To have said this to my cleaner?

[wellwatnow]

NC for this. I've had this last cleaner for almost a year, I've had several over the years and although this one isn't all that great she's one of the best at cleaning and I will say is by far the most reliable. She comes every other Monday and sometimes I have to text her on a Sunday afternoon to tell her I won't be in as she has to use the key safe (usually I am home).

I wasn't home last time she came, and I won't be home tomorrow either. As always I thanked her for doing a good job, she's always said I must let her know if anything is missed out with her cleaning, so I asked her if she could make sure my laundry room gets a good clean as she forgot to do it last time.

Anyway, a while later she replied and said no problem, sorry if you thought the laundry room hadn't been cleaned, she said she had cleaned it but would give it a good clean. I replied to thank her and said I'd noticed that one of the wall cupboard doors had definitely not been cleaned which made me think she'd forgotten the room. Well she replied quite quickly by saying she knows which door I mean, and that she hadn't cleaned it because it looked like it was covered in dried cat sick (my cat often sleeps on the top of the wall cupboards in the laundry room) and that she didn't want to clean it, and that I must have known about it because otherwise how did I know it hadn't happened after she left? She said she left it as she didn't want to clean it up and thought it could be the thing we never spoke about, whatever that means. She then said she can't make tomorrow but would be in touch when she's free.

I suspect now that she won't be coming back, which is infuriating as it's impossible to get people to clean, all my friends that have cleaners tell me they are too busy and won't give me their numbers. I only found this one as she was cleaning for a neighbour one day. I had to wait ages for her to find a space to fit me in. But I can't help think she's taking this way too personally.

You started you post with " this one isnt all that great"..... yet shes the best cleaner. Wtf do you want from her?
I hope this somehow finds its way back to her

Cats can climb and jump up high.

See, one of our Managers said she got on much better with her cleaner after she realised that cleaners work for themselves and not for you. She said once she realised that, their relationship was fine.

Bluntly, it sounds like you need her more than she needs you. She sounds like she has a clear sighted understanding of her own worth and does not have to put up with someone who tells her how she should do her job or who doesn't apologise when they realise they have left cat sick cupboards for her to clean.

She sounds very professional, she is running her business well with good t&cs in place and firm boundaries to make sure she is protected from clients who would take the pee whilst offering a good and reliable service.

Her business sounds more professional and well run than many, no wonder she is full with a waiting list, this is what most customers would like to see and will wait for.

Cleaning is not an easy job. Its hard physical work and wrecks the skin on your hands.

Try it if you think its so easy.

Again she sounds really professional OP, I would apologise (say you were having a bad day and not thinking etc) and hope that she hasn't filled your spot and may be willing to reconsider.

You said in a previous post she 'sounded bossy' but having her business practices set out clearly and communicating these clearly is not bossy at all, it's what professionals do, it's a hallmark of quality of service. If someone has no t&c's in place they do not understand their responsibilities, either towards themselves or towards their clients or towards anyone who may work for them in the future.

I'm absolutely appalled at comments like that. The lack of respect for cleaners is nauseating.

You aren’t doing any cleaning in between, houses have to be cleaned as you go.

Your perceived high standards clearly don’t apply to yourself.

What strikes me about your posts is you don’t have a shred of embarrassment.

Whether the cleaner returns or not, you need to think about how you speak to people but I expect you won’t.

If you know your cat sleeps on top of the cupboard and there is something that looks like cat sick down the doors, it's your cat's cat sick. What else could look like that in the laundry room. I think you were pretty cheeky to accuse her of not cleaning the room when it was obvious what had happened. She was being the bigger person not mentioning it.

How grim, leaving dried up cat sick for a cleaner to sort. I wouldn't come back,

Well, I often do what my very occasional cleaner does for me.
But deep cleans are definitely difficult hence why they are paid more.
As for the hands, are you serious, who doesn't wear gloves these days?
I wear gloves, my cleaner also asks for gloves.

Anyway, a while later she replied and said no problem, sorry if you thought the laundry room hadn't been cleaned, she said she had cleaned it but would give it a good clean.

to which you could have replied: „perfect, thank you!“

Lesson learned for next time, I suppose…

People who are allergic maybe?

Easy job? Oh and you've been lucky with your cleaner because she's foreign? She'll do the jobs other people might not - not sure if that's the flex you think it is tbh

You think cleaning peoples homes is an easy job - as for the twenty quid an hour I expect she's self employed and has to pay NI contributions from that and put money aside for a tax bill if they earn over the threshold -plus travel between jobs. Not a fortune as a self employed person

I find it strange that you told her you thought she had forgotten that room, that does sound rude. Perhaps the rest of the home took longer this time.

I think if you have to ask if what you said was unreasonable then it almost certainly was....... & she obviously thought so &, as one previous poster says, this is when you find out you need her more than she needs you

anyway, you say she wasn't that good - nows time to prove you can do better 😂

Sooo ... now that you know that it's cat sick, that your cleaner isn't prepared to clean cat sick, and that she may well be offended or have sacked you... are you going to do anything to try to rescue the relationship? Because I don't think it's too late for a "I'm sorry, you're well within your rights to not want to clean cat sick, hope you have a good week and see you soon x". What's the worst that could happen?

People on here just think cleaners are all in the right. ‘If you don’t like it clean your own house you lazy so and so’ - is often said. Clearly not understanding that cleaners are paid to do a job and the person paying them to do the job is within their rights to question why it’s not been done properly.

We’ve only ever had one good cleaner / housekeeper. And we paid her well. The rest have been on and off pretty average - bad.

Cleaning means cleaning, not deciding which bits you feel like cleaning and which bits you don’t. Pathetic.

Them being paid to do a job does not equal all and sundry being free to take the absolute piss out of them.

So basically it's fine to clean cat puke because they are a cleaner?

Agreed.

If there’s cat puke to clean, then yes.

I was wondering about that too!

I don’t get why OP needs to know the amount of hours she’s getting. The price for the job is the price? You see often how people get irate that they paid for x hours and they know the cleaner only did y hours. Surely the price for the job is fine?
OP says the cleaner is bossy….. I think OP feels the cleaner is beneath her tbh. How dare the cleaner have t&cs that she sticks to 🤣
Some people’s attitudes to cleaners is just ridiculous. Its hard graft tbf especially if people are leaving dried pet vomit around

Op you need to apologise to her, she isn't there to clean up cat sick, you made a point that's now backfired ' yes your point was ahe didn't clean it up ' you seen it yourself before leaving and assumed she would clean it up,
Why didn't you txt she on leaving and say ' sorry about the cat sick will sort it when am home ' you didn't because you assumed ahe would,

So apologise big time,