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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to expect my cleaner to turn up at the time she's meant to?

63 replies

HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 11:24

She's supposed to work 10am to 1pm on Monday mornings, I never know if she does as I'm always at work. Today I'm off sick and desperate to go back to bed but I can't until she's gone. She hasn't even arrived yet. It seems trivial but I'm so poorly I just want to sleep!

OP posts:
Hecate · 07/07/2008 11:26

I take it she doesn't know you're off? She probably usually comes round for 10 minutes, does a quick sweep round with the hoover and sprays polish in the air.

I'd love to see her face when she comes in and you're there!

babyignoramus · 07/07/2008 11:26

YANBU if you are paying her - she should turn up when she's paid to. Have you tried ringing her though - perhaps she's had a mishap/crisis and hasn't thought to call you because you're not normally there?

Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 11:28

I guess she doesn't know I'm off. If that's what she normally does she's blardy brilliant at it so I don't care. Mind you she must take longer than ten minutes because each week she arranges ds' toys in a different way. Must take her ages!

OP posts:
Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 11:29

She's booked through an agency, I'll give her a few more mins before I call them to see if something's happened to her. I may well fall asleep before then though.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz so tired zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

OP posts:
clumsymum · 07/07/2008 11:32

My guess is that as she knows you are not usually there, she comes and does her 3 hours to suit herself. In your shoes I'd have phoned her anyway, let her know you'd be there, or maybe even see if she could have swapped her day.

My cleaner does us on Mon morning, and our neighbour on Mon afternoons, but I know she has sometimes swapped if neighbours are going to be in in the afternoons or summat.

Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 11:46

hmmm I'm quite tempted to slip in to bed fully dressed and then I can leap out when she turns up. It's that or fall asleep on the sofa and risk her finding me with drool running out of my mouth and snoring loudly!

OP posts:
Oliveoil · 07/07/2008 11:48

leave a note propped up somewhere saying "off ill, in bed etc etc, leave the bedrooms/hoovering upstairs for today, thanks"

go to bed

Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 12:01

that's a good idea oliveoil, her English isn't great but I'm sure she'll get the idea. We live in a flat so it's slightly different but I'm sure I can sleep through hoovering. Right now I could sleep through a hurricane!

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TheHedgeWitch · 07/07/2008 12:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 12:33

I've just called them, they're going to find out what's happened and call me back. Am losing the fight to stay awake!

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tissy · 07/07/2008 12:37

Same thing happened to me- I was off with a sick dd on the day cleaner was supposed to do 4 hours; I'm usually home by 12.30, and she's always gone by then....by 10 am she hadn't turned up, and it turned out she was taking the p*ss- telling agency she'd done 4 hours, when it was more like 2 .

Having said that, house was clean enough, so agency sacked her and gave me 3 hours with someone else.

lucyellensmum · 07/07/2008 12:45

And so?

amethyst8 · 07/07/2008 12:49

Oh your poor old things. Sitting around waiting for your cleaners. Actually I am a bit fed up with mine - she is sitting on Mumsnet reading about other cleaners who don't turn up on time .

Mumsnut · 07/07/2008 12:55

can u tell from burglar alarm panel interrogation what times she's there? Mine records entries and exits; a mate at work discovered in this way that her cleaner was doing 2 hrs work and clai ming 4 ...

VictorianSqualor · 07/07/2008 13:00

I'd do what oliveoil suggested but wouldn't be impressed if it was that she often works less than she says.
Changing hours to suit her if it wouldn't make a difference, fine. Rushing and working her arse off to leave early/start late once in a while, fine, but regularly not working her contracted hours and getting paid for them, not on.

clumsymum · 07/07/2008 13:13

BUT ....

Are you paying for the house to be cleaned, or are you paying for some woman to spend X time in your house?

I mean if you think it would take you 4 hours to go thru' your house making it habitable, then presumably you assume it will take someone else 4 hrs too. So every week you get home and the house is cleaned to your standard. Then one day you find out that the cleaner manages that in 3 hours rather than 4.
So you do your nut, start paying her for 3 hours instead. You've penalised her for being more efficient/better practised than you are.

I pay my (lovely) cleaner to do a job. It's a crappy job I don't want to do myself. And if she manages to do it just as well in less time, good on her.

WilyWombat · 07/07/2008 13:32

If I had a cleaner, was happy with how she did the house and happy with what I paid her - how long it took or at what time she did the hours would be irrelevant to me really. One of the reasons some people do that job is because of the flexibility of the hours - id rather have someone who turned up whenever and cleaned really well than someone who turned up at 10 on the dot and did an average job.

I can understand why you need to know today though

nooka · 07/07/2008 13:50

I've been in that situation but I really don't mind at all how long our lovely cleaner takes, or when she comes, because she is fantastic. But it is different if you contract directly with a person I guess - also less of a problem if you are ill, as you know the person. My cleaner has cleaned the house with me in it, and looked after me too She's lovely.

Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 14:38

The agency did get back to me, apparently ages ago they decided she shouldn't work 10am to 1pm but 1pm - 4pm and also decided they didn't need to tell me. I pay hourly so I guess even if she's really efficient she should be doing something for the three hours I'm paying for. It would be different if I paid for her to clean the house, if it was done well I wouldn't care if she did it in ten minutes flat.

She's here now and I'm propping my eyes open with matchsticks!

I'm not justifying having a cleaner (well I am) but its the only way I could go back to work and not go mad with all the crap at home. I do really long unpredictable hours in a physically demanding job and I simply could not face coming home and cleaning the bathroom or whatever, or indeed having the argument that is required to get dh to do it either. £9 an hour is a small price to pay for marital harmony!

OP posts:
itati · 07/07/2008 14:40

Actually I think it would have been common courtesy to let you know the hours had changed and that you were paying for 4 and getting 3.

Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 14:45

I think so too Itati, the number of hours she works haven't changed, still three, but the hours she works have. It would have been nice to let me know. Afterall I might have specific reasons for wanting her to work those hours.

OP posts:
flubdub · 07/07/2008 15:07

£9 an hour?!!

Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 15:32

oh flubdub, there's most definitely a price to be paid for all the cleaning you do. Didn't someone do some research recently to work out how much you'd pay someone to do all the work a sahm does (hiring cleaners, childcare, cooks, taxis etc etc) and it came to about £28K a year!!

OP posts:
nooka · 07/07/2008 16:33

Umm my maths might be getting ropey, but isn't 10-1 three hours also? Agree the agency should have told you.

Original poster
HeadFairy · 07/07/2008 17:48

yeah it is still three hours, just three different hours nooka.

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