To have turned the cleaner away

[cadburyegg]

I've had a cleaning company come in for a couple of months now. I requested from the start that they come in the mornings so they usually come on a Tuesday morning at about 10am but they are frequently late and sometimes it's been 3pm before they get here. The week of the bank holiday at the beginning of May they didn't come on the Tuesday so I messaged the owner and she said they'd be coming on the Wednesday instead due to the BH.

So I assumed the same this week. Sure enough the morning came and went and no cleaners in sight. They just turned up just now and I sent them away (politely). It's half term, both of my kids are at home and I'm potty training my youngest. I always make sure the house is tidy before they come, but it wasn't today due to above reasons. I'm getting fed up of them thinking they can just come whenever they want? AIBU? I don't understand how they can run a business like this, presumably everyone else is happy with the service. The cleaner took my number and said she'd let me know when they'd be coming in future, she said that they will come back tomorrow and when I asked if it would be the morning like usual she said "yeah it should be". ??? How can they not know? AIBU to be annoyed?

YANBU. They need to treat it as an appointment and be on time. Any chance they will take payment anyway? OR are they paid in cash?

Go somewhere else. They are clearly fitting you in when there is a gap. Get someone who does what we do. Firm regular slots. I know exactly where I am every hour of the week and so do my customers

I think it depends really. If they’re cheap and cheerful, then you get what you pay for—which is a clean whenever it suits them. You don’t need to tidy in advance, they’re clealry not expecting that.

But if you’re paying a decent price for a weekly slot, then of course you can expect that.

Cleaner here... When I start I discuss times etc. No way would I be late unless discussed.

I pay £32.50 a week for an hour, but it’s 2 cleaners every time, so the equivalent of 2 hours worth for 1 person.

I wouldn't be okay with cleaners just turning up whenever they want. It'll get to the point where they pop round on a Sunday and then are doing a Monday the week after, so once a week as agreed but only a day apart!

They're booked for X day at X time. They need to be there then. Every single week.

Mine are the same, hoping to change in September

I use a cleaning company that send two people and they’re really good at letting me know the time.

The thing is the tidy is for your benefit as it means they get more done, so it’s definitely annoying!

Get rid

Jeeze, no. YANBU. My cleaner comes at 10am, and she'll text me to apologise if she's even going to be ten minutes late. And her two hours costs me £20.

@cadburyegg

I pay £32.50 a week for an hour, but it’s 2 cleaners every time, so the equivalent of 2 hours worth for 1 person.

That's shoddy service for £16.25 an hour!

That’s £16.25 each an hour. You should expect excellent service for that. I’d cancel. It doesn’t meet your needs.

My cleaner was like this and I let her go.

I hired her to make my life easier but the uncertainty was a pain. Plus she talked non stop about her problems when I was trying to wfh.

Absolute nightmare tbf. 😫

YANBU, tell them that you want a specific time each week, and if they can't do that, then you will find another company. Check the terms of your contract, if you have one, then give them notice.

Yeah I have let go cleaners like this. I WFH and organised my life around their visits, and then they wouldn't show up when they said they would. It became more of a faff than just doing the cleaning myself, and I was always worried they'd turn up when I was with a client. So I told them our circumstances had changed and we no longer needed their services!

I would get another cleaner - preferably self employed.
As a cleaner, I like to know where and when I’m supposed to be with fixed times. However, I know several companies I’ve worked for are very lax in their client times, very much a ‘so long as it’s done we don’t care about when it’s done’ attitude and the client should be grateful. I hated that and was embarrassed to be employed by them.

They are breaching your contract if you have agreed set time and date at a set rate.

It may be they are short handed over half term due to higher number of mums being cleaners , however, you'd expect a phone call to ask if it was ok to do different time or different day. You could have been doing anything in your house (an afternoon of wild sec with Dh!) or had visitors when they turned up , at a time and day that wasn't agreed. That's not fulfilling their contract

I'd be inclined to give notice or just end the service as they haven't turned up twice at the agreed time slot - 5 hours late on one time!!

Unless you are London or a big city, £16.25/hour per cleaner is expensive. Most around our area are £11-13/hour

I wouldn't accept that but I don't use an agency. I have had the same cleaner for nearly twenty years and she is now more friend than cleaner. She does a brilliant job without any input from me and knows what needs doing better than I do. I'm disabled and apart from keeping kitchen and bathroom reasonable, I leave it to her.

I wouldn't call £16.25 per hour expensive, if reliable service. £11 per hour it's only £2.09 over Living Wage. Self employed have to pay all their expenses from it and company make a profit. But turning up five hours late is piss taking.

I forgot to say that the price i quoted isn’t including VAT which is on top of that

That is a high rate of pay. I pay £14 per hour and my cleaner arrives in time every week. I would not tolerate somebody I am paying to be as unreliable as your cleaners. I'd get rid and go elsewhere.

Het rid of them immediately. Cleaners are easy to find. Good ones... not so easy

@cadburyegg

I forgot to say that the price i quoted isn’t including VAT which is on top of that

Where are you?

That's a total rip off, why would cleaners quote a VAT exclusive price for a house clean, that's very unusual.

I'm wondering why you feel you even need to ask if you are unreasonable, unless you live somewhere that for some reason is a cleaner void you are totally unreasonable to continue using them in the first place imo

I’ve had this problem too. Yanbu

I’m in the south east, so the price is expensive but not outrageous imo, but I do expect them to be reliable. The owner has texted me to say can they please come tomorrow afternoon. I want to say no because I have visitors (legit) and also bring up the topic of lateness. Please help me phrase a reply

I guess I wondered if IWBU because they just act like it’s normal and fine to be like this