Am I being wrong here ?

[ivise]

Hello. Long story short . I work as self employed cleaner for company who provides clients . One of the clients has 3 rabbits,one of them are running around ,so there is poop everywhere in the living room. It's a new client , so after I cleaned everything,she mentioned that I haven't cleaned her rabbit cage. She wants me to sweep out all the poop and hey inside the actual cage. I was a bit shocked but I didn't know what to do as she said that is what she wanted . I thought she wanted just to clean mess around living floor and around cage not actual inside .?
Is this normal? Never ever any of my clients has ever asked me to clean after their own animals . She expects me to do quite a lot already compared to others but this was a bit odd for me . I did clean but I am not willing to do this again. Am I being unreasonable for thinking to leave the client and ask her to find another cleaner ?

I'm not a cleaner but I would absolutely be saying no to this. Seems like a ridiculously unreasonable request.

Guess as with most professional relationships it's up to the client what she wants from the service and then it's up to the service provider if they want to provide that service. Whenever I've had a cleaner they're generally just keeping things sanitary and I do the rest, but have had a friend whos cleaner was more like a housekeeper. She'd change the bed, put a wash on, do the ironing etc. Cleaning out a pet would have just been one more job on the list.

So, unreasonable for her to 'expect' it, but not unreasonable to ask. Equally not unreasonable for you to say no!

I'm poor so don't have a cleaner but this isn't something I'd expect them to do.

I'd say no next time unless they are paying more and you're willing otherwise they'll need to find someone else.

I would think that's beyond the normal expectations of a cleaner. I'd be shocked if I was expected to do that.

I’m a cleaner, not a chance I’d do this! My go to (especially when I’m put on the spot) is to blame insurance. “I’d be happy to but unfortunately my insurance doesn’t cover it” and to be fair using the wrong cleaning stuff on a pets cage can be disastrous

I’ve been asked to walks dogs and said no for this reason, I’ve also finished a job only to realise that she’s gone out and left her kids with me! She then messaged and asked me to hold out for when she’s home in half an hour. Most clients are lovely but some do take this piss

Seems outside of the ordinary, but perhaps if you want extra money, you could offer to do it for an extra 30 minutes work?

I wouldn’t have done that, I would have reported her.

I think it should be categorised as an additional job with additional time and pay allocated to it. I would not expect a cleaner to clean up after my pet as part of a standard house clean service. I think the client is cheeky. However he or she wants the rabbit hutch cleaned for them and that's ok too. So they need to specify it and pay for it. I think you should advocate for this or if you are really uncomfortable with this type of cleaning, ask for a different client.

@cheerfulaf she actually mentioned that my client provided been told that. But never been informed that otherwise I would have never taken her on

Charge extra if she wants that

Just a heads up, I’d be very firm on boundaries with this client and be ready to drop her if needed. You said you’re already doing a lot in your time frame and now she’s asked this. In my experience people like this are very much “give them an inch and they’ll take a mile”

I love rabbits but that's over and above what you should be doing.

Absolutely not being unreasonable.

I wouldn't expect you to pick poo of any type up from the floor. Dog. Lambs. Whatever. Never mind clean the hutch out. No no no.

@LovelyDaaling same . I literally did it for them today as looked like she hasn't for while but not my regular thing

@cheerfulaf how do I tell her I no longer want her as my client , do I tell her or the person who provides me clients ? As both of them didn't mention this and I am not sure who to blame .I just don't want her as my client as I can smell the surprises coming 😃

I would talk to your agency first and see what they say. If they say it’s up to you to tell her then you could just say “unfortunately I took on more jobs than I’m able to manage, the agency will be happy to arrange a replacement”

I run my own cleaning business for this reason, I can give anyone the chop at anytime 😂 I started with an agency but then clients would say their neighbour/friend needed a cleaner so I’d take them on privately. Eventually the private clients took over. Definitely worth doing OP, the money’s a lot better and you have complete control

@cheerfulaf yes I will text.But if he knows he probably expects us to do that ,but this is something I don't want .

Also I am looking in to , this is my first time ever doing private houses ,wanted to test it out and seems all my regulars are really happy about my cleans ,so I am thinking to do it myself . Just need to figure out on how I get more clients

Just tell the client that you’ve double checked your insurance and you’re not covered for anything involving pets due to potential accidental death or illness.

Word of mouth is how I built my business. I’ve never advertised for work (absolutely nothing wrong with that though, Facebook and Nextdoor are great) as I said my clients would recommend me to someone they knew so I’d take them on privately. Public liability insurance is really affordable as well so it’s all in all it’s a pretty simple business to run.

I’ve done it for 6 years now and love it and love my clients. Wishing you all the best, you’ve got this!

@cheerfulaf thank you 🙏

Just say you're not covered to clean/deal with pets on your insurance.

Thats crazy, would you clean someone's cat litter box? You just wouldn't same goes for cages.

I wouldn't have done it in the first place as a domestic cleaner. I swear clients have more and more unrealistic expectations as the years go on.

I'd tell them you're not cleaning for that particular client and they'll have to assign someone else. The only shit you should have to deal with at the most, is skids in the bog.