How much would you pay?

[ConflictedBeagle]

I would really appreciate honest opinions please.

I booked a cleaning company for a deep clean, 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen/diner, utility, WC bathroom and en suite. It has been a couple of years since my previous (fantastic ) regular cleaner retired and I have been struggling to keep on top of things like cleaning doors, skirting boards etc.

I have been charged for 8 hours deep cleaning. Skirting boards are dusty (shows on finger when wiped), door frames not dusted, shower heads not cleaned, shower plug holes not cleaned, water marks on taps, visible marks on coffee tables, doors etc. They did hoover throughout, cleaned windows and cleaned bathrooms but not to a good standard. They also did not wipe or empty kitchen bin, which she says is not included in a deep clean.

Business owner sent the same people straight back when I complained but I was putting my son down for his nap and asked to reschedule with lots of flexibility. I also felt uncomfortable having the same people back but appreciate I may have had to get over that. The owner says she has no availability and that I have a negative attitude and should still pay for the time although she accepts the photos show things aren't cleaned but says my house was in a bad state (although the cleaners themselves had made the opposite comment on arrival).

We have left it that she has asked me to make up my own mind whether to pay or not but to keep in mind she is paying her staff for 8 hours as that is how long they were here (2 cleaners for 4 hours).

Obviously I will pay something but what do you all think would be reasonable in the circumstances? I have never had an issue like this with cleaners before and have used a few!

Many thanks

I am trying to add some pics but getting an error message at the moment, will try again shortly!

I would normally leave a review online but the fact they offered to return but weren't permitted to do so, means you take a teeny smidge of the brunt aka paying something.

If the owner actually thought the work was done well, she wouldn't have given you the open-ended offer to pay what you like. By that reasoning, you could pay zero and she has no route for complaint.

If you being thrilled with the results was 100% satisfaction, how far from that were you? I'd use that percentage as the value I'd pay. Do you think they done half of what they should have? 50% etc

Pay half. They did a half arsed job give them a hard arsed wage.

As has already been suggested, I’d pay half and ask her to bear in mind that you have got nothing like what you asked her to do.

Here is one pic

I don’t have a cleaner but often on these threads, people specify a list of tasks to be done (rather than a time or ‘deep clean’ which means different things to different people).

If they advertise a deep clean and list what that covers, I’d look at what wasn’t done and pay the relevant proportion.

I can only seem to upload one at a time!

I would also not be impressed with the owner commenting on the state of your house pre-clean. She either runs a cleaning company that deep cleans properly or not. Unless you handed over a house that was in ruins, it's a bizarre comment to make.

Her comment about my house being in a bad state was really strange and she also said that due to my negative attitude she would not be prepared to make a regular arrangement,as I had been hoping for a weekly slot (although she also then said she would not be able to correct the missed jobs for 2 weeks so not sure how that could have worked anyway).

I don't know - were they there for the full 8 hours, did you think they were working hard while they were there? What did they charge in the first place?
Was an 8 hour clean unrealistic if some things such as windows hadn't been done in a long time?

We used to have a fab cleaner, she would do upstairs one week and downstairs the following week, for two hours, and that was just for a basic clean - no windows/woodwork/skirting/oven/inside fridge etc.

That said, if all they have done is the bathrooms, windows and hoovering, I would definitely think they should have done more than that in the time. What did they quote would be included? I'd probably pay half, if it was quite expensive in the first place. If it was reasonably priced initially, I'd probably pay more.

A deep clean is exactly that. If that is not provided you are entitled to require them to reperform the services. That doesn't mean they can insist on a time inconvenient for you or not at all. I disagree with PP who says that then puts you at fault.

If you feel the clean was sufficient for a "regular" clean I'd probably give them the option to come at a time convenient to you or you will pay half.

It was definitely more of a general clean, although even with that I would have expected bin wiped and shower heads done.

They didn't clean fridge, oven, microwave etc and I had not expected that. 8 hours seems a long time for what they have done and to say they ran out of time. I went out while they were here as I have a 2 year old and also don't like people to think I am standing over them! So unfortunately I can't say how busy they seemed.

