Is this standard practice having a cleaner?

[lightcurtains]

I posted last year about DW wanting a cleaner and I didn't.

Well today was the first day of us having a cleaner. We tidied the house beforehand. It wasn't dirty as we cleaned it last week but obviously I know cleaners will do a more thorough job, and a deeper clean.

We booked a cleaner.
It is 2 cleaners who come for 1 hour.
The fee is £30 for the 1 hour.

The cleaners have now messaged to say that they were here for 2.5 hours so the fee is £75.

Is that usual practice?

Not normal, no. You book for a time period - in your case 2 hours - and they complete as many of their usual jobs in that time. Changing beds and folding laundry is not standard IME. Usually for first couple of visits, not all rooms get done as they are getting used to layout etc. But they should do kitchen and bathroom and say "sorry, we missed the bedroom this time, we'll start with that next time".

I'd make it clear next time, it's only the time, and you want xyz doing, priority being abc.

If I was you, I’d pay for it this time stating since it was a ‘first clean’ however in future you will only be paying for the 1 hour

To be honest cleaners usually like to do a deep clean the first time so they can then keep on top of it the next visit. They should have told you that in advance though. Sounds good value though as that is only £15 per cleaner per hour! The agency can't be taking that much commision or they are getting crap pay. Most cleaners around here charge £12 to £15 per hour and agencies charge more.

2 hours isn't a great deal for a thorough fortnightly clean of a 3 bed house. I spend about that much time on mine each weekend and that's a pretty superficial. clean.

You're going to need to be very clear that you want them to stick to an hour, and give a list of the things you want done in that time - in priority order in case they can't manage it all.

Also be really clear that while toilet paper flowers etc are cute, you don't need or want that level of service in future.

So they have written themselves a blank cheque!! No way is this normal - you arrange a price per hour and how many hours and they do that only. Any more should be agreed beforehand.

Hi , i own a cleaning company.
we always do a deep clean first , but always tell the client first .
they have done 1hr 15 each which isnt a lot by our standards for a first clean .
we would do
mould removal in bathrooms, tiles , showers ,
top of large shower heads, remove all lotions and potions clean everywhere , all woodwork skirtings, behind sink toilet, derust towel rails , remove limescale from fans , steam floors .
thats just a bathroom. our average first cleans are 12-28 hours, but we are very detailed .
not enough time there really for what we would consider a deep clean 🧼

Ours charge 4 hours, £15 per hour; however they come in a group of 4 so it is only one hour each.

not sure how much work there was to do in your house but 2 hours does not seem enough to me.

I am a cleaner. I agree with my clients before hand the number of hours they want, and ask them to prioritise why they want doing. I charge £15 an hour.
Are you sure they were in the house that long?

no, it should be the price they’ve said, and they should stick to what’s agreed and not do more and then bill you for extra. My cleaner is a friend of mine, she charges £30 for 2hrs clean. She manages to get all the house done (5 beds but 1 has a tiny bit of floor space only so doesn’t need much. But I told her to leave at 2hrs bang on, and if she doesn’t finish a room she can start next time. But she insists on staying no extra charge, plus some of the time she plays with my dog. She also brings her dog with her so doesn’t mind a bit extra. I’d be annoyed if the agreed price more than double

Nip it in the bud or it will happen every time.

In my experience the cleaner might do a deep clean and charge more the first time but that should have been agreed.

They absolutely should have communicated beforehand but it's not unusual for the first clean to be a longer clean and then to go down to the agreed time.
If you are happy with what they did then its worth discussing with them and confirming that next time it will be only an hour.

Did it look as though one person had spent five hours working on it?

Absolutely no way would I be paying for the extra unless I was told in advance that this would be an option. In the circumstances you have described I'd be saying something like the following,

"Hi, you've done an excellent job but I am a little confused and alarmed by your pricing and timing. We had agreed a 1 hour clean total cost £30. I understand you had advised could be up to 30 minutes additional, which would've been an additional £15 and that was fine - but you're now trying to charge for 2.5 hours work which was never discussed or agreed. You did not check with us before spending this time to confirm we could afford this or were happy with the cost. We were initially happy to pay anyway considering the good job but you've now also admitted to breaking our property and your solution is to reduce the bill by £20 - which is still £10 higher than anticipated / agreed before the job and doesn't factor in our broken property. We want to continue with your services but feel this issue needs to be resolved first so that we are all on the same page with future services, as we cannot afford and are not willing to have this happen again."

And wait for a response. I think they're cheeky as hell to be honest!

No. You booked them for the time allocated

I clean a 3 bed house once a week for 5 hours. An older working couple with no kids. Its a deep clean every week. That includes bedding changes, two big en suite bathrooms, inside fridge and two ovens and all internal windows, all skirting boards, mirrors, pulling out all furniture and cleaning behind etc. often an hour of ironing in there too.

2 hours once a fortnight might not be realistic tbh in a house with kids.

Your house should have been left absolutely perfect and sparkling if you've had 5 hours for the first clean though.

See what happens next time they come if you can afford it. If they want to overstay again you tell them they need your okay first.

First clean 12-28 hours??? I'm stunned if that's the case, any cleaner I have booked has only ever done maximum of 4 hours first clean for a 3 bedroom house.

As I’ve said earlier, your initial quote is exactly what I pay for and as we live in the same area, the price is fair. I have either one cleaner for two hours or two cleaners for one hour depending on the staffing rota.

But I think there has been some poor communication between you and the cleaners ( doesn’t really matter which party has made the mistake) as they have charged you correctly, ie £15 per hour per person ( £30 total for one hour). It looks as if they cleaned for longer than the hour you were expecting, this could be because it took them longer than they thought as it was an initial clean or because they did not do a pre visit to price the work correctly.

I suggest you ask them why they cleaned for longer than you expected and find out what they will be doing in future - will it be the equivalent of two hours a visit as you thought or do they need longer? Then you can decide if you want to continue using them.

As I said, two hours is sufficient to clean my bungalow as I live alone so really only use four rooms regularly ( kitchen, bathroom, lounge and one bedroom) which get done each visit while the other rooms are done in a rota. My cleaners do change the bedding in the spare rooms but these only need doing every few months after visitors. My bedding I do myself as I use a washable coverless duvet so easy for me to manage! I am very minimalist and there is very little out to dust or tidy up and mainly have easy clean laminate floors.

Knowing how hard it is to get cleaners near where you and I live, I suggest you give them another go but clarify the pricing structure first so that it is clear to both of you.

I wouldn't think that 5hrs is bad for a first clean.

I would have paid the reduced amount for the broken item though!

This is perfect.

They're taking the piss!

It seems like they think they will stay as long as needed so £30 per hour. And you thought it would be one hour only at £30. Is there a contract? I think if you only want one hour you perhaps need to be clear you do not want them to go over.

You are paying them, so it is up to you to tell them what you want done. If you leave it to them to decide, don't be surprised if they spend time plumping cushions and doing origami with the toilet paper or other unnecessary tasks which are far less onerous than, for example, scrubbing the shower tray.