Abusive cleaner took pics of my home

[ChicExpert]

My lovely self employed cleaner went back to her own country. New cleaner started this week. House is tidy but dirty floor and surfaces, needs a good vacuum/mop/wiping up. We hire 4 hours a week for a deep clean of the downstairs(kitchen dining living room)/hallway and stairs. Standard 3 bed house in London with kitchen extension, takes me 2 hours to do but pay for 4 so the job gets done properly.

New cleaner came and in 4 hours couldn't clean what we asked which is just vacuum/mop and wipe down all surfaces. Had to ask her to clean individual window seals as she didn't and when she left I noticed the living room window seal wasnt cleaned. She broke my glass chopping board and didn't say anything and left chemicals in the oven which I told her not to clean. Last cleaner was able to wipe the skirting boards and didn't leave a spec of dirt in corners, this cleaner left many areas dirty.

I said nothing and thought I won't hire again. The company messaged me why I don't want to hire again and I said I wasn't happy with the clean nothing else.

I then get very abusive messages and pictures of my floor being dirty saying my house is disgusting. Didn't get to respond before I was blocked by the company.

AIBU? I feel completely violated and want to complain some how. She took photos of my home without permission.

Don't even know what to do now and feel uncomfortable using another cleaner. Husband says I'm over reacting :( am I?

FYI I've added a photo of my home before the cleaner came. Floors are clearly dirty but the kitchen is tidy/needs wipe down.

I wish, I tidy the kitchen everyday and make dinner. Dishwasher alone is on cycle once a day sometimes two 😬

Some people are pathetic 🤦‍♀️

It wasn’t a whole house. Just the downstairs.

Ah, your post said you tidy messy toys and dishes every week. That makes it very much sound like it's not getting done regularly.

Can you not move out? Why isn't DH helping?

My floors aren't that bad, the photo is of her brushing the dirt from the whole kitchen to one corner and on that day it was particularly dirty...

I’m surprised at the responses here telling you to clean, what’s the point in hiring a cleaner if you’re expected to clean yourself? It doesn’t really matter how dirty the floor is if they’re going to clean it anyway, it still takes the same amount of time to hoover and mop 1 sq meter whether it’s got 1 crumb or 50 crumbs on it.

@DodoTired genuinely, why is that pathetic? Seems a bit OTT.

No it sounded absolutely fine, I understood exactly what she meant - as I said, you were just picking on the OP, CHOOSING to interpret her words in the worst possible way. Have a word with yourself 🙄

A lot of MN posters seem very competitive and come on these boards to prove their superiority over others, and these pile ons suggest insecurities on the part of the judgemental people. The state of OP’s life/household/family setup/standards is irrelevant to the question asked.

From OP’s post, the cleaner did not do what she was contracted to do. Rather than make a fuss, OP decided not to use their services in future, as is her right. OP’s question is about whether cleaning company’s response (which does come across as abusive from what she has described) is appropriate and from my perspective, I think cleaning company behaved inappropriately. They don’t have a right to OP’s custom and she wasn’t satisfied with their work - that should have been it. It’s not like she even left a bad review or asked for a refund. Maybe their overly aggressive stance is why they are having to chase dissatisfied customers. If it was a question of not having enough time to satisfy all of OP’s demands, why did they do stuff she hadn’t asked for and not do stuff she requested?

It's like going to a hairdresser with a specific request, hairdresser doing something different and then trying to shame the unhappy client afterwards with a picture showing the poor state of her hair before the haircut and calling the client ungrateful. A good hairdresser would be clear about expectations beforehand and let the client know if she thought the client had unrealistic expectations that she could not meet, and make her own professional suggestions.

You need to get a robot hoover and set it to a cleaning schedule. But who is dropping packaging and just leaving it for the cleaner?

Some of these answers, op look. If you want the house deep cleaned you need to employ a cleaner for more hours. A deep clean will not be done in 4 in that size of house, with six adults, two pets living there and in that condition. It’s that simple. Put it up to six, and see where you are, if it’s still not enough then go to 8, or consider twice a week so it doesn’t get to that condition. So 4 hours twice a week.

No, I wasn't choosing anything.

"I swim every week!" - I'd think they went swimming once a week.

"I make curry every week!" - I'd think they made curry once a week.

Vs.

"I swim every day!" ....

Better? 😁

Can she not move??? 😂😂😂😂😂 Yeah op fire the cleaner, buy a smaller house so you can clean it yourself. That is the most obvious solution to having a bad cleaning company!

@GiddyRobin you need to look at reaction sizes to small problems!

It is pathetic that you feel “rude” about leaving crumbs on the floor to the cleaner. You completely made up a rule about dirt and mess - its absolutely your own hang up.

Get a hand hoover and spend 2 minutes a day on the floor. Givevthe kids jobs.

Learn to read. It was for downstairs only.

It's not about her poor cleaning company. It's about living with other grown adults who are refusing to clean up their mess. I'm not the only one who asked why she can't move. Maybe read the full thread?

Don't feel overwhelmed. I'm a cleaner. I take each house as I find it. I never judge. I tidy as well as clean if that's what's wanted. It can take a while to figure out where things go and to meet the clients every expectation but just keep interviewing cleaners until you find the right match for you. Ask them questions about what they will and won't do. I'll do most things but I absolutely won't touch tv screens for example. One tiny wrong move and I'll have knackered a £2k+ screen!!

Absolutely horrible pile on OP. Take no notice. The messages from the agency were appalling. Useless cleaner. Move on and good luck with the pregnancy.

@DodoTired bit of an overreaction from you. I see it as a distinction between a maid and a cleaner. Not a hang up but a difference of opinion. Doesn’t make either of us pathetic or wrong.

One of us is rude though.

And that’s an answer of a true professional.
Applause 👏🏽

Read the answer above of a professor cleaner. They won’t find it “rude” because its their job. The distinction is also in your head, sorry. It doesn’t matter.

It's time to sit the other adults down and read them the riot act, OP.

Scream, shout, shame. They live like pigs.

There is no way a home with grown adults who are not slobby students should be living like that - crunching through crumbs and detritus in the rooms they all use.

If they won't clean, then they need to pay for cleaners who will, twice a week.

Your cleaners were wrong to complain though. They were paid to do a job and they did not. I have a friend who went through some difficult years (two sets of twins, depression) whose house was always knee deep in crumbs, spills, pet fur, lego, and kibble, and a crew of four restored it to ship shape in three or four hours every week, including two gross bathrooms, bombsite kitchen, changing all beds, and picking up and hoovering children's bedrooms too.

I can categorically assure you it doesn't. Most hoovers, Dyson in particular, are pretty crap at picking up bits and often push things along rather than pick them up. It can take multiple passes to ensure every last speck is picked up.

Thank you; I already feel so ashamed that things have got so out of hand. I have been having dizzy spells and the other night ended up on my knees on the kitchen floor because I was trying to clean after the kids went to bed, after a full day's work while still recovering from the horrible sickness I had. I'm just so exhausted. I've 3 young kids too and myself and DH are both about the burn out. We have zero support; no family, no babysitters, no cleaners and we are drowning. I just need a cleaner to just help me out a bit and clean my dirty apartment so I can have a bit of a breather. I don't want someone taking pictures of how dirty my home is; I would feel so violated!