To not pay cleaner in full?

[Cheesybroccoli]

I hired a cleaner at the end of last year for a fortnightly clean via a cleaning company. The actual cleaner keeps changing due to staff leaving, so I seem to have a new cleaner every time which is frustrating but I appreciate this can’t be helped.

A new cleaner came yesterday and all seemed well until I went up to the bathroom, the glass shower screen hadn’t been touched and was still covered in water marks and the tiles hadn’t been wiped down, with a blob of shower gel foam still on it. Everything else in the bathroom was clean, including the shower taps, so it was odd that it was missed.

I spoke to the woman who owns the company and brought it to her attention who said she would speak to the cleaner. However, she’s still invoiced me for the full amount. DH thinks I shouldn’t pay in full since the job wasn’t completed properly, but I feel awkward asking for a discount. What would you do in this situation?

You've raised the issue so id let it go this time but given the staff turnover the chances of poor service continuing seems high. I'd therefore look for alternatives now

Because she's paying for someone else to do it.

What would I do? I'd be glad that most of my home had been cleaned by someone else, and finished off the few jobs that remained. You can't expect a discount because someone missed a tiny bit.

Ditto

Does your husband get his pay reduced or given chance to do it right in future?

Are they employed to do specific jobs in the time they spend, or is it a case of as much as they can do in the time allotted ?

No the shower, and the shower screen is a big part of cleaning for me. I'd rather anyone concentrated on the bathroom shower and toilet than anything else.

He’s a builder so yes if he missed off part of the work he was being paid for, his clients definitely wouldn’t pay in full - unless he rectified it of course

In 2 hours they’re meant to clean the bathroom, vacuum, dust, mop and clean the kitchen…so not loads to do. 2 beds and 1 bathroom upstairs, living room, kitchen, conservatory and wc downstairs.

Just to add as well, it’s a large walk in shower, with two pieces of floor to ceiling glass, and two fully tiled walls (similar photo attached) so a pretty big part of the bathroom.

It sounds like a legitimate error. I'd let it go this time, maybe even a second time if it was well into the future, but that would be it

Never done this.

You could ask for a discount but it could also be quicker to just clean it yourself.

I would raise the shower issue then keep an eye out to check next time.

What does she mean she was distracted by the second cleaner opening the vacuum? Are they sending 2 cleaners round (to a 2 bed semi) or haven't I read that properly?

It sounds like the final straw, as you've been having ongoing problems. I'd start looking for a new cleaner.

Some cleaning companies do this yes. Two cleaners get the job done in half the time for the same price. So for example, a two hour clean costing £30, in reality would take one hour and the payment would be split.

OP, if you really want to clean the shower, you need to specify this. And 2 hours isn't an excessive time to clean a 2 bedroom house.
I'd let it go

@ginasevern no you've read that correctly, I was baffled by this too

If there are two cleaners do they allot one hour for a two hour clean because there are two of them ? This is how it works for us - the cleaning company sometimes send two cleaners but our two hour clean is completed in one hour and we are charged the same price. If this is the case for you it’s difficult to determine what went wrong - possibly one thinking the other had done it.

If it's not a big deal, then it needs to be cleaned by whoever last used the shower.

What does wiping the shower down constitute? I don't think I've ever done this!

The problem is that cleaning a new house takes longer because the cleaner hasn't established a routine.

Also fortnightly cleans take longer and are much harder work even for a regular cleaner because they can never get on top of things. Usually first and second cleans mean rushing around like a lunatic and after that it's easier.

Yes deduct something - they didn't do the job properly. Also would look at not continuing with the company. Doesn't sound a good setup.

@Praying4Peace it's no big deal, so it doesn't need to be done by anyone in the household. The person it absolutely, definitely does need to be done by - is the person being paid to do it.

A shower scraper thing - doesn't everyone use these?
You just scrape the water away and the glass is left clean
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