Some people have hairdressers who come into their home every few weeks to cut the whole family’s hair. Other people might have a regular tutor who has been coming for years and has worked wonders with their kids. Or a music / singing teacher perhaps? You might have a dog walker who comes everyday. Or someone who shampoos the carpets every month. Maybe you see a regular counsellor or psychotherapist who can’t work over this period either. Maybe you have had regular home masseuse or reflexologist who has been coming for years? What about your personal trainer, if you have one? Or the window cleaners?
Cleaners provide a professional service just the same as any if the above. It’s probably a little deluded to position yourself as more worthy of retainers or special treatment because if the perceived “special relationship” you have with clients. I’m not sure where this notion comes from really..
Supposing someone felt obliged to pay all of the above services over an indefinite period? Would this be reasonable?
Some cleaners are easier to have in your home than others, sure. Some do a better job. But it’s much easier to find a new cleaner than a new personal trainer or therapist who suits you. Or hairdresser. Or tutor for you child. Just think about it.
Individual families are not companies. Nor are they social services.
We used to have a cleaner and yes, she was a lovely woman, but when she went away as she has done frequently over the years, I had my neighbour’s cleaner come in a few times and there was no difference really. I would only ever ask a cleaner to hoover, mop and light dusting or light cleaning of the bathroom. I don’t even expect her to deal with emptying bins. No laundry or beds. I make sure all floors and surfaces are cleared before they arrive. I certainly don’t ever expect them to pick up or tidy my family’s clothes or stuff or make beds. I treat them with respect as a professional CLEANING service, as I would treat any other service. I have someone shampoo the stair carpets monthly and it’s the same thing. Cleaners are not general skivvies and I would feel uncomfortable having someone in my home where there is that kind of power imbalance. I don’t need a “special relationship “ with the person who hoovers, mops and does light cleaning in my home. I have 4 kids, elderly parents and all sorts of commitments in my life and I want someone who can come and go as a professional. I don’t want to feel responsible for them and their wider lives, simply because they spend a few hours in my house every week. Sorry, but that’s how I approach it. My cleaner had her own husband and two sons of working age in their 20s. Now it looks as though they’re moving back to their own country and good for them. I always paid her £15 per hour and gave her a bonus at Xmas of about 3 weeks pay because I’d rather someone was happy to come to my home and paid above the going rate out of respect. I want someone who sees themselves as an independent business woman, not as a skivvy who wants to lean on my family and make us feel emotionally responsible for her life situation. I fallen for that before. Never again.