Cleaner bringing baby

[Hoppinggreen]

Genuinely not sure if IABU so honest opinions welcome. Sorry so long
My cleaner retired so I looked for another and found a small local company. The lady cleans herself and has a couple of people who work for her. She came to see me and we agreed they would do 3 hours per week but doubled up so would be there for 1.5 hours. All good, more than I was previously paying but that wasn’t a problem as they seemed very professional.
We are currently on holiday and the lady suggested they do a really deep clean while we were away. Again all good and I was prepared for it to take quite a while as my old cleaner really only surface cleaned and I just did the toilets etc regularly.
I told lady we had a Ring doorbell so I would know when they went in and out as I dint think it’s fair not to be honest about that. 2 cleaners came yesterday and were there for quite a while but needed to finish off today. Again, no issue with that.
I checked the Ring today and one cleaner arrived and unlocked the door, then instead of going in she stands with her back to the Ring Camera in what looks like a deliberate attempt to block it. There is no other reason to stand in that spot. Once she is “in position” she shouts to the other cleaner (couldn’t hear what) and then that cleaner walks up the drive and past her. The angle of the camera means that it is still possible to see the 2nd cleaner enter the door - with a toddler on her hip but it wouldn’t be obvious it was visible unless you knew exactly where the camera was pointing
They both go in and then both come out very briefly to take a stroller in. They stay for 2 hours and leave carrying toddler again. I messaged boss lady who said she would look into it and then messaged to say someone’s childcare had let them down.
So mnetters am I BU to be pissed off?

There was (looks to me) a deliberate attempt to block the camera
My house isn’t toddler friendly and could have been dangerous if the child wasn’t properly supervised at all times
I dont see how you can effectively clean while supervising a toddler.
I am minded to pay for yesterday in full but only for 1 cleaner today - so 2 hours instead of the 4 I was billed for, would that be reasonable?
Also, I am not sure that I want them to clean for me regularly now
What do other people think?

Good for you being able to keep your house clean with five DC. That's not easy!

But it's different when you go to work for someone else, in their home, during a specific time slot. You aren't in control of timings so you can't wait for a good moment, or until some of the DC are sleeping, to do your cleaning. You can't work around nap and meal times as you can at home. The work environment won't necessarily be set up for children, with a place for them to snack or relax or play. There could be dangerous cleaning materials about. Children may not settle in a strange environment and they are less likely to want your attention all the time when at home comfortable, in a familiar environment, with their toys. It's a totally different scenario!

I hear you about it making a difference financially but imho it's really unprofessional to take your dc to work. At least some of your attention has to be on your child when it should be fully on your work. And DC often come to work with their parents when they are ill and can't be at school or nursery which is precisely when they need more attention! And that's not fair on the child, the mother or the employer imho!

Presumably they were worried you'd say no, and she'd end up losing a days' wages. I understand you feel lied to, but if you'd have said yes anyway, is it really that big of an issue?

I'm sure you pre agree it that you may bring your dog and your mum who works with you and the person has choice whether to contact you or not to do the job. I doubt you are saying you sneak your dog and your mum in without permission. If you do you ABVU.

Of course I mention it first but at the end of the day it's my decision, not theirs.

It’s not your house! You can’t just unilaterally decide to take your dog (or mum) into someone else’s house whilst they’re paying you to do something there. Honestly, the world has gone mad.

YABU.
It's the dishonesty that bothers me.... Yeah, right!!

OP and every other poster saying this sound just like the people that cause "dishonesty" = never having enough empathy and any give for unfortunate circumstances.
I've only ever worked in two kinds of professional environments :
One, where the bosses are straight-up dicks and every subordinate "lies".
The other one, where bosses are human and staff are extremely loyal and open.

Find different cleaners, OP. There will be resentment from both sides established already.

Without the cctv OP would be kicking back on the sofa, enjoying her clean house instead of bitching to all and sundry.

Absolutely ludicrous to say parents everywhere clean and look after their children at the same time

How can it be ludicrous when it’s true?

This thread strongly reminding me of my colleagues who now WFH and say they don't need childcare as they're just as productive without it, and there's no impact on anyone else - despite the fact they go missing between 9-10.30am and 3-5pm every day, they disappear from meetings every 3 minutes, and they're impossible to get hold of at short notice at any time.

At the end of the day, it's my business - I'll run it how I choose to run it. If they're unhappy with my mum or dog joining me occasionally (which I make clear is what happens at the meet and greet), then they're free to find another dog walker.

