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?

[1982mommaof4]

@ChicagoBears

Childcare is a nightmare for many (I speak from ongoing experience), if the house is clean I wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

As a mother myself I think it’s important to support one another so certainly wouldn’t have called the company and they probably blocked the camera to avoid that.

This, you probably got the poor women in trouble.

[1982mommaof4]

@isadoradancing123

They are titally out of order, her childcare issues are her problem. If her child was injured on your premises this type of person would have no hesitation in suing you

What type of person...

[spanishsummers]

They definitely should have let you know and hiding it was not on.

There are plenty of people on Mumsnet who love to pick fights, and some who are just plain nasty. All whilst accusing others.

[badg3r]

The thing that would bother me here is that they have broken your trust. Cleaners come in when you're not home and have access to all sorts of things. You need to trust them.

[Mariposista]

I can see why you are a bit put out. If my cleaner had a childcare issue I wouldn’t mind her bringing it but I’d want to know, as you say due to safety reasons.

[BoredOfGrey22]

I think if you are on holiday you should be enjoying yourself rather than checking your ring doorbell. Who does this?

It is literally the point of having a video doorbell. So you can watch it whilst you are not at home.

[Kite22]

@MargaretThursday

Exactly this.

One off emergency asking if it's okay. No problem.
If you agree for them to come it's not as issue.

Not telling you is the issue - you can't then trust them not to tell you if there's anything else that comes up.

But the fact that they tried to conceal it means that they know it wasn't acceptable, so they can't even say that "oh we thought as a one off you wouldn't mind" they clearly didn't think that.

This

[EL8888]

I'm amused by the bile and jealousy on here. The OP is allowed to have a cleaner and a holiday! If it's so great and fine then why did they try to conceal the child's presence? In the last couple of years then there has been a trend of people not seeming to want to bother with childcare. Im sick of peoples squawking kids on Teams calls. It's a piss take. They clearly aren't giving work their full attention

[Limecoconutice]

I don't think it's just the deception that is the issue here. I don't think it's a professional way to behave and I want any cleaner working in my home to focus 100% on the job. Plus I wouldn't want someone else's toddler potentially exposed to bleach and other cleaning materials on my premises, for their sake, even breathing in those sprays all cleaners seem to love (despite me asking them just to use a damp soft cloth for dusting). So I don't think you are being mean at all op!

[Dontcareforthehaters]

I don't think that you are being unreasonable but, I feel for people in yours cleaners position and her child. It's not ideal for anyone, especially the toddler. If the job has been done to your standard/satisfaction then don't worry about it and also, you don't actually know that the cleaners were being sneaky, you really don't. Times are hard right now.

[SpiderinaWingMirror]

When you get home, if the house is spotless, I would pay but tell the owner that there are to be no children in future. You would rather miss the clean.

[WhatsTheEffingPoint]

OP I don't think your unreasonable to be miffed by it all.
The fact the ladies didn't call their company and explain they had childcare issues but could do the clean if permitted to bring the child along, shows they knew the answer would most likely be No. As the op called the company the ladies have shot themselves in the foot and possibly got themselves in to trouble with their boss.
Also from an insurance point of view that child is not covered if they cause an accident or damage to the home owners property.

I don't have children, my house is not child proof so if someone brings their child to my house I expect them to supervise them fully. I can't understand how you can do a full deep clean which is more detailed orientated whilst keeping an eye on a child, even if they fall asleep you are still going to be careful not to wake them. So you are not getting the full hours/tasks completed you are paying for.

I am currently going through this with the cleaners I have for my work, twice now there have been childcare issues, we agreed they could attend with the child (8/10yrs old so capable of looking after themselves for a couple hours with minimal supervision) only for one of them to have a reaction to something they touched, therefore pulling mums attention from the job (if the child hadn't been there it couldn't have happened)
Also one takes longer then the other but this is because she stops and chats to our customers, whereas the other doesn't so gets done quicker, so distractions do happen and take time off what you are paying for.

[Tiani4]

@SpiderinaWingMirror

When you get home, if the house is spotless, I would pay but tell the owner that there are to be no children in future. You would rather miss the clean.

I would not use this form
Again as they were informed the cleaner borough hee toddler/ baby without permission into OPs private home during what was supposed to be a professional job with a heavy Deep clean

If the firm do not say they are not paying cleaner and removing that cleaners charge from your invoice then I would put that in review about them and also refuse to pay for that cleaner in any way. It was clearly only one person properly working .

