really matter how many of them were there and for how long - it's whether they did anything.

thecatsthecats · 10/10/2019 16:48

Slightly depends on the size of your garden.

I think two cleaners could do my house in half the time of one, but that with a 3rd, they'd actually start to get in each other's way and be a bit less efficient, for example.

Original poster
MenopausalMaud · 10/10/2019 17:00

Well I'm glad there are a few different thoughts! At least it's not just me who is confused Grin.
To answer a few questions, we do have a large garden so they shouldn't be in each other's way. I am usually happy with what they do but today I was disappointed to be honest, when I saw them leave it I thought that they hadn't been here that long so when I got the message to say they had done 1and a half visits I was annoyed but couldn't work out if I was being unreasonable!
The do charge per visit but it was was agreed at the outset that a visit would be 2 men for 2 hours.

OP posts:
Knotaknitter · 10/10/2019 17:04

It would be a visit and a half (six hours work) if (and only if) they had been on site for two hours. Which they weren't. You are paying for half an hour that you didn't have, not so bad when it's one person but well OTT when it's three of them. They are asking for 6 hours money for 4.5 hours work so you are being royalling ripped off, even more so if there were only two of them and not three.

I would tell them that they seem to have made a mistake somewhere as you were in and know they were there for 1.5 hours and then I'd be looking for another gardening service because you know that you can't trust their timekeeping.

AlunWynsKnee · 10/10/2019 17:09

If 1 visit is equal to 4 units of work (2x2) then a visit and a half is 6 units of work.
They either did 4.5 units or 3 depending on how many were working.

RightYesButNo · 10/10/2019 17:21

OP, but I think some people are confused because you’re a little unclear. And introducing the idea of 1 person for six hours might have made things seem more convoluted. Also, in your OP, you didn’t state that they had claimed 1.5 visits until your fourth comment which is the most important part. So let me see if this is what happened.

They usually come for 1 visit.
1 visit = 2 men * 2 hours
It could also equal 3 men * 1 hours, 20 minutes.
22 = 4 31.33 = 4
So if I understand correctly, they have tried to charge you for 1.5 visits today.
But at most, you had 3 men for 1.5 hours. So 1 hour, 30 minutes.
3 * 1.5 = 4.5
IF they have claimed today was 1.5 visits, you have been overcharged, yes. 4.5 hours IS not 1.5 visits. If a regular visit is 4 then...
4 * 1.5 = 6
Are they trying to charge you for 1.5 visits for today? Because yes, that’s overcharging. Are they trying to charge you for one visit for today? Because that’s slightly undercharging. Shrug. They’ve fucked up their own math by sending 3 men and having them leave at 1.5 hours.