To wish my cleaner would stop with the reminders?

[JMSA]

I have a cleaner who cleans my flat on a fortnightly basis. Usually I'm at work when she comes, but we've always got on really well on the occasions I've caught her. I'm really considerate and always have my place tidy and ready for her to clean. I'm always flexible and genuinely really appreciate her.
One thing I've genuinely never let her down with is payment. The money will always be transferred on the evening of the day she has come. I've never let her down on this, not once.
Today I bumped into her as she was leaving my place and I was getting home from work. Two hours later, when I was in the middle of making the kids' dinner, there was a message from her asking me to pay. I don't think there's any need for this, when I'm trustworthy and reliable every single time.
I don't set up a standing order because I'd rather just pay on the day she comes. This keeps me right in case she ever has to change day.
AIBU?

I don't know why you just don't leave her cash.

Exactly this. (From another SE person!)

if she was always on time to do her job at your house, and one day she was 10 minutes late would you message to ask where she was? similarly she has every right to be paid on time, and completely fair to message to remind you. i would have been embarrassed rather than annoyed. where i come from there’s a saying: always pay your worker before the sweat on their forehead dries. I would start leaving her payement in cash to take home with her when she leaves!

The OP is the client in this case.

The cleaner is a self-employed professional, like a solicitor or a dentist or anyone else in the private practice of a profession.

The people she cleans for are her clients. It's not the other way round.

This was in reply to @WiddlinDiddlin

why you pay in the evening instead of before she comes or right after she leaves? she might think you won't be paying her, if you are always paying her after her text she might think she has to remind it to you as you are not paying right after she leaves....

This is nonsense. You pay the hairdresser, taxi driver, masseur, beautician, cobbler, window cleaner, locksmith, carwasher, gardener, dog groomer, farrier, watch repairer etc etc etc as soon as they do the work.

Paying immediately is completely normal for small services.

As with hairdressers you are physically present to pay a nail technician.

I've often done self employed / freelance work. IInvoice the client not harrass them an hour after finishing the job

Cleaners don’t typically invoice though do they

If it's a regular clean, set up a standing order. Or have cash for her to pick up when she's finished. Either of them would be fine.

why not pay straight away and then it stops her having to remind you. She could just as easily write a message on here saying ‘Aibu for expecting to be paid upon completion’ - you don’t know her circumstances, she may have bills to pay by a deadline or kids waiting to be fed.

Payment on the same day can never reasonably be described as "late".

I'd pay it no mind OP, she probably drops reminders to everyone.

I'd ignore most of the arguing on this thread. Just keep paying promptly and you'll be fine.

You should pay her the morning she comes so she's got the money as soon as she's finished the job. Cleaning isn't a well paid job, she likely needs the money asap and you keep her waiting for a whole day before you pay her. Maybe her texts are her way of hinting that she needs to be paid more promptly.

I Think a lot of cleaners probably who get paid daily probably rely on that money more than you think. If they got paid weekly it may not be such a problem but she probably has to fill the car up with petrol, get dinner, pay a bill etc and getting paid in the evening May be leaving her short. I don't think she is reminding you because she thinks you are not going to pay, I think she is prompting you too pay sooner.

My gardener sends me the link to pay before he leaves

This. Maybe she really need the money to buy food. My cleaner always likes cash.

So you (and others) think there should not be a gap, between someone carrying out their work and getting paid? Can I ask what your job is?

The reason I’m asking is because, most people do NOT get paid before or immediately after carrying out a job. Most have to wait until payday, which can be once a month (or sometimes a week) in arrears. In fact, if extra hours have been worked, the normal payment for those is a month in arrears, meaning it can take up to 8 weeks to receive the payment for these.
Genuine question….why are cleaners treated so differently?

I find that a little odd actually. Did the reminder seem to come because you bumped in to her that day? I feel like paying on the evening of the cleaning is totally normal and reasonable and i’d be a bit irritated at the reminder two hours in advance of when i normally pay.
for context, i have a great cleaner who I’ve recommended to about 15+ people, She comes every week, when i moved to a smaller place i kept her on the same number of hours even though she the place would be fine with fewer, I make her lunch every week and…. i forget to transfer her fee all the time. But she sends me a gentle reminder text the next day saying just ‘good morning’. We get on great and she does an excellent job but if she sent me that reminder 2 hours after leaving without explaining that she really needed it sooner l, i’d be thinking wtf

Yep Yabu.

this is a standard reminder message she’ll send out to all clients, also a record of when she worked for you.

I always pay immediately. Out of principle.

Because if you owe me and don't pay immediately. Oh boy 😅

@CrashyTime people who wait a month have a singular employer, who usually is bound to pay you and can't skip the consequence of not paying.

And anyway most of you are acting like the cleaner is demanding thousands. You Obviously don't have one.

If you are busy enough to need or want a cleaner then it means you are busy making money And if you're making money the cleaners bill would be insignificant to you.

If it's less then 150pw what are you crying about, because she wants her money. She should have it, the latest, on completion of work.

You seem like the same clown who's hire cowboy builders and pay upfront and be proud.

I pay my cleaner upfront and in advance 1month. For both of my houses because I appreciate her.

If you haven't paid, you'll get a reminder. To stop it pay quicker.

Please don’t be upset by this. It’s no reflection on you in anyway shape or form. We’re in a financial crisis (UK) and cleaners are not as well paid due to not usually working full time. Maybe they were waiting on the money being transferred so they could pop to the shops for dinner before they closed or to get breakfast the next day. I knew a babysitter that literally needed the money on the night of baby sitting to allow her to eat that night and the next day. You don’t know people’s situations.

make her lunch every week and…. i forget to transfer her fee all the time. But she sends me a gentle reminder text the next day saying just ‘good morning’. We get on great and she does an excellent job but if she sent me that reminder 2 hours after leaving without explaining that she really needed it sooner l, i’d be thinking wtf

Jesus, how patronising are you? Your cleaner doesn't need a reason to get paid punctually and you've already proved to be consistently late. Why don't you show her the OP and your post and see how it goes down.

As has already been pointed out, often when you pay for a service, especially from a self employed person, you pay immediately. Many service providers expect you to pay before the service is completed! It's totally different to being salaried. You don't pay the hairdresser at the end of the month, or the masseuse, or the removals driver, or the dentist, do you? You pay as soon as you've had the service they provided. Self employed low paid work like cleaning is also precarious and inconsistent and people should therefore be paid promptly.