[Tiani4]

Cleaning firm not form

[Moonchild18]

I don't see a problem with it tbh, alot of domestic cleaners are actually self employed, who are sub contracted by another cleaning company, so it's likely that if she had to cancel and take the day off due to childcare issues she would have lost money. I'm a self employed cleaner, I'm fortunate to have my mother for my childcare but there have been occasions I've had to cancel due to childcare and its resulted in me losing money and with how the cost of living is atm, losing out on a day's wage is just not possible for some people. 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.

[solvendie]

I think your view depends on whether you are focused on outputs or outcomes. If I’m happy with the outcome (sparkly house) I would not really look at the output if the cost had seemed reasonable to me. If I was not happy with the outcome (things missed) I would question whether the agreed outputs had been achieved and whether the deficit had been caused by staff not being productive due to childcare. Overall, I would wait to see if you are happy with the cleaning or not before deciding how to proceed

[Tiani4]

My cleaner years ago when I was a disabled lone parent of 3 young DCs, brought her child round my house a few times Ive time month and I found out as she was a friend and I stayed home one week and her mum had also let in on "how great it was she could bring her (18 mo old ) DD to my house Friday mornings so she didn't have to babysit then as well" . "Not like when she cleans at the hospital) or for (cleaning) business"

I'd been wondering why our biscuit jar, treat cupboard, were often empty (she took the food out and gave it to her DD), I found a sticky lolly once under my DDs bed, and my DDs bedroom toys were all mixed up, things missing/ moved when they'd been tidied away, and not even half as much had been done in 3 hours as before .

Cleaner friend (who charged me her usual full rates) was leaving her DD in my kitchen or in my DDs bedroom unsupervised or had been spending part of those 3 hours playing with her DD at my house / in my garden when she was being paid to clean.

She barely did much when I stayed home as her DD needed attention but tried to ask me to entertain her DD whilst she cleaned (my DD napped at that time so I did some computer work in the study) when I stayed home and caught her out unexpectedly(to me)

I was extremely unhappy and said this has to stop or she could not continue to be my cleaner.

I didn't have a Ring doorbell but found out she was turning up 1/2 hr late too & leaving having not finished . It's the thin end of the wedge when you have an unprofessional cleaner.

[troubledworld]

Holy moly, the way people treat cleaners is absolutely appalling. They clean your filth! Hardly rocket science and doesn't require total concentration.

I'm not even like this with the much higher than average amount I pay my cleaner in London and I am a neat/clean freak, but I'd rather pay more than less for the awful jobs they have to do. And I don't go around checking before paying, jesus. I'd welcome a baby or toddler with welcome arms.

Cut your cleaner some slack, OP. She still turned up and did the cleaning. Maybe she didn't want to disturb you on holiday. She's a low earner. Have some empathy. Just politely ask them not to do it again.

[WhatsTheEffingPoint]

To anyone....if you work as a self employed cleaner can I just ask what you would do regarding child care (if someone else couldn't look after the child) if you worked in say in a shop or office?
Is it because you are in a 'home' setting you feel you can ask to bring your child along if needed?

I'm just curious as I've always been in office jobs and whenever there has been a childcare issue its always been a case of that person has to take the time off (holiday or unpaid) I think only once did the person bring their child to the office with permission but then they didn't really work for the day either as had to keep supervising their child as they were bored/hungry/thirsty/need the toilet etc.

[troubledworld]

I've worked in many offices over the years and yes people have brought in their children when needed. But it's an unfair comparison as it's easy to work for most office jobs (in my experience). And, office jobs tend to pay considerably more than what cleaners earn.

[Toosadtocomprehend]

@PinkButtercups

I agree with this.

Agree and also the cleaner didn’t want to let you down and be unreliable!

[troubledworld]

*Easy to work from home for most office jobs

[birdseatworms]

My issue would be that they seemed to trying to block the camera to sneak the baby/toddler in and I would never be comfortable with either of them in my home again.

[EmeraldShamrock1]

I wouldn't have rang her superior I'd have had a chat when I returned if the house wasn't up to standard.

I'd consider the bigger picture.

[EmeraldShamrock1]

if you work as a self employed cleaner can I just ask what you would do regarding child care (if someone else couldn't look after the child) if you worked in say in a shop or office?
Call in sick, say goodbye to your earnings for the day.