What they can't do is tell me how I'm allowed to operate my business. They're my clients, not my employers - there's a big difference. All potential clients have contracts to read and sign - if they're unhappy with the T&C's, they can walk away and go elsewhere - it wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

However, unfortunately for them, they'd struggle around here if they objected to other dogs/family coming along occasionally. There are three dog walkers where I live and we all bring various combinations of partners, parents, siblings, children and our own dogs along with us

Why are people assuming this only happens in "unfortunate" circumstances? I don't have one now but my cleaner used to be paid the same wage as me pro rata. She was paid in cash and had flexibility, pleasant working environment and good t & C's. And she still asked to bring her child on the days when her mum couldn't look after her! And yet I was paying a big chunk of my wages to a crèche so I could do my job properly. I did let her, as it wasn't often, and although her work was of a consistently high standard, she didn't get as much done on the days she had her DC with her.

@sunsetsandsandybeaches You’re talking about a totally different scenario then. It’s in your t&c that that’s how you work and they’re free to find someone else. You were talking as though you run a business where you decide who you go into other people’s houses with without getting their permission - as is what has happened to the OP. That’s not what your scenario is so fair enough.

Mnet is all and sundry now and creating a post is bitching?
I have no idea how clean the house is or if there is any damage because as I have said I am on holiday, hence me checking the Ring.
I am on a sofa though so at least you have got one thing right

As I said, I'd always ask permission, but I do see the cleaners' POV here too - I don't think she's being as cheeky and unreasonable as some people are keen to make out.

OP I don't think you can make a decision until you've seen whether the house was clean. I wouldn't be too bothered about someone bringing a child with them (although I'd be annoyed if they broke things, as my house isn't child-friendly - however, we never had stairgates, so I don't think that's an issue by itself).

However, if I thought someone was taking a dog into my house, I would sack them. They are meant to be cleaning, not introducing more dirt/fur/whatever!

Ah - unless they did a dreadful job, cut the poor woman some slack!

Maybe think about your cleaner who probably can’t afford a nice holiday!

Ah there it is. The poor, dumb, unskilled peasants doing menial tasks for the upper classes and cannot afford luxuries like holidays or a decent meal. They do not have the ability to save either. OR, like everyone else, including the OP, they have a job, go to work and get paid like everyone else does. I've been a cleaner (the term was actually a 'domestic') and I may not have been on mega bucks but I still got paid and could fund my own life. It's actually insulting to say cleaners cannot afford things like holidays and are living below the breadline.

Do you get paid for cleaning your own home to your own standards in your own time at a pace of your own? Cos that sounds fucking awesome! Where do I send my invoice?

It's actually insulting to say cleaners cannot afford things like holidays and are living below the breadline.

Yes, thank you. As per my post well above. I am a cleaner who can afford a holiday and this thread has some fucking insulting assumptions about 'poor cleaners'

My cleaner has nicer holidays than I do… 😭

My sisters cleaner is having a 6 month sabbatical while her and her husband spend time on their boat. My cleaner who retired used to take off with her H in their fancy motor home for weeks, she used to be a Social Worker
It can be badly paid I am sure but not always and in some cases it’s a choice due to childcare or other reasons. It’s often much better paid than hospitality or care work.

I'd be pissed off too. It's the sneakiness, bet they wouldn't be insured either

In fairness, we all only get paid when we work! But I take your point, you mean she's on a low hourly wage, possibly with no annual leave or sick leave.
It still doesn't negate the necessity to check with the homeowner about what's possible, and it equally doesn't mean she's living some dire life like in Maid

This, exactly.

This is up there with one of the most ridiculous comments today.

I know that all of my customers would be perfectly happy if I did have to bring any of my children along as they have suggested doing so in the past.
and the difference here is that you know that.
The point of the thread is that the OP (ie the person employing the company) did not know that and was not offered it as a choice. If there was a last minute fail in the childcare arrangements, then the cleaner should have phoned her boss, explained that and said that she could either not do the clean, or could take her child. The boss then takes the responsibility to either say no, or to say she would try and contact the house owner and see what was preferred (or there may be a 3rd option like it being done a different day, or even during an evening when cleaner's partner was home from work or something if OP is away for a few days). But she didn't. So, whether you believe they tried to block cameras or not, they still 'tried to get away with it' rather than asking.

Can't believe how nasty some people have been to the OP

Yes they should’ve cleared it with you first instead of trying to block the camera. On the other side, cleaning companies, like a lot of service jobs, can often be very short staffed so they pressure their workers into not cancelling. It’s likely the cleaners were concerned about you cancelling the clean which would have left the cleaners and the company without their money?

But it’s up to OP if she’d rather cancel the clean. It’s not for them to make a judgement call on her behalf. Whether they’re pressured or not by management is neither OP’s fault nor her problem to solve. There’s no getting around the fact that they didn’t bother to even ask.

It’s a company she hasn’t used before, and she’s trusting two people she’s never met with her home. The first thing they decided to do was deliberately attempt to deceive her. No wonder she’s pissed off.

and fucking lol at OP thinking she can buy a ring doorbell and actually use it for it’s intended purpose.

The audacity.