I was disappointed when I booked a deep clean too, but with hindsight, what I'd call a deep clean, of an even slightly neglected house (and why would you need one otherwise?), is going to take more than 8 hours.

Tbh, I'd pay the full amount because they know where I live and put it down to experience, learning that you really need to be specific about what's expected and what's reasonable in the time.

I’d take an estimate of what you think it would have taken you in total to do what they’ve done and pay that.

Which might only be a couple of hours.

My cleaner comes weekly, she doesn't wipe the bin or clean the showerhead.

my shower plug is cleaner than that after a quick whip round sort of clean!! I wouldn't pay anything until they've been back and cleaned properly.

I must have been lucky with previous cleaners then, they have always done the full bathroom and left it sparkling!

That was my thought, I don't think they have touched it as this just wiped off.

I hate when people pull this shit. I think it's really fly.
Sending the same people back is intimidating; she may not have done it deliberately, but she must know how it would make a customer feel.
How dare she comment on your 'attitude' and what does that even mean in this context? Yes, you're saying negative things – because you've had a negative experience!

She accepts that things weren't cleaned but says your house was in a bad state – well, for starters, if people's houses weren't in a bad state then she and her staff wouldn't have any work, would they?
And if she's accepting that things weren't cleaned, the 'bad state' is irrelevant.
I also think saying you should make up your own mind whether to pay or not is deliberately manipulative and she's counting on you not wanting to be 'unpleasant' or be seen as tight. Someone with an ounce of professional integrity would put in the work themselves of coming up with an amended figure.
Personally I'd say I don't appreciate HER attitude and approach and she is being unprofessional, you won't be guilt-tripped about paying and she can bloody well tell you what you owe, bearing in mind as she does the quality of the job done.

@ConflictedBeagle deep cleans are usually charged at a higher hourly rate than a basic clean. So on that basis not only have they not done 8 hours cleaning but what they have done is poor even for basic.
I would reckon 3 hours to do a basic clean. 4 if very dirty to start with. 8 hours for the deep clean. So I'd say either ask them to come back and do a proper clean OR pay for 4 hours at their basic clean rate and say why. If the owner wants to pay her staff for slacking that's her call.
But I agree with her the bin is down to you!

I wouldn't want them back, they had their chance to provide the service you asked them for, didn't do it then insulted your home.. Which also makes no sense, even if it was super dirty as they are supposed to be cleaning it. Is it possible they dusted skirting boards and dust resettled? Sounds like they didn't work extra hard or fast, more of a pottering speed. I would pay them for however many hours they did x £10. I wouldn't let them back in your home, why should you give up more time. The owner is very unprofessional

Don't second guess yourself - if you get the sense they rushed things and were not thorough, then that's likely what's happened.

It seems from what you're saying that every area they cleaned was sub-par? Not that what they did do was immaculate, but then left areas as they ran out of time.

Which isn't good enough.

You should give them chance to put it right but if they can't, or won't, then I'd pay 50% of the total bill, IF you felt that amount was earned.

insulted your home
This is so rude, isn't it?
I had a cleaner round once when I was hoping to find someone who could come on a short-term basis while my regular one was away. I made very clear that I knew my house was cluttered, and I wasn't expecting her in the time allotted to tidy and straighten, or clean in awkward areas etc, just to do the basics: bathroom and kitchen, and hoover and mop the floors.
After she'd finished she made a big deal out of how she'd 'done what she could' and cast disparaging/disgusted looks at the odd pile of newspapers etc.
I thought it was very unprofessional. Didn't have her back.

Thank you all, your comments are so helpful!

Just an update and managing to add some images.

I received further messages saying my approach was disgraceful, that the condition of my home was not her problem and that I should have gone round with a damp cloth before they arrived. I have explained that her staff when they arrived that the house was not in any sort of bad condition and asked her to send photos if they took any but apparently they didn't as they don't usually get customers as bad as me.

She has also said I am really starting to annoy her and that I am taking the P.

She has knocked off 1 hour so only now charging for 7. I'm speechless!