Bloody clients cancelling at the last minute!

[Delamalama]

I've been a self employed cleaner for many years and have built up a good reputation and have lots of clients but could take on more.

Just had a text off a client who I'm due to clean for this Thursday saying sorry I forgot to say I don't need you this week, great, bloody marvellous that's me £20 down. She also often just give me a weeks notice she's going on holiday and has done this before but with more notice.

I really wish people would realise if I don't work I don't earn money and I work to pay the bills. I know I should tell her but it's so awkward and puts us all in a awkward position.

If you hire a cleaner please, please think before you mess them around.
How would you feel if your boss said, have tomorrow off with no pay.

AIBU to bin her?

@Nyon sorry I'm nowhere near.

If you hire a cleaner please, please think before you mess them around.

Agreed. But this works both ways. I ran a B&B and my cleaners would often let me down at the last minute "to go to the beach" or to go shopping. Invariably on my one morning off a week. And I was the best payer in the village as they happily bragged. Fuck, I even gave them holiday money! (I would gladly have put them on the books and paid tax and NI but they didn't want that).

Sorry OP, you've hit a nerve. I understand it must be shit trying to budget and being let down

Unless you have a contract and/or cancellation policy then YABU to be annoyed that they are cancelling last minute.

Yes it us annoying but you cant say that they're being unreasonable when you dont have any formal policy. They may have only just realised that they forgot to tell you they were away and so did so as sin as possible.

She isn't behaving professionally but nor are you! You have to raise this relationship to one which is a business one, which means you have a contract with all these eventualities written into it.

But that aside, as you don't have one, what have you said to her after you got her text? Have you pointed out that this is your income she's messing about with?

Isn’t that just one of the disadvantages of being self-employed? If you don’t work you don’t get paid. If you haven’t got any kind of contract in place with a cancellation policy then I don’t think you can really complain I’m afraid. If you’re a good cleaner they won’t want to lose you so maybe just have a word and explain that you’d like more notice I’m future and put something more formal in place for new clients.

I use an agency and they stipulate 48 hours notice.

Why don’t you start the new year by writing a short letter outlining your terms and conditions. Hand it to them and say you’re just having an update and wanted them to have a copy, Next time they cancel at short notice you can say unfortunately I’m going to have to charge you as stated in the terms and conditions. I done something like this and suddenly I had a lots less no shows.

Apologies OP I hit YABU in error - I was obviously projecting!

@StCharlotte I can honestly say I have never, ever let a client down in 10 years of cleaning, not once. I just couldn't!

I've cleaned for this lady for over 5 years and it's only lately she's started messing me about, maybe she wants rid!

I've been a self employed cleaner for 10 years and In that time only one other clients has cancelled me with an hours notice, so it's never occurred to me to have formal contracts.

I am fully insured and registered as self employed.

@Yoohoo16 that is an excellent idea!

Charge a cancellation fee, lots of service providers do, you're not a charity:& ditch the repeat offenders after two cancels. Good cleaners are always in demand. People have patterns of behaviour, one instance is happenstance & understandable, stuff happens, but twice is a pattern of behaviour - & its their default. (best advice a psychologist friend ever gave me re others behaviour)

If they pay you for once a week I think a weeks notice is a bit tricky.

@StCharlotte no worries.

Hi OP I can relate! I started self employed cleaning, I've been too nice and I like to double check my clients are happy for me to go every week, 3 weeks ago one client said yes to go round, the door was locked I couldn't get in and I txt her and she said I can't leave the door unlocked (which she has done previously) so I turned up and wasted petrol for nothing, txt again the following week, nope she didn't want me on a Wednesday even though it alternates between Tuesdays and weds we are both flexible you see, txt again last week and no her dauhhter is at home revising for exams, so 60pounds I have lost that they don't think to care about! Loads have done it, I've txt clients who just say not this week or oh I'm on holiday and haven't even told me. I'm going to start advertising again but with stricter rules, I'd never mess with someone's livelihood

Oh and I won't be msging for a 4th week in a row asking if I am able to come round yet again for her to cancel!

Are you in Hampshire op? I'm self employed so totally feel your pain.

As a self employed person....
People cancelling is a pain in the arse. BUT if yo dint have a contract with them that specify that they need to give you xxx notice, and if you accept that it’s ok for them not to pay if they go away in hols etc... then they are doing nothing wrong.

So I would say first step is to actually have a contract with clear rules on when and how they can cancel a clean.

Then you have to issue wth people being flaky. Different issue imo and you will need to decide if said flakiness is ‘acceptable’ seeing how much h you clean for them or if they are starting to take the piss. If they are, time to fire them imo (or for a clear warning).

But I think one of the big issues with cleaning is that people are expecting you to come on a specific day/time and if they cancel (regardless of how much notice they give you), it’s nearly impossible to get something else instead anyway.... your prices should reflect that and the fact people go away in hols so you can anticipate 5 weeks a year wo cleaning for start with.

@Househunt1 that's terrible! I hope.youve binned her? I've had mainly really good clients over the years who wouldn't dream of cancelling or are very apologetic and with a good reason if they do.

@halyard nope

I had to cancel (due to shingles) my last clean a fortnight ago. So I'm paying double this fortnight, because it's not fair on our cleaner otherwise. Plus she's awesome.

I've always paid when I've cancelled last minute on my cleaner.

Do you have a cancellation policy? Get one in writing.

That’s so unfair and frustrating. We always pay our cleaner regardless of whether we need her or not, and when we are away on holiday etc. But a good trustworthy cleaner who actually cleans rather than just cleans what you can see and let’s months of grime build up elsewhere is hard to come by. We don’t have a written contract but when she started she said at the outset she’d take two weeks paid holiday a year and we’d have to pay her if we were away etc. Maybe outline terms in advance? But yes, bin her if clients aren’t too hard to come by since you don’t deserve to be treated this way.

You've just made me question whether a week's notice is enough for my cleaners.

I feel slightly bad now .

Yes I'm not chasing anymore, I should have been stricter in the first place with contracts etc so now I feel like I can't say as much, it's just so rude. Pictures are the conversations we've had about the cleaning over the last few weeks