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.

Have to say OP my floor has never been that mucky and I don’t think I’ve ever cleaned my window seals (not sure what a window seal even is) so I don’t think my standards are high!

Are you sure your lovely previous cleaner did actually return to her home country?

How long since you last had the old cleaner in?

Are you a Victorian lady prone to the vapours? It's a floor that needs a bit of a clean, there's no need for such exaggeration

I’d be embarrassed to leave a floor in that state…even for a cleaner who has come to clean.

Just ignore her OP and don’t use her again. Decent cleaners are hard to come by.

No, so what? I clean regularly and I know what can be achieved in 4 hours. I wouldn't hire a cleaner as I clean myself. Why would I pay someone when I have to clean first?

Sorry OP but that really is awful; you sweep up your rubbish off the floor so the cleaner can then hoover and mop etc without picking up a load of rubbish - why on earth is that not already in the bin? I’m not surprised they’re not going back.
You need a chores list for your household!

Bathroom is clean, as I said the cleaner is only hired to vacuum/mop/wipe surfaces in the kitchen/dining room/living room/hallway. Essentially our downstairs only, no rooms or bathrooms. I'm heavily pregnant and can't crack vacuuming and mopping hence hiring a cleaner.

I'm really confused at people's reactions? They have to be bots?
It's not THAT bad and can very easily accumulate in the space of a day. Don't be embarrassed OP, this is not a big deal. I wouldn't bat another eyelid about it and just get a professional cleaner who not only does what they're paid for but also understands why a cleaner is needed in the first place. They wouldn't have a job if mess didn't happen!
MN is full of crazies sometimes.

when you next contact a cleaner/company request that they visit first, let them have a look around and then they will tell you how long they will need to deep clean it. The first clean normally takes the longest as they need to get on top of everything but shouldn’t be as long thereafter.

Anyway, I wouldn’t be cross with the cleaner. They’re probably encouraged by the agency to take before and after photos so in the case a client complains they can defend themselves regarding what’s been done. Especially important in a house which is more of a tip than usual. However the agency owner sounds unprofessional.

Surely cleaning the seals of windows is a once a year type job, not weekly? That's probably why you didn't have it all completed in 4 hours.

If it's multligenerational living then surely there's more adults than you abd DH who can run a broom around. I've never seen a domestic floor ad bad as that.

Get a robot hoover to go around daily, that should ease some of the burden.

The state of your floor is irrelevant, the company are completely unprofessional. To take unauthorised photos inside your home and be argumentative when you said you weren’t happy with the service is ridiculous.

I don’t know what you can do about it though, if the company owner is so brazen then I wouldn’t be surprised if she publicly shared photos of your home if you left them a poor review online.

4 hours is loads! I have 3 per week for a 5 bed with 3 en-suites, family bathroom, downstairs loo and she changes 2 beds, and does a small basket of ironing, I leave her to alternate the en-suites and she alternates doors/skirting boards but she does a great job and it’s all done. I’ve had other cleaners come for the same and not finish the cleaning let alone the beds and ironing.

If there’s loads of crap on the floor it doesn’t actually take longer to run a hoover over it. Grime and grease is difficult to clean - not crumbs.

Ha ha, that reminds me of the time my SILs 63yo cleaner told SIL she was stopping cleaning because she was pregnant! 😁

@MissMoneyFairy
That's more important than a few window seals or do you mean cills.

Nope. It's definitely a window seal.

If the cleaner felt the job spec OP gave wasn’t realistic they should have said. It’s up to OP, as a paying customer, to decide how often she wants the windowsills cleaning.

I think an PP had it right when they guessed that OP might mean window sills not window seals.

I see, so just downstairs living area? Perhaps still not enough time, anyway she obviously didn't manage it. Just get someone else. Perhaps a shorter time more frequently when you have the new baby.

Their reaction tells you everything you need to know about their professionalism. It feels a bit of a violation having pictures taken in your home without your knowledge or permission. I would however understand why they’d like to have pictures but again, that needs to be agreed in advance. I’d suggest getting a robo vacuum and mop (all in one) for the time in between getting a cleaner and I would forge on looking for a cleaner so when the baby arrives it’s not something you are still trying to sort

Oh OP. You lost everyone when you showed the pics of your floors. My student house was better than that 😬

You're adding to a family that can't be arsed to quickly sweep up the shit off the floor?

Good luck with that.

Tidy as in there's nothing to tidy away, no dishes no clutter no toys or clothes just a dirty floor. I've had issues of certain family members bombing the kitchen before our last cleaner came so if I'm not home I ask for a photo before they come.

Im not a bot.

That photo the cleaner took (not the one put in her OP) is disgusting and wouldn’t accumulate in my house in one week never mind one day. That’s some serious slobbery.